Tag: Sammy Sasso

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 Wrestling now has three No. 1 wrestlers

The Ohio State Buckeyes lead all wrestling programs with three wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes.

Ohio State might not be the No. 1 wrestling team in the country right now (that distinction belongs to Iowa), but the Buckeyes do have more wrestlers at the top of their weight class than any other school in the country.

Iowa is the only other school with two No. 1 wrestlers–Spencer Lee at 125 pounds and Michael Kemerer at 174 pounds.

Kollin Moore, the talented senior who is finally looking to fulfill his goal of winning a National Championship (he has placed third, fourth, and second in his career), has been the far-and-ahead No. 1 at 197 pounds since this season started. He is undefeated on the year and has only really been close to danger in two matches.

At 141 pounds, Luke Pletcher started the year at No. 3. He beat then-No. 1 Dom Demas at the season-opening Michigan State Open, and has held on to the top spot ever since. Like Moore, he is also undefeated, and was only ever pushed to the brink by Demas and Real Woods, another Top 10 wrestler. Pletcher has earned bonus points in his last 11 matches.

Now, joining Moore and Pletcher, is Sammy Sasso. Sasso jumped to No. 2 last week with huge wins over then-No. 1 Pat Lugo and then-No.4 Baryton Lee. He was still behind Oklahoma State’s Boo Lewallen, though. Lewallen then lost to Missouri’s Brock Mauller on Saturday, which moved Sasso up to No. 1.

Ohio State also had four other wrestlers ranked, including a huge jump by Rocky Jordan at 184 pounds. Kaleb Romero, the No. 7 wrestler at 174 pounds, is the only other Buckeye in the Top 10 right now.

After a rough few weeks with six losses–five of them to highly-ranked wrestlers–Jordan Decatur fell out of the rankings. He is still definitely a threat to anyone in the 133 pound weight class, though.

125 and 157 pounds remain the troublesome spots for the Buckeyes, though there seem to be stronger options at 157 right now.

Ohio State Wrestling solid in close loss to Nebraska

The Ohio State Buckeyes lost a very tight wrestling dual against Nebraska on Sunday, but they looked strong in the process.

If the college wrestling season has taught us anything so far, it’s very likely that the top four teams in the country are all from the Big Ten. Iowa is ahead of everyone with Penn State, Nebraska, and Ohio State just behind them.

It’s no surprise, then, that the dual match between Ohio State and Nebraska went down to the wire. Don’t let the 19-14 final score deceive you. The Buckeyes were in this match until literally the final second.

The dual began at 174 pounds, where Mikey Labriola beat Ohio State’s Kaleb Romero on a last-second takedown to win the battle of Top 10 wrestlers. That match was tight as can be, but there are no ties in wrestling, and someone had to win. There’s no shame or hurt for Romero in not coming out ahead. The same is true for Nebraska’s Taylor Venz, who lost to Rocky Jordan (in another ranked matchup) on a late reversal. After two matches, each team had one win, and the margins in each were razor-thin.

The next match was not as close, as No. 1 Kollin Moore got two early takedowns against No. 10 Eric Schultz and never relinquished the lead. Schultz kept the match close enough to avoid giving bonus points, which is always important. Nebraska followed that with its second win, as Gary Traub couldn’t out-wrestle David Jensen’s size advantage over him.

Nebraska took its second lead of the dual when Malik Heinselman couldn’t make good on any of his attacks, several of which led to points the other way. 125 pounds is quickly becoming Ohio State’s most troublesome weight, as Heinselman hasn’t been able to replicate his form that saw him into the NCAA tournament last year. Jordan Decatur then lost his match at the last second as well, to No. 14 Ridge Lovett. There’s no shame in that, regardless of the team outcome.

Luke Pletcher and Sammy Sasso–who, along with Moore, are Ohio State’s three real National Champion contenders–each earned bonus points with Major Decisions, Sasso’s the courtesy of four back points with just a few seconds remaining. After Peyton Robb beat Quinn Kinner, who moved up from 133 pounds to 157 pounds, the dual would come down to its final match, as the score entering it was 14-14. (Kinner’s move up to 157 pounds is interesting and worth a longer discussion. He’s new to the weight and it showed in his match, but he also seems to have more upside than Elijah Cleary.)

The final match was a good one. Isaiah White is a Top 5 wrestler, and he was just a bit better than Ethan Smith until White injured his ankle. After that, it was a very even match. The 19-14 final score is a product of an ill-advised last-second move by Smith, that got countered into a takedown and pin (Nebraska then lost a team point for storming the mat).

All in all, it was a great dual, and a strong showing by both programs. Each wrestler competed very well against talented (and in almost all cases ranked) wrestlers of the opposition. Nebraska will move up in the rankings after a well-deserved win, but these teams are both clearly very good, and right there behind Iowa and Penn State.

Ohio State wrestler Sammy Sasso selected as wrestler of the week by Big Ten and USA Wrestling

Ohio State wrestler Sammy Sasso was recognized Tuesday for two top four wins. He was Big Ten and USA Wrestling’s Wrestler of the Week.

Springing an upset on two separate occasions over two top-five opponents will tend to get a guy recognized. And that’s exactly what Ohio State wrestler Sammy Sasso did over the past week.

The biggest of those was last Friday when Sasso faced off with the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the 149 lb. weight class, Pat Lugo. He had to scramble and thwart numerous shots by Lugo but was able to keep things even into OT and then into a tiebreaker where his effort and tenacity allowed him to ride out Lugo and secure a one-point win.

But Sasso wasn’t finished. He then had to matchup with the No. 4 ranked wrestler in the weight class, Minnesota’s Brayton Lee. He again showed his defensive skills and finished with a last-second, persevering, technical takedown to secure a 4-2 victory.

For all of his dramatics and big wins this week, Sasso received both the Big Ten and USA Wrestling wrestler of the week honors.

The 149 lb. weight class appears to be in good hands for the foreseeable future because Sasso is just a freshman and should only continue to get better.

With what we’re seeing so far this year, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he arrives early, makes All-American and has a shot at a national title at this point.

 

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

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WATCH: Ohio State wrestler Sammy Sasso rides out win over No. 1 in overtime

Ohio State wrestler Sammy Sasso had one gutsy wrestling match Friday. Watch as he rides out a win over No. 1 ranked Pat Lugo of Iowa.

The Ohio State wrestling team couldn’t do much damage against a loaded Iowa Hawkeye club, but there was one moment Friday night that Buckeye fans, coaches, and teammates could be very proud of.

Sammy Sasso has been a competitor at the 149 lb. weight class, but last night he was facing the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the weight class, Pat Lugo. Do yourself a favor and find video of the entire match if you can because Sasso was a scrambling, defensive-minded grappler that kept finding a way to wiggle his way out of the shots Lugo kept going for.

So much so that at the end of two overtimes, the score was knotted at one point apiece for an escape by both men — headed for a tiebreaker. Sasso was able to escape during his :30 down on the mat, and then had to somehow hold off a stronger and more seasoned wrestler. All Lugo had to do was escape to tie it up and the match would continue.

But Sasso would have none of it. Watch as he rides out Lugo, refusing to let him out of his grasp for a full thirty seconds for the win. This is all heart and determination. Quite amazing really.

Keep in mind that there were three reviews that either took points off or could have put them on the board for Lugo, but they all went against him. But they were the right call for any objective viewer.

These are the types of moments that make wrestling fans out of the casual observer, and you can bet that Sasso’s ranking will most likely rise after this showing.

Ohio State Wrestling falls to No. 1 Iowa, Sasso upsets top ranked wrestler

The Ohio State wrestling team went to No. 1 Iowa and battled hard, but still lost the dual-meet.

It was always going to be an uphill battle, and the Iowa Hawkeyes showed their might in a dual-meet match against Ohio State Friday night. The Buckeyes battled, but the depth and talent on the Iowa side was just too relentless and too much to overcome.

Iowa got out of the gate quickly by winning the first three matches with relative ease to go up 9-0. Kollin Moore was able to get the Buckeyes on the board finally at 197 lbs. to make it 9-3, but Iowa struck back in the first session at Heavyweight to go up 11-3, losing a point because of a dress infraction.

The thriller of the night was at 149 lbs. Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso showed some unbelievable defense and scrambling ability against the No. 1 ranked Pat Lugo. The match went to double-overtime and then a tiebreaker where Sasso was able to pull off the upset by getting an escape in the first :30, then riding things out in the second :30.

But that would be the highlight of the night. Iowa pressed on with some major bonus points, winning seven of ten matches and a 24-10 team victory.

 

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WATCH: Kollin Moore records first Buckeye pin in Covelli Center

Kollin Moore pins Matt Wroblewski in the Big Ten dual match on Monday. Watch video of Kollin Moore’s pin.

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]

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.