Ohio State senior Myles Martin, the No. 1 wrestler in the country at 184 pounds, remained undefeated with a pivotal win to seal the team victory on senior day for the Buckeyes.
The No. 6 Ohio State wrestling team (11-2, 7-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 7 Nebraska (11-5, 5-4 Big Ten) 21-12 on Sunday. In a highly anticipated match, Martin won by decision 12-5 against Nebraska fourth-ranked redshirt sophomore Taylor Venz.
Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan was happy with the physicality the team showed against Nebraska.
“The biggest [issue] with the [Buckeyes] is grittiness and toughness,” Ryan said. “Overall there was progress.”
Ohio State finished the duel with six wins in 10 bouts against the Cornhuskers.
Ohio State redshirt junior Kollin Moore, the No. 2 wrestler in the country at 197 pounds, won by sudden victory, improving his record to 15-1.
The home crowd went into an uproar as Moore took down Nebraska 11th-ranked redshirt sophomore Eric Schultz, in overtime to win 7-5 giving the Buckeyes a 18-12 lead going into the final bout.
Ohio State redshirt senior Micah Jordan, the No. 3 wrestler in the country at 149 pounds, won his last home match in big fashion. Jordan won by technical fall 22-7 over Nebraska redshirt junior Jordan Shearer.
Moore said Jordan’s big-time victory was well deserved on senior night in front of a home crowd.
“I love watching him wrestle. He just hits some really slick stuff and is always attacking,” Moore said. “To see him win and go out with a good dominant win like that was awesome.”
Ohio State redshirt freshman Chase Singletary, the No. 18 wrestler in the country at heavyweight, pulled off the upset against Nebraska seventh-ranked redshirt junior David Jensen, as time expired in the third period to win 7-5.
Singletary took contact to the face that resulted in blood time, but he said that gave him what he needed to pull off the upset.
“I felt amped, when you are in a tough match and you feel blood it just gets me going a little bit,” Singletary said. “I don’t know why but it was fun.”
Ohio State senior Joey McKenna, the No. 3 wrestler in the country at 141 pounds, won his final home match of his career. McKenna won by decision 7-3 over Nebraska redshirt sophomore Chad Red.
After the Buckeyes fell to a 3-0 deficit, Ohio State junior Luke Pletcher, the No. 6 wrestler in the country at 133 pounds, put the Buckeyes on the board. Pletcher won by major decision 13-4 over Nebraska true freshman Jevon Parrish.
Ohio State true freshman Malik Heinselman, lost by decision 8-5 to Nebraska redshirt sophomore Zeke Moisey, No. 14 wrestler in the country at 125 pounds.
Despite Heinselman losing his match Ryan was very impressed with the true freshman.
“I was really happy with [Heinselman] overall,” Ryan said. “He really out wrestled [Moisey] most of the match.”
Ohio State senior Te’Shan Campbell, lost a hard-fought battle by decision 4-2 to Nebraska junior Isaiah White, No. 6 wrestler in the country at 165 pounds, improving his record to 15-5.
Nebraska redshirt senior Tyler Berger, No. 2 wrestler in the country at 157 pounds, improved to 21-2 on the season. Berger won by decision 10-5 over Ohio State eighth-ranked redshirt junior Ke-Shawn Hayes.
No. 6 Ohio State will take on No. 9 Cornell at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in Ithaca, New York.