Ohio State Wrestling Falls at No. 11 Cornell
Buckeyes unable to overcome early deficit, Bergman wins in ranked bout at 197
Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State wrestling team (6-4, 0-0 Big Ten) had its five-match win streak snapped Sunday with a 27-9 loss to Cornell at the Friedman Events Center in Ithaca, N.Y. The Buckeyes were unable to rally from a 20-0 deficit against the 11th-ranked Big Red.
Cornell jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage after No. 2/4-ranked Dustin Manotti scored a 12-4 major decision at 149 pounds over Buckeye junior Steve Wolery (Cincinnati, Ohio). The Big Red continued to build on that lead with a pair of decision wins at 157 and 165, another major decision at 174 by No. 8/9 Joe Mazzurco and a fall at 184 by No. 9 Tyler Baier. The five-match win streak moved the Big Red out to the 20-0 advantage.
At 197, sophomore J.D. Bergman (Oak Harbor, Ohio) got the Buckeyes on the board with a 4-1 decision over Jerry Rinaldi by a 4-1 count. Bergman, ranked No. 4 in all major polls, wrestled No. 7/11 Rinaldi to a scoreless tie through the first two periods before scoring an escape and a takedown. Bergman added a riding-time advantage for the final 4-1 count.
Freshman Kirk Nail (Hilliard, Ohio), who claimed the deciding win in Ohio State’s 20-17 upset victory at No. 25 Pittsburgh Friday night, edged the Buckeyes to within to 20-6 with an 8-5 decision at HWT over Matt Bogumil. Nail used two first-period takedowns and sealed the win with his third takedown in the final stanza.
Cornell got back in the win column after a tight 10-9 decision by No. 16/18 Mike Mormile over junior Nathan Costello (Maple Heights, Ohio). Mormile scored a takedown with 36 seconds left to set the dual score at 23-6. At 133, No. 14/15-ranked T.J. Enright faced 2003 national champion and No. 1/2-rated Travis Lee. Lee emerged from the bout with a 12-3 major decision, using three takedowns and a stalling call on Enright for a 7-3 lead after two periods. In the third, Lee pulled away with an escape, a takedown and a second stalling call on Enright.
Ohio State closed the dual with a decision win at 141 by freshman Jason Johnstone (Massillon, Ohio) via a 4-2 score.
The Buckeyes kick off the Big Ten schedule next week at Michigan State. The Buckeyes and Spartans face off at 1 p.m. Sunday.
No. 11 Cornell 27, Ohio State 9
149: Dustin Manotti (C) maj. dec. Steve Wolery (OSU), 12-4
157: John Cholish (C) dec. Ryan Needle (OSU), 4-0
165: Joey Hooker (C) dec. Keegan Mueller (OSU), 8-5
174: Joe Mazzurco (C) maj. dec. Nathaniel Augustson (OSU), 13-5
184: Tyler Baier (C) pinned Alex Picazo (OSU), 0:45
197: J.D. Bergman (OSU) dec. Jerry Rinaldi (C), 4-1
HWT: Kirk Nail (OSU) dec. Matt Bogumil (C), 8-5
125: Mike Mormile (C) dec. Nathan Costello (OSU), 10-9
133: Travis Lee (C) maj. dec. T.J. Enright (OSU), 12-3
141: Jason Johnstone (OSU) dec. Jordan Leen (C), 4-2
Att. 1,087
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