Tag: Kollin Moore

Kyle Snyder beats another former OSU wrestler Kollin Moore, secures spot in Olympics

Kyle Snyder took care of business against former Ohio State alum Kollin Moore to punch his ticket to the Olympics in Tokyo this summer.

One way or another, there was going to be a former Ohio State wrestler representing the United States at the Olympics in Tokyo this summer. That’s because Captain America (Kyle Snyder), and Kollin Moore were pitted against each other in a best of three to see who would don the red, white, and blue in the 97kg weight class.

Moore battled hard, but the favorite and well-seasoned Snyder took the first two matches to earn his spot. Snyder won the first one in a route 10-0, then came back in a business-like fashion and beat Moore by a score of 5-1 to end things and queue the celebration.

For Snyder, it’ll be his second-straight Olympic appearance. He was also a part of the USA squad that went to Rio de Janerio, winning gold for the United States.

It was a bittersweet rooting interest for Ohio State fans, but it’s hard not to get behind a guy that’s been such a force and ambassador for OSU and the wrestling community.

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Three former Ohio State wrestlers in Olympic trial finals

Kyle Snyder headlines three former Ohio State wrestlers competing for a spot in the Olympics at the U.S. Olympic trial finals on Saturday.

The USA wrestling Olympic trials has had a significant Ohio State flavor to it. The program had six wrestlers competing for a spot in Tokyo when it all started, and now there are three left in the finals, the most of any school in the country.

And that’s not all.

OSU is assured a spot in all the fun this summer as well because two of those Buckeye alum’s are facing off with one another in the 97kg weight class with Kyle Snyder taking on Kollin Moore. Snyder is of course an Olympic veteran and former World Champion and is the heavy favorite.

The other former Ohio State wrestler competing for a trip to the summer games is Joey McKenna at 65kg. He will face Oklahoma State alum, Jordan Oliver. The winner of that match will still have to qualify the weight for the Olympics at the World Olympic Qualifier in Sofia, Bulgaria, May 6-9.

All of the Final X Championship Series will be best-of-three bouts. The finals will begin at 7:30 p.m. and streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

Good luck to these former Buckeyes on the mat!

Kollin Moore and Jincy Dunne announced as Ohio State’s Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients

Ohio State has announced that wrestler Kollin Moore and women’s hockey’s Jacy Dunne are its Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients.

Two fifth-year seniors have been announced as Ohio State’s representatives for the Big Ten’s Medal of Honor award. Wrestling’s Kollin Moore and women’s ice hockey’s Jincy Dunne both were selected among the finalists announced by OSU earlier this week.

The Big Ten’s Medal of Honor Award is the most prestigious honor for the conference and recognizes scholastic and athletic achievement yearly. Each school designated a male and female winner, meaning only 28 are recognized each year out of roughly 9,500 Big Ten athletes.

The award was the first of its kind and was first handed out in 1915. Here is a bio of each of the two winners sent in a release by Ohio State Friday.

Kollin Moore

A native of Burbank, Ohio, Moore finished as the Dan Hodge Trophy runner-up in his final season after sitting atop the 197-pound national rankings from start to finish. He garnered a 27-0 season record and was the NCAA Championships top seed. Moore ranks eighth in Ohio State history with a .909 career winning percentage (110-11). He is a three-time Big Ten champion and reached the NCAA finals in 2019. In the classroom, Moore earned a bachelor’s degree in business operations management and is closing in on completion of a kinesiology master’s degree during his five years as a Buckeye. He picked up Academic All-Big Ten and Ohio State Scholar-Athlete honors as well.

Jincy Dunne

A native of O’Fallon, Mo., and defenseman on the women’s ice hockey team, Dunne ended her career as a three-time AHCA All-American, with two first-team accolades. She is the fourth defensive player in the past decade to be a first or second-team All-American three times. She is one of just two Buckeyes to earn First Team All-WCHA honors three times and received the league’s defensive player of the year honor as both a junior and senior. Dunne became the only Buckeye to be named First Team All-USCHO after being selected Second Team and Third Team her junior and sophomore seasons. Dunne finished her career with 99 points, putting her third all-time among Buckeye blueliners. A WCHA Scholar-Athlete, Academic All-Big Ten honoree, and Ohio State Scholar-Athlete, Dunne earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in Spring 2019 and is enrolled in the sports coaching master’s program.

Congrats to both for the success on and off the field. They both represent exactly what it means to be a scholar-athlete.

Six Ohio State wrestlers get All-American recognition despite canceled NCAA championships

Ohio State received All-American honors from the NWCA for six wrestlers despite the shortened NCAA Wrestling Championships.

Wrestling has a unique way of determining its All-Americans. It has absolutely nothing to do with what you accomplish during the regular season and tournament championships, and everything to do with where you finish in the NCAA Wrestling Championships at the end of the year.

Well, there’s a slight problem with that this season. Despite seeding everyone, the NCAA Wrestling Tournament got canceled like everything else as a measure to mitigate further spread of the emerging COVID-19 health crisis. Right before all the fun began.

Afterward, head wrestling coach Tom Ryan was very vocal about finding some way to still recognize those that worked so hard and had the ending of their seasons canceled for reasons beyond their control. It was especially important for those seniors that had their careers abruptly stopped.

Ryan has now gotten his wish. In lieu of All-America honors being decided at the COVID-canceled NCAA Championships, the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has announced its 2020 All-America teams. Six Ohio State student-athletes were recognized for their ‘overall body of work through the conference tournament and up to the national championships.’

Those Buckeyes include Kollin Moore, Luke Pletcher, Kaleb Romero and Sammy Sasso as First Team honorees, while Ethan Smith was placed on the Second Team, and Rocky Jordan came in with an Honorable Mention.

It has to be especially gratifying for seniors Kollin Moore and Luke Pletcher. Without the distinction, they both would have left college without the ability to garner First Team All-American distinction. It’s Moore’s fourth time being recognized as an All-American, and Pletcher’s third.

“During difficult times there are always people who rise to the occasion and I’m proud of the action that the NWCA Division I Leadership Group in providing direction for honoring the 2020 Division I All-American team,” Mike Moyer, NWCA Executive Director, said. “It’s important that these athletes’ efforts and successes during the season are recognized. Congratulations to each this year’s honorees and National Qualifiers.”

You can get a look at the remainder of the All-Americans thanks to the list provided in the media release below.

NWCA All-America First Team

NWCA All-America Second Team

NWCA All-America Honorable Mention

Well done to Ryan as well in pushing for something like this to happen. And good on the NWCA for listening and doing what’s right in the midst of such a difficult situation.

NCAA grants extra year of eligibility for spring athletes, not winter

The NCAA announced Monday that it would grant an extra year of eligibility to spring athletes whose seasons were cut short due to COVID-19.

The NCAA announced Monday night that it would grant an extra year of eligibility to spring athletes whose seasons were cut short due to COVID-19.

The NCAA did a lot right in how they’re dealing with this situation, but there is one major flaw. Let’s discuss what the NCAA got right first, before we move on to the big mistake.

What the NCAA got right

The NCAA was faced with a huge dilemma here. How do you allow athletes to play an extra year without messing with the incoming freshman class or putting a huge financial burden on schools who can’t afford to give out extra scholarships–especially as there are very few money-making sports in the spring.

The NCAA essentially had two solutions for this. The first is that the schools don’t have to offer scholarships. They can, but they don’t have to. Additionally, the NCAA’s fund for student support will be available to help cover these scholarships. I don’t know if the organization has enough to cover everyone–it just had to slash the annual payout to DI schools because of the basketball tournament’s cancellation–but it will clearly do what it can.

Next, the NCAA is raising scholarship and roster limits. This means that schools will have bigger rosters over the next few years as the current players use their extra eligibility. It might hamper playing time a bit with bigger rosters, but it’s the only real solution. (The release did not indicate if there would be anything to mitigate the fact that those with more freshman this year will have bigger rosters for a longer period of time.)

Winter sports

The NCAA made one major mistake, though. Winter sport athletes who did not finish their seasons will not be granted another year. Even though almost no NCAA Championships were completed for the winter, in any division, the NCAA still (apparently) felt that because the large majority of most of the seasons were completed, that’s enough to not grant an extra year.

This will obviously disappoint basketball fans and players nationwide, as well as plenty of other sports. Many Buckeyes will be impacted, and you can’t help but feel for guys like Kollin Moore. It took a combination of illness, an otherworldly talent like Bo Nickal, and a full-on cancellation of the NCAAs to keep Moore from winning a National Championship during his four years in Columbus.

We can hope that the NCAA will change their decision on winter athletes, because the abrupt ending to careers like this is very much not fair. At least the NCAA did right by the spring athletes, though.

Kollin Moore finishes runner up for Hodge Trophy

Ohio State wrestler Kollin Moore finished just short of winning the Hodge Trophy, finishing runner-up for 2020.

Ohio State wrestler Kollin Moore finished just shy of taking home the most coveted award in college wrestling. The Dan Hodge Trophy goes to the best collegiate wrestler yearly and is often called the Heisman of the sport.

And while Moore received three first-place votes, he was beaten out by Iowa’s Spencer Moore for the 2020 recognition. Still, it was an impressive season for the Buckeyes’ 197 pounder who went 27-0. Those wins included 10 major decisions, six tech falls, and four pins.

Moore won the Big Ten Championship and was set to go into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed at his weight class. That was before everything was canceled out of an abundance of caution with the COVID-19 health crisis.

Congratulations are in order for a warrior on the mat Ohio State wrestling fans won’t soon forget.

 

 

 

OSU Wrestling Twitter is hosting a best Buckeye wrestler ever tournament

There are no NCAA Championships in Wrestling this year, but we can still enjoy a pretend tournament for the best Buckeye ever.

There are no NCAA Championships in Wrestling (or any other Winter and Spring sport) this year, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t still enjoy a pretend tournament.

The official Twitter account of Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) made a 33-person bracket–just like the NCAA Championships have–and has opened up the voting for who is the best Ohio State wrestler ever. In each match the account lists a 280-character-or-less description of the wrestler’s accolades, so you can learn about some Buckeye history while you vote.

The tournament has just completed its second round, and there have been some pretty good upsets so far. Recent wrestlers seem to overperform, which makes sense–since the voting is on Twitter, more Twitter users have likely seen recent wrestlers, while we are limited to just highlights or stat sheets for those who competed in previous decades. An excellent example of this is Joey McKenna’s first-round upset over Rex Holman. McKenna is a fan favorite, even though on paper Holman has a far superior resume.

Logan Stieber–one of the only four wrestlers in NCAA history to win four National Championships–is a prohibitive favorite to take home the title, and he definitely deserves it. Of course, the bracket has a tremendous mix of all-time greats like Kevin Randleman and Tommy Rowlands, along with recent fan favorites (and great wrestlers in their own rights) like Kollin Moore, Luke Pletcher, Myles Martin, and Micah Jordan, to name a few. And, of course, there are guys like Kyle Snyder and Nathan Tomasello–who are both recent wrestlers and all-time Buckeye greats.

The best part is that the account is treating this like a real tournament. It’s not single elimination–there are full wrestlebacks. This bracket also shows some recency bias, like Luke Pletcher’s stunning first-round upset of Dave Reinbolt.

Follow this bracket and tournament all week. We might be stuck at home, but we can have plenty of fun voting on wrestlers from our computers or phones. So make sure to check out the Twitter account, follow the tournament, and vote!

Kollin Moore named one of eight Hodge Trophy finalists

Ohio State wrestler Kollin Moore has been named 1 of 8 finalists for the Hodge Trophy, awarded to the best collegiate wrestler annually.

The eight finalists for the Hodge Trophy — wrestling’s equivalent as the Heisman — were announced Friday, and Ohio State wrestler Kollin Moore is among the names.

Moore has a record of 27-0 this season, is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the 197 lb. weight class, and has garnered bonus points in 74% of his matches this season, one that came to an abrupt end due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dan Hodge Trophy has been handed out annually since 1995 and is awarded by W.I.N Magazine (Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine) at the end of each season. Only one Buckeye has ever won the award, Logan Steiber in 2015.

The 2020 Hodge winner will be announced at 12 pm CST on Monday, March 30. An official fan vote will begin at 1:00 pm Eastern on March 23 at www.WIN-magazine.com. The Fan Vote winner will receive an additional two first-place votes.

The criteria used to determine a champion include overall record, number of pins, dominance and quality of competition as well as character attributes if needed.

 

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Luke Pletcher, Kollin Moore win Big Ten wrestling titles, Ohio State finishes 3rd

Ohio State finished third at the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament, but both Luke Pletcher and Kollin Moore took home individual titles.

The Ohio State wrestling team capped off Sunday with a couple of Big Ten Champions, and it was enough to seal third place in the best conference in college wrestling. Iowa ran away with first place by totaling 157.5 points, Nebraska took second with 132 points. Penn State was fourth, just behind the Buckeyes with a total of 107 team points.

But back to the Buckeye champs. One of the most exciting matches of the championship belonged to the finals at 141 pounds. Ohio State’s Luke Pletcher took on undefeated No. 1 seed Nick Lee of Penn State. It all came down to the last minute of the third period with both wrestlers tied 4-4. With opportunity winding down, Pletcher went for a leg shot and got what he needed, taking down Lee for a critical two points.

Lee was able to escape to pull to within 6-5, but Pletcher used great footwork and anticipation to steer clear of the last few desperate shots from the Penn State wrestler.

Kollin Moore had a bit of an easier time in his finals match at 197 lbs. He was the aggressor throughout against No. 8 seed Eric Schultz, winning with a business-like 4-1 score to take home the third Big Ten title of his career. Despite the low score, he was never really threatened.

Most of the OSU wrestlers are done yet either. Eight total wrestlers did enough to qualify for nationals that’ll take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota from March 19-21.

 

Big Ten Wrestling Tournament: Rocky Jordan at 184 pounds

What does Ohio State’s 184 pound wrestler Rocky Jordan have to do to qualify for the NCAA Championships?

Rocky Jordan did not begin the year as Ohio State’s starter at 184 pounds, but he sure finished there. 184 looked like a potential weak spot for the Buckeyes, but now it’s probably their strongest weight class after the three-headed monster of Luke Pletcher, Sammy Sasso, and Kollin Moore. Gavin Hoffman and Zach Steiner both took some duals at this weight, but Jordan improved throughout the first half of the season and has been the starter since January.

Big Ten Wrestling Championships: 184 pounds

Basic Info:

Buckeye Wrestler: Rocky Jordan
Seed:No. 6
Place needed to qualify: 10th

By NCAA qualification, this is the Big Ten’s strongest weight class. The conference will put ten wrestlers in the NCAA Championships, and it would be shocking if Jordan wasn’t one of them.

Paths to the NCAAs

Jordan will face Purdue’s Max Lyon in the opening round. If Jordan wins, it will be very difficult not to imagine him qualifying for the NCAAs. A win, and he will likely face Abe Assad of Iowa in the second round. (Assad will face No. 14 seed Kyle Jasenski of Maryland in the first round.) A Jordan win over Assad clinches a top four spot. A loss to Assad would put Jordan in the consolation bracket.

If Jordan wins his first match but loses the second, he will get two shots at qualifying. He will face the winner from the losers of the Billy Janzer vs Jack Jessen and Taylor Venz vs Jake Hinz matches. The only possible matchup there Romero should fear is Venz, who Jordan beat in a very close match last month. Even if Jordan loses in that match, he will get to face one of the other second-round losers in the consolation bracket for an NCAA spot.

Looking at the bracket, there’s only one real way that Jordan could be left out of the bracket (barring anything like injury). If he loses in the first round and somehow Assad is also upset by Jasenski, then Jordan could end up with an 0-2 record and miss out on the NCAAs. But that’s not happening. Among the safest of safe Buckeyes, Jordan is right up there with Pletcher, Sasso, and Moore.

Other Buckeyes in this series:

125 pounds: Malik Heinselman
133 pounds: Jordan Decatur
157 pounds: Elijah Cleary
165 pounds: Ethan Smith
174 pounds: Kaleb Romero
Heavyweight: Gary Traub