It took a few months and half a dozen dual matches, but Kollin Moore became the first Buckeye to record a pin in the brand-new Covelli Center during Ohio State’s dominant win over Illinois on Sunday.
The Buckeyes have recorded plenty of wins in the Covelli Center this year. Wrestlers have won plenty of tight matches and earned plenty of bonus points, but no Buckeye had yet to record a pin. There were other pins, though, most notably Sammy Sasso’s upset loss to Brent Moore in the dual match against Virginia Tech.
The Buckeyes look very solid, with national contenders at multiple weight classes–led by Moore and Luke Pletcher. The Buckeyes definitely need work in some weight classes, like 125 pounds and 184 pounds, before they can really be considered national title contenders, especially with the deep lineups that Iowa and Penn State have. The Buckeyes will travel to Iowa City to face the dominant Hawkeyes this Friday evening. We’ll get a good gauge of how close Ohio State is to the national elite during that dual.
Watch Moore’s full match against Matt Wroblewski of Illinois and the pin(pin starts at about 5:30):
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYCKRoLeFzg&w=560&h=315]