Ohio State’s Myles Martin wrestles Mitch Bowman in the dual-meet against Iowa on Jan. 21 in the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Managing Editor for Design
In the first match following the losses of some of the greatest wrestlers to ever come through the program, Kyle Snyder, Nathan Tomasello and Bo Jordan, Ohio State opened the season with a dominant victory over Navy on Saturday.
Senior Myles Martin said at media day earlier this week he’s never felt better headed into a season before, and he is looking forward to “literally every single match.”
The 184-pounder looked like he meant every word when it was his turn to take the mats, as he was able to get 10 different takedowns and get a technical fall midway through the second period, winning 21-6.
Ohio State 157-pound redshirt junior Ke-Shawn Hayes, got things started with a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Navy’s Connor Prince. Heading into the third period, Hayes elected to start from the bottom position and, in doing so, was able to get a quick escape. He was then able to trip Prince, before getting a takedown and winning the match.
Redshirt freshman Kaleb Romero made his Buckeye debut and, like his teammate Hayes, was able to make magic happen in the third. Romero was able to shoot for a double-leg takedown with just eight seconds left to win 3-2 .
Senior Te’Shan Campbell used his signature tilt two different times in his match, notching six points, hanging on to a smaller 8-5 lead for a decisive victory.
Redshirt sophomore Kevin Snyder was the first Buckeye unable to pull off the victory on Saturday. After a 1-0 start for Navy’s Joshua Roetman, who did a great job of defending Snyder’s takedowns, he was able to catch Snyder in a cradle to cap off the fall at 3:39 for the win.
Navy got its second victory of the night in the 125-pound weight class when Jacob Allen defeated Ohio State sophomore Brakan Mead in a decision victory, 5-4. This drew Navy closer, with the total score now 17-9.
Ohio State 133-pound junior Luke Pletcher of the Buckeyes started to build off his 2017-18 campaign, grinding out a 7-4 decision to bring Ohio State up 20-9.
Ohio State senior and captain Joey McKenna was able to battle hard for a low-scoring 3-2 victory over Navy’s Nicholas Gil. McKenna rode him out for the entirety of the third and final period to achieve a riding point, and receive a 3-2 nod. Ohio State increased their total lead to 23-9 with one match remaining.
To wrap the dual up, it was the No. 2 wrestler in the country at 149 pounds, Micah Jordan, battling No. 19, Navy’s Jared Prince. This bout was entirely one-sided, as Jordan came up with a 16-1 tech fall for the victory.
Ohio State’s next match will be on Nov. 11 in the Ohio Intercollegiate Open in Cleveland, Ohio.
