Ohio State vs. Michigan is one of the greatest college rivalries in the country. It’s even better when both teams are ranked in the top five.
The No. 3 wrestling Buckeyes (18-2, 3-1 Big Ten) will play host to the No. 4 Wolverines (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) Sunday at 2 p.m. at St. John Arena.
OSU wrestling coach Russ Hellickson hopes the Buckeyes can duplicate the effort they had in last year’s meet against Michigan.
“I thought last year’s meet vs. Michigan was one of the greatest dual meets I had ever been associated with,” Hellickson said. “We lost the dual meet, but we had guys that competed and wrestled very hard, and that’s what you want to do.”
Hellickson said rivalries like OSU vs. Michigan are important in wrestling, but he wants his team to focus on the ultimate goal – the Big Ten and National Championships.
“Obviously, this dual meet at this time is just as important as every other Big Ten dual,” Hellickson said. “If you mess up matches in Big Ten dual meets, you don’t get the seed you need in the Big Ten Tournament, and it makes it harder to qualify for the National Tournament.”
Two wrestlers likely to be in both post-season tournaments are Buckeye sophomore John Clark (165) and Wolverine senior Charles Martelli (165). Clark and Martelli, who are ranked No. 6 and No. 8, respectively, will battle on Sunday.
Clark said this would be the third time wrestling Martelli. Clark is 1-1 against his foe in maize and blue.
“I beat him 3-2 last year at the Michigan State open. Then, I lost to him at Michigan last year, which eventually lost the dual for us,” Clark said. “I just hope that I have improved from last year and that I will be able to come out on top.”
Clark said both teams match up evenly. The victor will have at least one upset win, he said.
“It’s five matches to five matches, but I think it’s possible for someone on our team to get an unexpected win,” Clark said. “Our team has done that time and time again.”
Junior Anton Talamantes (184), who is ranked No. 15, said Michigan looks good on paper.
“They have guys that are higher ranked than guys on our team in a lot of different places,” Talamantes said. “It’s going to be another week where people need to step up. Hopefully, I will be able to be one of those people.”
Talamantes will take on Senior Andy Hrovat, who is ranked No. 1 in the 184-pound weight class. Hrovat beat Talamantes in last year’s meeting.
“He beat me pretty well. But, I have been focused this week,” Talamantes said. “I am going to go in and wrestle my match and pull off a big win.”
Talamantes’ focus is because of OSU’s coaches and the extra practice the team put in this week, he said.
“The coaches pushed us a little bit harder this week. Everyone talked about how important it was to beat Michigan. It’s a big deal for us to stay where we are in the rankings as a team,” Talamantes said.
Buckeye junior Keaton Anderson (149), ranked No. 5, is looking to help the team by beating No. 6 Mike Kulczycki (149) of Michigan. Anderson is 1-2 against Kulczycki, but would like to even his record.
“Every time we wrestle, we’ve had a close match,” Anderson said. “It’s definitely going to be nice to have a rematch against him.”
With a victory on Sunday, the Buckeyes would snap an eight-meet losing streak to the Wolverines.
