Ohio State wrestling head coach Tom Ryan raises his fist after then-sophomore Gavin Hoffmann won his match during the Ohio State-Rutgers matchup on Jan. 24. Ohio State won 19-14. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
A dominant performance from the Buckeyes led the way as they gained their first win of the season, defeating North Carolina Sunday in Columbus.
No. 10 Ohio State (1-0) won its first six matches of the afternoon to take a 17-0 lead at intermission, leading to the 23-12 win over No. 12 North Carolina (2-1).
The dual started in the 165-pound division, as No. 10 redshirt sophomore Carson Kharchla made his long-awaited Covelli Center debut.
Kharchla dueled with North Carolina’s redshirt freshman Sonny Santiago, picking up the first win for Ohio State in a 10-2 major decision.
This was Kharchla’s first match back for the Buckeyes after sustaining an ACL injury last season, sidelining him for the majority of it.
“Some first match jitters, but was excited to be out there,” Kharchla said.
Kharchla opened the match with a quick takedown for an easy two points before finishing with four total throughout the match.
Still coming off the injury, Kharchla was equipped with a leg brace, just like he wore at wrestle-offs two weeks ago.
“It felt good having it on and it still allowed me to be pretty mobile,” Kharchla said. “It’s mostly just there for protection. If a couple of matches go well, I might get the green light to take it off.”
Kharchla said he was more than happy to have his first match back under his belt.
“March is where we all strive to compete, but winning this first duel meant everything to me,” Kharchla said. “It’s been two years of waiting and I have had the biggest smile on my face since the match.”
Head coach Tom Ryan was excited to see Kharchla’s return.
“I really liked Carson’s scoring late. He got a bonus point and started the team off on a right start,” Ryan said.
No. 6 redshirt-senior Ethan Smith was next up, winning in a 16-10 decision over North Carolina’s redshirt freshman Gavin Kane at 174-pounds.
“He did a really good job scoring points late, really knowing when he needed to shoot,” Ryan said.
The Buckeyes won their next three matches from redshirt junior 184-pounder Rocky Jordan, redshirt junior 197-pounder Gavin Hoffman, and redshirt senior heavyweight Tate Orndorff to take the big lead going into the break.
Hoffman was awarded the most outstanding wrestler from the meet behind a dominant victory over Tar Heels redshirt junior Mark Chaid. Hoffman led 10-3 after two rounds, before finishing Chaid 14-3.
“His opponent was a counter-attack wrestler, so Gavin put himself in position after position on ways to finish,” Ryan said. “I was really happy with his performance.”
Right before the intermission, Orndorff picked up a victory 1-0 in a tight battle against North Carolina senior Brandon Whitman.
“He didn’t get enough leg attacks, and we wanted more points out of him,” Ryan said. “He did a good job, however, riding the rest of the rounds out, containing for the win.”
Senior Malik Heinselman opened after the intermission to face off against North Carolina freshman Spencer Moore. The No. 15 125-pounder was able to keep the fire going for the Buckeyes, bringing in a 6-2 decision victory.
“That kid was one tough dude and impressed me really well. He came with an attitude that’s hard to get around and Malik got locked into a touch matchup,” Ryan said. “It wasn’t the prettiest, but Malik played tough and got the win.”
Among the matches Sunday, Buckeyes fan favorite No. 1 149-pound redshirt junior Sammy Sasso began his title quest with a 4-3 decision over No. 5 redshirt senior Zach Sherman.
“The effort that he gave in that match, you watch him and think, ‘Man is this kid good,’” Ryan said. “You see it every day in practice and we know how good he’ll be.”
The redshirt junior from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, lost in the 149-pound NCAA title match last season, falling to North Carolina redshirt senior Austin O’Connor.
There was no rematch between the two as O’Connor moved up a weight class.
Despite not competing against O’Connor, Sasso said he would wrestle anyone put in front of him.
“At the end of the day, I only compete against who’s in front of me,” Sasso said. “They have to worry about wrestling me.”
In the 157-pound division, redshirt junior Jashon Hubbard had the challenge of dueling O’Connor.
While scoring an early takedown to go up two points, Hubbard came up short after a fall with 3:43 remaining in the first round.
“We all break down when we’re exhausted and that’s what happened with Hubbard. He was tired and he made a bad decision leading to the fall,” Ryan said.
Redshirt senior Kaleb Romero and freshman Paddy Gallagher were both held out of action Sunday, as both are dealing with minor injuries. Ryan said it has been discussed if Gallagher will be used this season.
“We’re waiting with him. If he can help us fight for a championship then we may put him in the second semester. If we’re not competing for a title, then we won’t use him even if he can help us at nationals,” Ryan said. “We don’t want to use him in a year when we have a top recruiting class coming in next year that he could compete with.”
This was the first time these two teams met since 2011, which resulted in a 36-6 win for the Buckeyes. Ohio State leads the all-time series 7-5.
Up next, the Buckeyes stay in the state as they travel to Tiffin, Ohio, in an intercollegiate open on Nov. 14.
