Ohio State U. wrestling team falls to Wisconsin, Iowa

By Christopher A. Buerkle The Lantern

Columbus, OH (U-WIRE) — The Ohio State wrestling team (7-9 0-5 Big Ten) continues to search for its first conference win after dropping Big Ten home duals to No. 12 Wisconsin and No. 10 Iowa.

Wisconsin jumped out to a 16-3 lead Friday at Worthington-Kilbourne High School after it won five of the first six weight classes.

In the first two matches, Wisconsin red-shirt freshman Collin Cudd (125 pounds) and No. 7 red-shirt junior Tom Clum (133 pounds) won 8-3 decisions over OSU junior Nathan Costello (125) and red-shirt freshman T.J. Enright (125), respectively.

Buckeye freshman Jason Johnstone (141 pounds) got OSU on the board after he upset No. 12 senior Tyler Laudon (141) 6-3.

“Johnstone wrestled one hell of a match, “OSU coach Russ Hellickson said. “It was good hustle all the way through.”

Assistant coach Tommy Rowlands said he attributes Johnstone’s success on the mat to his work ethic.

“Johnstone works his tail off, “Rowlands said. “That’s why he won his match.”

The Badgers responded with wins in the next three weight classes.

OSU freshman Steve Wolery (149 pounds) and freshman Keegan Mueller (157 pounds) lost to No. 14 freshman Craig Henning (149) 6-0 and No. 12 red-shirt sophomore Tyler Turner (157) 8-6, respectively. Buckeye redshirt freshman Zach Craiglow (165 pounds) lost a 15-5 major decision to senior Chad Steldt (165).

It took OSU junior Nathaniel Augustson (174 pounds) 1:39 to pin redshirt junior Kelly Flaherty and bring the home crowd back into it, as chants of “OH-IO “rang throughout the gym.

“Every time I step out onto the mat I’m thinking pin, “Augustson said. “It’s the ultimate.”

Wisconsin recorded its second major decision of the day when No. 9 senior Brad Reinke (184 pounds) defeated sophomore Alex Picazo 13-5.

No. 4 sophomore J.D. Bergman (197 pounds) kept OSU alive by pinning freshman Matt Maciag in 6:31.

“(Bergman) is just a stud, “Rowlands said. “He is the strongest 197 pounder in the country.”

Down by five, the Buckeyes needed a pin from No. 17 heavyweight freshman Kirk Nail to win, or a technical fall to tie. Nail responded with an impressive 9-3 decision over junior Lee Kraemer (184), but it was not enough as OSU dropped the dual 20-18.

“We could have pulled that one out, but we needed more effort in about three or four weight classes, “Hellickson said.

An Iowa squad loaded with six wrestlers ranked in the top 11 roughed up the Buckeyes Saturday in St. John Arena to the tune of 30-6.

Picazo lost a 13-5 major decision in the first match of the day to No. 5 junior Paul Bradley (184).

Bergman helped OSU bounce back with a 6-3 win over junior Adam Fellers (174).

After Bergman’s match there was little to cheer about as Iowa swept the next seven matches and took a commanding 30-3 lead.

No. 7 heavyweight freshman Matt Fields scored a takedown for the the Hawkeyes in the final 30 seconds to defeat Nail 6-4.

Costello and Enright lost to freshman Charlie Falck (125) 10-0 and junior Mario Galanakis (133) 7-4, respectively, to finish the first half of wrestling.

During intermission all OSU wrestling alumni in attendance were called out onto the floor and honored as their names and accomplishments were read aloud.

After the break No. 11 freshman Alex Tsirtsis (141)and No. 5 junior Ty Eustice (149) won decisions over Johnstone 3-0 and Wolery 9-4, respectively.

The Hawkeyes tallied some major points when No. 7 junior Joe Johnston (157) scored a technical fall over Mueller 21-6, and No. 4 red-shirt freshman Mark Perry (165) pinned Craiglow in 3:42.

OSU was able to end the dual on a positive note when Augustson dropped freshman Luke Lofthouse (197) 10-6 for his second win of the weekend.

“(Augustson) said he didn’t want to lose in the month of February, “OSU assistant coach Mitch Clark said. “Eventually hard work pays off.”

Clark said Iowa put on a clinic in how to wrestle.

“The way Iowa wrestled is a classic example of how to do it, “Clark said.

OSU is on the road Friday at No. 7 Michigan and Sunday at No. 4