Tag: Ethan Smith

Big Ten Wrestling Tournament: Ethan Smith at 165 pounds

What does Ohio State’s 165 pound wrestler Ethan Smith have to do to qualify for the NCAA Championships?

Ethan Smith is one of the more enigmatic Ohio State wrestlers this year. Smith is a Top 15 wrestler with a 15-11 record. He has faced numerous top wrestlers and has come close far too often, but rarely pulled off the upsets. Still, Smith is talented, a leader in the locker room, and he can beat anyone on any given day. Just because he hasn’t sprung many of the big wins yet doesn’t mean he can’t.

Big Ten Wrestling Championships: 165 pounds

Basic Info:

Buckeye Wrestler: Ethan Smith
Seed:No. 5
Place needed to qualify: 8th

Smith is the first Buckeye wrestler in this series (which excluded Luke Pletcher and Sammy Sasso, since they’re basically already qualified) that has a seed at the Big Ten Championships which is better than what he needs to qualify for the NCAAs. Malik Heinselman, Jordan Decatur, and Elijah Cleary will all have to pull off at least one upset to qualify. All Smith has to do to earn a berth is wrestle to his seed.

Paths to the NCAAs

Smith needs to win two matches to guarantee himself a spot in the NCAA Championships. It doesn’t matter if those two come in the main bracket or the “wrestleback” consolation bracket. He just needs two wins.

In the opening round, Smith will face Michigan’s Tyler Meisinger. The pair have never met before, though Meisinger is ranked far lower than Smith. If Smith wins that match, he will almost certainly face Nebraska’s Isaiah White. Smith and White have met twice this season, with both matches coming to the final seconds. White won both, though. (White’s first-round opponent is Purdue’s Nate Limmex.) If Smith loses to White, then he will need to defeat the winner of the consolation match from the other side of the bracket–the losers of No. 3 Evan Wick vs No. 14 Diego Lemley and No. 6 Shayne Oster vs No. 11 Brett Donner.

If Smith loses his first match, he will first have to face the loser of White vs Limmex. To qualify for the NCAA Championships, Smith would have to win that match and then defeat the loser of the second-round match involving the Wick-Lemley and Oster-Donner winners. Smith is 2-1 on the season against Oster and 1-0 against Donner. If he is forced to face Wick in the consolation bracket (not an ideal situation at all), Smith did wrestle well in a close loss against the Wisconsin Badger in January.

Other Buckeyes in this series:

125 pounds: Malik Heinselman
133 pounds: Jordan Decatur
157 pounds: Elijah Cleary
174 pounds: Kaleb Romero
184 pounds: Rocky Jordan
Heavyweight: Gary Traub

Can Ohio State qualify ten wrestlers for the NCAA Championships again?

Last year, the Ohio State Buckeyes were the only team in the country to place ten wrestlers in the NCAA Championships. Can they repeat that?

Last year, the Ohio State Buckeyes were the only wrestling team in the country to place ten wrestlers in the NCAA Championships.

That record seems very unlikely to repeat this year, as the Iowa Hawkeyes will almost certainly qualify a full squad for the NCAAs. Additionally, Campbell might be able to pull off that by sweeping the SoCon, and Oklahoma State looks to be competitive in the Big 12 at every weight class, except maybe heavyweight.

However, the big question for the Buckeyes is whether Ohio State can put a full lineup in the NCAAs. And, if they can’t, just how many spots can the Buckeyes earn? Let’s go through the lineup and break it down.

The Locks

141, 149, and 197 pounds

There’s no need to get too into the weeds of the bracket and number of bids at these three weight classes. Luke Pletcher, Sammy Sasso, and Kollin Moore are going to get in the NCAA Championships. Even if all three lose early in the Big Ten Championships, they’re still getting in to the NCAAs. And while Pletcher would obviously like to avenge his loss to Penn State’s Nick Lee in the process, for our purposes right now, we know he’s done enough this season to reach the postseason.

What about the rest of the Buckeyes? Some of them, like Kaleb Romero and Rocky Jordan should have pretty easy paths to the NCAA tournament. Some–like No. 14 seed Jordan Decatur–will have a very challenging path indeed. In a series of articles over the next few days, we will break down the paths and brackets for the other seven Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championships. We will look at how many spots are available for Big Ten wrestlers, and how tough each Buckeye’s path to those spots will be.

For now, let’s just give a quick overview of where the rest of the Buckeyes stand.

Near-Locks

174 pounds: Kaleb Romero
184 pounds: Rocky Jordan

Should make it

165 pounds: Ethan Smith
Heavyweight: Gary Traub

Very difficult path

125 pounds: Malik Heinselman
133 pounds: Jordan Decatur
157 pounds: Elijah Cleary

Ohio State Wrestling solid in tight loss to Penn State

The Ohio State Buckeyes fell 20-16 to Penn State on Saturday night, winning five out of the ten matches against the Nittany Lions.

The Ohio State Buckeyes fell 20-16 to Penn State on Saturday night, winning five out of the ten matches against the Nittany Lions. Penn State got the win by earning five bonus points to Ohio State’s one, and because Nick Lee upset Luke Pletcher at 141 pounds.

Still, there were plenty of positives for Ohio State, especially at the beginning and end of the dual match.

The match started at 125 pounds, where Malik Heinselman pulled out a much-needed win over Brandon Meredith. Heinselman won the Greyhound Open against some lower-tier opponents last week, and that confidence seems to have bled in to this match. Jordan Decatur couldn’t get a win over No. 4 Roman Bravo-Young, though, but he looked solid in the match.

Then came the biggest match of the Day. No. 1 vs No. 2 at 141 pounds. Pletcher looked strong and in control early, but something seemed to go wrong halfway through the match. Either Pletcher tweaked something or he ran out of gas, but Lee took control from midway through the second period, and he held on for the win.

Sammy Sasso kept his No. 1 seed by winning in Sudden Victory, and Quinn Kinner picked up a much-needed win over Brady Berge with a late takedown. Kinner started the season at 133 pounds, and he finally is at his best at 157. Kinner also won the Greyhound Open last week, and that seemed to have spurred him on as well.

The next two weight classes had No. 1s and National Champions for Penn State. Ethan Smith was impressive early against Vincenzo Joseph, but Joseph took control in the second period and won by Major Decision. Then Mark Hall earned a quick pin over Kaleb Romero at 174 pounds.

Rocky Jordan couldn’t keep up with Top 10 opponent Aaron Brooks, and then Kollin Moore won by Major Decision in his match. The final match of the night saw Gary Traub pick up a huge win over Seth Nevills, also with a late takedown.

In the dual match, the Buckeyes couldn’t quite get the win. And Pletcher’s loss certainly hurt. But other than that, the Buckeyes saw plenty of positives. Heinselman and Traub seem at their best as we approach the Big Ten Tournament, and Kinner finally seems like Ohio State’s answer at 157 pounds.

The Buckeyes are improving when it matters most. We’ll see just how ready they are to be competitive nationally at the Big Ten Tournament in three weeks.

Ohio State defeats Minnesota 22-13 in Top 5 wrestling bout

The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the No. 5 Minnesota Golden Gophers in one of the most anticipated wrestling duals of the season.

The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes traveled to Minneapolis to take on the No. 5 Minnesota Golden Gophers in one of the most anticipated wrestling duals of the season so far, and it did not disappoint. The Buckeyes were coming off a 26-10 loss to Iowa on Friday. There’s no shame in that, though, as Iowa is far and away the No. 1 team in the country right now. The Buckeyes showed in Minneapolis on Sunday night that they are not far behind, though.

The dual meet started at 157 pounds, because the 141- and 149-pound matches were expected to be the two best of the night–a decision that obviously turned out to be the correct one. Elijah Clearly of Ohio State couldn’t find a way past the defenses of Ryan Thomas, and lost a very close match. Cleary definitely has potential at 157, though his lack of positive results so far has to be a bit concerning as the season moves on.

Following that, Ethan Smith picked up a Major Decision and a team bonus point with a late takedown, while Kaleb Romero picked up a 2-1 win over Devin Skatzka with a late takedown of his own. The Buckeye came out with an important win in a Top 10 battle, something that will definitely be a big boost to his ranking and eventual NCAA seeding.

184 pounds looked like the potential weak spot in the lineup for Ohio State early in the season, but Rocky Jordan seems to have found his place in the lineup. He lost a very tight battle to No. 18 Owen Webster of Minnesota–getting turned for two back points early in the match was just barely too much to overcome–but the way he fought against a strong ranked wrestler shows that he should be fine for Ohio State in that slot when the NCAA tournament rolls around.

Kollin Moore earned a seemingly-routine Tech Fall to give Ohio State a 12-6 team score lead, and “Gas Tank” Gary Traub managed to keep his heavyweight match against prohibitive No. 1 Gable Steveson to just a Major Decision. At the time, that was big in the team score, though later matches would show it wasn’t quite necessary.

Minnesota took the team lead after Patrick McKee defeated Malik Heinselman at 125 pounds, but the Buckeyes wouldn’t lose another match from there. Jordan Decatur picked up some much-needed momentum with a strong Major Decision victory. Decatur had lost four matches in a row–and while all four were close matches against Top 10 wrestlers, consistently losing is never good for an athlete’s psyche.

No. 1 (141 pounds) Luke Pletcher gave up an early takedown to No. 5 Mitch McKee, but the Buckeye controlled the match from there for a solid victory. And, finally, Sammy Sasso followed his Friday upset of No. 1 Pat Lugo with a victory over No. 4 Brayton Lee, capped by a late takedown for the win.

Next… Season Outlook

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Ohio State Wrestling impresses in upset of Arizona State

The Ohio State wrestling team upset No. 4 Arizona State on Monday behind strong performances from Luke Pletcher, Kollin Moore, and others.

The Ohio State Buckeyes had a strong opening half to the wrestling season, though a tough dual loss against Virginia Tech marred it a bit. The Buckeyes, as they have been all year, are clearly competitive in most weight classes, though a few still need work. How did the Buckeyes spend the month gap since their last dual?

Well, we were about to find out, as the Buckeyes hosted Arizona State in the Covelli Center. The Sun Devils are a top dual team, and they shockingly upset Penn State earlier in the year. Arizona State actually came into this match as the higher-ranked dual, team, at No. 4 to Ohio State’s No. 7 ranking. Would the top Buckeyes be able to take care of business to give the team a chance? And could the other guys step up and get the win?

Match Day: Ohio State vs Virginia Tech

The match went in order, from 125 pounds up to heavyweight. Ohio State’s Malik Heinselman fought hard against the nationally-ranked Brandon Courtney, but couldn’t quite get the win. At 133 pounds, though, the Buckeyes look like they finally have a new contender. True freshman Jordan Decatur burned his redshirt to compete in this match, and he wasn’t disappointed. In his first-ever college dual match, he pulled out an upset of No. 15 Josh Kramer. Decatur got an early takedown, and he managed to hold off his opponent and fatigue to gut out a 5-3 win. He’ll need to work on conditioning a bit as he adjusts to the full seven minutes of college wrestling, but he is clearly an incredible young talent.

Unlike his usual tight matches, Luke Pletcher went straight for the pin from the start against Navonte Demison. He got four near-fall points in the first minute, and added four more towards the end of the first period. Pletcher couldn’t get the full six team points for a pin, but a very quick 19-4 win gave him five team points for a Tech Fall. Sammy Sasso followed that up at 149 pounds with a good win over Josh Maruca, but Sasso couldn’t quite hold on to his eight-point lead for a bonus point.

157 pounds is one of the weight classes where Ohio State doesn’t quite have an elite contender yet, and Elijah Cleary couldn’t get a win. He fell by decision to Jacori Teemer, so the Buckeyes took an 11-6 lead into the halfway mark. Arizona State’s biggest names were yet to come, though, so this was still anybody’s dual.

Second half

Ethan Smith fought hard against No. 4 Josh Shields, but he couldn’t pull off an upset. After two straight wins, Arizona State had cut the Buckeyes’ team lead to 11-9. At 174 pounds, ninth-ranked Buckeye Kaleb Romero took on No. 8 Anthony Valencia. Romero had a tough time at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, but he came out firing in this match. After a tight first period, he got a quick escape and takedown in the second, followed by a long and impressive ride out to end the period. Romero went for the Major Decision late and couldn’t quite get it, but he still picked up the win and three team points.

Of course, Arizona State’s Zahid Valencia was up next, and against Ohio State’s weakest weight class. Buckeye freshman Gavin Hoffman did an amazing job not only to avoid getting pinned, but to keep the final score to 19-5. Valencia only earned one bonus point, so the Buckeye’s carried a 14-13 lead into the final two matches. At 197 pounds, No. 1 Kollin Moore gave up a quick takedown to No. 14 Kordell Norfleet. A wild first period ended with a 5-5 score. Moore earned the only three points in the second period, and held on for the 11-9 win at the end.

So the stage was set for the heavyweights. Ohio State carried a 17-13 win into the final bout. If Ohio State’s Gary Traub won the match or lost by Decision or Major Decision, then the Buckeyes would take the dual. If No. 6 Tanner Hall could earn a Tech Fall or Fall, then the Sun Devils would win. Hall rode Traub out for the entire second period and earned a quick escape in the third. Traub gave up another takedown, but kept the final score to 4-2, so a Decision gave Arizona State only three points, and a very good dual win for the Buckeyes.

Next up for the Buckeyes is a home dual against Rutgers on Friday. The Buckeyes still have some holes to fill, but this is very clearly one of the top overall teams in the country.

Ohio State Wrestling bounces back with win over Cornell

The Ohio State Buckeyes wrestling team picked up a much-needed bounce-back win after losing to Virginia Tech last week.

The Ohio State Buckeyes wrestling team needed a good performance, coming off a surprising and disappointing loss against Virginia Tech two weeks ago. The team got exactly that this weekend, beating Cornell 23-9, though there is still work to be done if it wants to contend for a national title.

The Buckeyes still have two No. 1 wrestlers in their weight classes, with Luke Pletcher at 141 pounds and Kollin Moore at 197 pounds. Neither has lost yet this year, and both pulled out strong wins on Sunday, with Moore’s coming as a Major Decision. Pletcher, as he is wont to do, kept the score tight, but he was never in danger of losing to Cornell’s Noah Baughman.

Sammy Sasso bounced back from his shocking pin against Virginia Tech to dominate Hunter Richard. The final score was a very close 12-9 as it seemed like Sasso just ran out of gas in the final minutes of his match. He will likely have to work on conditioning as the season goes on, or maybe it was just a bad day. We will find out more at the Cliff Keen Invitational this coming weekend, when Sasso will likely have to face multiple talented wrestlers on the same day.

Kaleb Romero looks to have the Buckeyes established at 174 pounds, and he silenced the doubters with a big win over Top 15 foe Brandon Womach. Romero pulled out a late takedown to break a 4-4 tie and win the match. Malik Heinselman (125 pounds) and Ethan Smith (165) were both pretty impressive in wins, and used matches against weaker opponents to work on getting bonus points.

The Buckeyes still have some real holes that need to be filled, though. No one has yet stepped up at 157 or 184 pounds. There are decent options at the first, but unless Gavin Hoffman or Zach Steiner improves, 184 pounds will be a real weakness in Ohio State’s lineup this year. The Buckeyes haven’t quite had enough individuals in the National Championship hunt to take the team competition from Penn State the past few years, but have been the most competitive top-to-bottom in all ten weight classes. Unless there’s a fix at 184 pounds soon, though, that streak may come to an end.

Ohio State wrestling needs work after tough weekend

What should the Ohio State Buckeyes learn from losing a tough wrestling dual against Virginia Tech?

The Ohio State Buckeyes fell to the Virginia Tech Hokies in their third wrestling dual of the season. It was Ohio State’s first loss of the season, and the first nonconference loss since losing to Cornell in February 2017.

You could see that Ohio State’s wrestling team was not quite up to its expected elite level in its dual on Friday, when four out of ten Buckeyes lost their matches against Pittsburgh. Heavyweight Chase Singletary did upset No. 9 Demterius Thomas on Friday, and Quinn Kinner (141 lbs) looked strong in a close loss against No. 4 Mickey Phillipi, but Ohio State’s holes at 157 and 184 lbs were clear.

That was evident on Sunday, when six of the ten Buckeyes lost. Neither Gavin Hoffman nor Zach Steiner seems elite at 184 lbs, and Elijah Cleary (157 lbs) is talented but not able to compete with the top athletes. Ke-Shawn Hayes is probably the best bet for the Buckeyes at that weight class when he returns from injury.

Luke Pletcher and Kollin Moore, ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes (141 and 197 lbs) were strong as always. Still, the two of them couldn’t cover for a lineup that just wasn’t at its best on Sunday.

Quinn Kinner never could get things going against Collin Gerardi. And, of course, the match that turned the dual was at 149 lbs. Freshman sensation Sammy Sasso–who had not yet lost this year–made one wrong attack early in his match, which was quickly countered into a pin by Virginia Tech’s Brent Moore.

Sunday’s dual was not all bad, though. Ethan Smith–who is highly-touted and hugely talented but has somehow never produced on the big stage–pulled off an incredible upset over No. 4 David McFadden at 165 lbs.

Ohio State’s roster is still stacked with talent, and coach Tom Ryan always has his team ready come tournament time in March. If Quinner and Sasso can use matches like this to build themselves into elite competitors, the Buckeyes will definitely be in the thick of things in a few months.

For now, though, Ohio State clearly has a lot of work to do. The Buckeyes next take the mat a week from Sunday against Cornell. We’ll see what changes and improvements have been made by then.