The Ohio State wrestling team (8-11 1-7 Big Ten) fell short in the Big Ten tournament this weekend finishing in last place with 26.5 points. Illinois’ 114.5 points was good enough for first place and its first title since 1952.

Three OSU wrestlers placed, earning them an invitation to the national tournament.

Buckeye sophomore J.D. Bergman found himself wrestling for the 197 pound Big Ten title after he disposed of both of his opponents Saturday. Bergman won a major decision over Minnesota freshman Matt Koz (197 pounds) 16-3 and slipped past Illinois junior Tyrone Byrd (197 pounds) 2-0.

However, Northwestern junior Matt Delguyd (197 pounds) knocked off top-seeded Bergman 5-3 in the finals, forcing Bergman to settle with second place.

“On paper it’s a pretty good achievement, but overall I’m pretty disappointed,” Bergman said. “Especially losing to someone I’ve beaten before.”

OSU red-shirt freshman T.J. Enright (133 pounds) placed in his first Big Ten tournament and secured his spot in the national tournament.

Enright dropped his first match to Iowa junior Mario Galanakis (133 pounds) 2-0.

He bounced back with a 9-6 decision over Michigan State red-shirt freshman Ryan Froese (133 pounds), but lost an 11-3 major decision to Michigan junior Mark Moos (133 pounds) in the wrestleback semi-finals to set up a rematch against Galanakis for fifth place.

Galanakis was successful once again winning the match 5-4 as Enright finished sixth.

“You can definitely tell the intensity level of the Big Ten tournament is higher than the other tournaments,” Enright said.

Buckeye heavyweight freshman Kirk Nail started off the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Indiana senior heavyweight Pat DeGain, but fought back to defeat Wisconsin junior heavyweight Lee Kraemer 3-2.

After losing a 3-1 decision to Illinois heavyweight sophomore Mike Behnke and suffering an injury to his eye Nail found himself wrestling for seventh place and a trip to the national tournament.

Nail lost the seventh-place match to Penn State junior Joel Edwards 10-0, but was later given one of the two wildcard for the national tournament that the Big Ten coaches give out to wrestlers who do not finish in the top seven.

When it came time to hand out the wildcards, the coaches took the eye injury Nail suffered on Saturday into consideration, said assistant coach Mitch Clark.

OSU junior Nathan Costello (125 pounds) was eliminated from the tournament Saturday after he lost a 10-8 decision to Penn State senior Adam Smith (125 pounds) and an 8-0 major decision to Northwestern junior John Velez (125 pounds).

Buckeye freshman Jason Johnstone (141 pounds) hopes of placing were dashed after a 4-2 loss to Iowa freshman Alex Tsirtsis (141 pounds) and a 9-4 loss to Illinois sophomore Cassio Pero (141 pounds).

OSU freshman Steve Wolery (149 pounds) was eliminated from the field after losing 7-4 to Indiana sophomore Issac Knable (149 pounds) and 5-2 to Penn State freshman Jack Decker (149 pounds).

Buckeye red-shirt freshman John Vogel (157 pounds) was also knocked out of the tournament after he dropped his first two matches. Vogel lost an 8-3 decision to Wisconsin sophomore Tyler Turner (157 pounds) and a 16-6 major decision to Penn State sophomore Nathan Galloway (157 pounds).

After being majored by Indiana red-shirt freshman Max Dean (165 pounds) 12-3, OSU freshman Keegan Mueller (165 pounds) wrestled a tight match with Illinois sophomore Donny Reynolds (165 pounds) but was unable to pull it out as he lost 6-5, ending his tournament.

OSU junior Nathaniel Augustson (174 pounds) saw his season come to an end after he lost consecutive decisions to Wisconsin junior Kelly Flaherty (174 pounds) 10-3 and Michigan junior Nick Roy (174 pounds) 8-6.

Buckeye sophomore Alex Picazo (184 pounds) had a rough outing. Picazo lost a 13-5 major decision to Minnesota freshman Roger Kish and was pinned by Iowa junior Paul Bradley in 0:55.

“Eight of our 10 guys had never wrestled in the Big Ten tournament before,” Clark said. “Two and three-time All-Americans we’ve had in the past went 0-2 or won only one match in their first Big Ten tournament.”

The national tournament is scheduled for March 17-19.