OSU senior Kyle Snyder peeks at the scoreboard while battling Kent State redshirt junior Devin Nye on November 21, 2017 in Columbus, OH. Credit: Colin Barringer | For The Lantern
No. 2 Ohio State wrestling (3-0) dispatched a pair of in-state opponents in Cleveland State and Kent State at St. John Arena by scores of 43-3 and 38-9, respectively, in Tuesday’s Thanksgiving Throwdown meet that featured a two-mat competition system.
The tri-dual meet included many familiar faces for the Ohio State wrestlers. Redshirt senior Bo Jordan said the meet between three Ohio teams felt like home.
“I just felt like the state tournament a little bit,” Jordan said. “A lot of those guys you see at the state tournament when you’re growing up. Five years ago I was competing in that. It felt more like small hometown-type stuff instead of a Big Ten or national tournament or a national dual. It felt a little more like home.”
Redshirt sophomore Kollin Moore saw his first action of the season in his 18-2 technical fall win against freshman John Kelbly of Cleveland State at 197 pounds. Moore finished his day by recording Ohio State’s fourth pin of the meet against redshirt sophomore Shane Mast from Kent State.
Moore rested for the Princeton Open on Nov. 4 and won by forfeit against Arizona State on Nov. 12. He visibly grinned in the center of the mat after his second victory of the day and said he was happy to be back competing.
“I like to score a lot of points and I like to give the crowd something worth watching. I didn’t get to do that last week and it’s been eating at me all week,” Moore said. “People have been teasing me and stuff, so it was just nice to go out there and wrestle and then try to put up as much points as possible.”
Redshirt freshman Clay Ragon competed for Ohio State at 141 pounds and won a hotly contested, sudden-victory match versus Cleveland State’s Sam Matzek by a score of 9-7. Sophomore Brendan Fitzgerald wrestled Ohio State’s second 141-pound match and was pinned by Kent State redshirt sophomore Tim Rooney.
Ragon and Fitzgerald stepped in at 141 for junior Joey McKenna, who is away competing for the United States in Poland. Ryan was impressed with Ragon’s overtime performance and attributed it to the experience backups receive in a talented wrestling room.
“Clay is in there every day,” Ryan said. “When you’re in there every day wrestling with the guys that are in there you’re going to reap the benefits of it.”
Top-ranked senior heavyweight Kyle Snyder took the mat in round two to much applause from the Columbus crowd. His match ended with a pin victory against Kent State redshirt junior Devin Nye at the 3:39 mark. His brother, heavyweight redshirt freshman Kevin Snyder, wrested the final match of the day for the Buckeyes and won with a 20-5 technical fall versus Cleveland State sophomore Collin Kelly.
In the first match between ranked wrestlers, No. 10 redshirt sophomore Ke-Shawn Hayes of Ohio State best No. 20 redshirt freshman Nick Monico of Kent State by a 7-2 decision. Hayes registered a 16-2 major decision against Cleveland State redshirt freshman Ryan Ford in his second match.
No. 6 redshirt junior Micah Jordan got back into the win column Tuesday after losing in Ohio State’s home opener. Jordan defeated Kent State redshirt junior Casey Sparkman by a technical fall with the score at 19-4. Jordan pinned Cleveland State freshman Georgio Poullas in his second match.
At 165 pounds, No. 7 junior Te’Shan Campbell defeated Cleveland State junior John Vaughn by an 11-1 major decision. Campbell then defeated Kent State redshirt junior Isaac Bastin the third round by a 16-0 technical fall.
Ohio State third-ranked Bo Jordan conquered Kent State redshirt freshman Dylan Barreiro by a 19-4 technical fall at 174 pounds in round two. Jordan also pulled off a win against Cleveland State redshirt senior Gabe Stark in round three.
No. 2 junior Myles Martin won by a 27-12 technical fall at 184 pounds in round one against Kent State freshman Colin McCracken. Martin then bested No. 18 redshirt senior Nick Corba of Cleveland State by a 23-7 technical fall in round two.
At 133 pounds, Ohio State No. 10 sophomore Luke Pletcher defeated Kent State redshirt junior Anthony Tutolo by a 2-0 decision. Pletcher ramped things up in his second match and won by pinfall against Cleveland State’s Andrew Coghill.
Ohio State freshman Brakan Mead suffered two of the three losses of the day for the Buckeyes. The first came in a 10-5 decision to Kent State redshirt senior Will Bardezbain. Cleveland State redshirt freshman Cameron Lathem then kicked off round three with a 6-3 decision victory versus Mead.
Individual competition comes next for Ohio State as the Buckeyes continue their season on Dec. 1 and 2 in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
