Ohio State wrestler Kaleb Romero competes at the Big Ten Championship against Purdue on March 8. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
Ohio State wrestling will look to continue its four-game winning streak when it heads to West Lafayette, Indiana, to take on Iowa and Purdue Sunday.
The No. 8 Buckeyes (4-1) will face No. 1 Iowa (3-0) and No. 27 Purdue (2-3) in the program’s second tri-meet of the season.
Ohio State’s first dual meet of the afternoon will be with Iowa and head coach Tom Ryan said his team has prepared for this matchup all year.
Ryan is quick to recognize the talent and skill the Hawkeyes possess this season, but he is still welcoming the competition.
“This is a team that’s probably the best team they’ve had in maybe 15 years,” Ryan said. “We’re looking forward to the dual.”
According to Track Wrestling, nine of the Iowa starters are ranked in the top-10 including three wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their weight class.
The premier matchup between the teams will be at 174 pounds when No. 4 redshirt junior Kaleb Romero faces off with No. 1 Iowa redshirt senior Michael Kemerer.
The dual is Romero’s first top five matchup of the season, but he isn’t allowing the number in front of Kemerer’s name distract him, he said.
“You can’t put matches like these on a pedestal and get overwhelmed by them,” Romero said. “I’m planning on going out — wrestling hard for seven minutes — and showcasing what I’ve been working on and showcasing my talents.”
Romero has looked strong in his first five appearances for Ohio State this season. He is undefeated and has won each of his last three matches by major decision including a 24-11 victory over Maryland redshirt junior Philip Spadafora last weekend.
Because Ohio State will also face Purdue Sunday, there is uncertainty as to who will start against Iowa’s other two top-ranked wrestlers, Ryan said.
“We’re trying to figure out who is gonna be in the lineup right now,” Ryan said. “Purdue is right after [the dual with Iowa], so we’ll probably be smart with who we wrestle in each event.”
The uncertainty lies in two important weight classes for the Buckeyes.
At 125 pounds, No. 10 Ohio State junior Malik Heinselman or redshirt sophomore Brady Koontz will face No. 1 Iowa senior Spencer Lee. Lee has been dominant in his three starts and has won multiple Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors this season.
Heinselman has started in every competition for the Buckeyes this season, but he may be watching Koontz compete with Lee from the stands as he gets ready to square off with Purdue redshirt senior Devin Schroder.
“We’re not sure what we’re gonna do yet, so he’s preparing as though he’s wrestling both,” Ryan said. “The big thing with Malik is making sure that he’s really solid in the bottom position, and then of course attacks on his feet.”
What has made preparing for Lee and Schroder difficult for Heinselman is that both reveal an opponent’s weakness and target it in order to create points, Ryan said.
“There aren’t many college wrestlers that can expose someone that’s pretty good on the mat,” Ryan said. “These two guys both can expose you if you got a little glitch on bottom, so that’s been a big focus.”
At 141 pounds, freshman Anthony Echemedia or redshirt freshman Dylan D’Emilio will face No. 1 Iowa senior Jaydin Eierman.
Echemendia has started his much anticipated Buckeye career with four consecutive victories, while D’Emilio has put together a string of hard-fought performances in exhibition matches.
Ryan said he is leaning toward starting D’Emilio as Echemendia continues to battle an injury. However, Echemendia will still have time to earn the spot in the remaining practices before the competition, he said.
“No one around here runs from anything, but we definitely use common sense, so that will be applied,” Ryan said.
The second dual meet of the afternoon for Ohio State will be with Purdue.
Romero said Ohio State has been preparing for Purdue as best as they can, but understands a victory over Iowa must come first. For the Buckeyes to beat both opponents, they will need to live in the present and focus on one match at a time, he said.
“It’s wrestling so anything can happen,” Romero said. “You always gotta come into each match focused on that opponent and give it your all for seven minutes.”
The Buckeyes hold a 53-23-7 all-time record against the Boilermakers and have won 10 consecutive meetings dating back to 2007.
Ohio State’s last matchup with Purdue was a road dual meet in 2019 where it won 9-of-10 matches on the way to a 34-3 rout of the Boilermakers.
The Buckeyes will compete against Iowa at 2 p.m. Sunday on the Big Ten Network before a clash with the Boilermakers at 4 p.m. on BTN Plus.
