Buckeye Wrestling Falls at Home to Purdue, 21-12
Nail extends win streak to seven matches, Bergman drops overtime decision in ranked match
Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State wrestling team (6-6, 0-2 Big Ten) suffered a 21-12 defeat to Purdue in its Big Ten home opener at St. John Arena Friday (7-7, 1-1 Big Ten). Freshman Kirk Nail extended his personal win streak to seven matches with an overtime decision at HWT.
Purdue claimed an early 3-0 lead after the opening bout at 165. Ohio State’s Zach Craiglow (Fr., Lancaster, Ohio) trailed in the 165 match, 2-0, after the first period, but used a second-period rally to claim a 6-4 lead at the end of two periods. In the second stanza, Craiglow benefited from a stall on Purdue’s John DeCault and followed with a pair of takedowns for a 6-4 lead at the end of two periods. DeCault recovered in the third period, knotting the bout at 7-7 with an escape and his second takedown of the match. The bout remained at 7-7 at the end of regulation, but DeCault was awarded the win with a one-minute riding time advantage.
Purdue scored another three points with a last-second decision win at 174. Ohio State’s Nathaniel Augustson (Jr., Rio Rancho, N.M.) took a 3-2 edge after two periods with his team-best 14th reversal. In the third period, Augustson and Purdue’s Dan Bedoy wrestled scoreless until Bedoy notched a takedown with four seconds left in regulation to claim a 4-3 decision win.
Alex Picazo (So., Grandview, Ohio) attempted to start an Ohio State rally at 184 vs. Purdue’s Ben Wissel, ranked No. 14 in the nation. Picazo trailed Wissel, 7-4, in the third period after Wissel recorded a takedown in each of the first two periods. Wissel finished off Picazo in the third with his third takedown with 39 seconds left and held on for the 11-5 win and a 9-0 Boilermaker lead.
Returning All-American J.D. Bergman (So., Oak Harbor, Ohio) wrestled Purdue’s No. 15 Nathan Moore at 197 in search of Ohio State’s first win. The pair of ranked wrestlers traded takedowns to open the first. Bergman added a second takedown before Moore knotted the score at 4-4 at the end of period No. 1. Bergman started the second in the down position and quickly added to his score with an escape. Moore opened the third with an escape of his own to set the score at 5-5 and sent the match into overtime. In the extra session, Moore tallied a takedown nine seconds in and emerged with a 7-5 victory and a 12-0 Purdue advantage. The loss for Bergmam was his first since the Midlands finals Dec. 29 and snapped an eight-match win streak.
The HWT bout between Ohio State’s Kirk Nail (Fr., Hilliard, Ohio) and Purdue’s Jake O’Brien also extended to overtime. The pair of heavyweights wrestled to a 3-3 tie at the end of regulation. Nail put the Buckeyes on the board with a takedown 38 seconds into the extra period on an emphatic throw and takedown for the 5-3 win. With the victory, Nail extended his personal win streak to seven matches.
Junior Nathan Costello (Jr., Maple Heights, Ohio) attempted to carry the Ohio State momentum as the dual turned to the lightweights at 125. Costello opened with three takedowns to grab a 6-2 lead at the end of the first period. The tide turned for Costello in the second period, allowing a shot from Boilermaker Brandon Tucker to take Costello to the mat. At the 3:55 mark, Tucker scored the fall, moving Purdue’s lead to 18-3.
At 133, No. 16-ranked T.J. Enright (Fr., Galloway, Ohio) carried a 1-0 lead into the third period against Purdue’s Sean Schmaltz, who tied the match with an escape to open the third period. Enright scored the deciding takedown with 10 seconds left to win his 24th match of the season and close the dual score to 18-6.
Freshman Jason Johnstone (Fr., Massillon, Ohio) pulled the Buckeyes to within 18-9 with a 9-5 decision at 141. Johnstone used a pair of takedowns and a reversal for a 4-2 lead heading into the final stanza, where he added a three-point nearfall with just more than a minute remaining in the match.
At 149, Buckeye Steve Wolery (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) and Boilermaker Doug Withstandley, ranked No. 13 in the nation, wrestled to a 3-2 score after two periods. Wolery used a second-period reversal to get on the board. In the down position in the third period, Withstandley extended his lead to 4-2 with an escape and held on for a 7-2 decision and a 21-9 Boilermaker advantage heading into the final match of the night.
Freshman Keegan Mueller (Dallas, Texas) closed the dual with a 5-0 decision win at 157. Mueller scored a three-point nearfall in the third period to seal the win and set the final dual score at 21-12.
Ohio State returns to the mat Sunday against Virginia and Indiana. The Cavaliers and Hoosiers face off in the first match at noon. Ohio State closes the day with bouts against UVA at 2 p.m. and IU at 4 p.m.
Purdue 21, Ohio State 12
OSU PUR
165 – John DeCeault (P) dec Zach Craiglow (O), 8-7 0 3
174 – Dan Bedoy (P) dec Nate Augustson (O), 4-3 0 6
184 – No. 14 Ben Wissel (P) dec Alex Picazo (O), 11-5 0 9
197 – No. 15 Nathan Moore (P) dec No. 4 J.D. Bergman (O), 7-5 (OT) 0 12
HWT – No. 16 Kirk Nail (O) dec Jake O’Brien (P), 5-3 3 12
125 – Brandon Tucker (P) fall Nathan Costello (O), 3:55 3 18
133 – No. 16 T.J. Enright (O) dec Sean Schmatz (P), 3-1 6 18
141 – Jason Johnstone (O) dec Rene Hernandez (P), 9-5 9 18
149 – No. 13 Doug Withstandley (P) dec Steve Wolery (O), 7-2 9 21
157 – Keegan Mueller (O) dec Colton Salazar (P), 5-0 12 21
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