A pair of underclassmen stepped up and powered the Buckeyes to their latest victory on the mat over an in-state opponent. Credit: Casey Smith | Sports LTV {roducer
A pair of underclassmen stepped up and powered the Buckeyes to their latest victory on the mat over an in-state opponent.
In the final dual-meet before winter break, the No. 3 Ohio State wrestling team notched a convincing 32-9 victory Sunday over Kent State at the Covelli Center.
Freshman Nic Bouzakis earned himself his first win in dual meets since coming to Columbus in the 133-pound weight class, while redshirt freshman Mike Misita accomplished the same feat while filling in for injured redshirt senior Tate Orndorff in the heavyweight division.
Bouzakis, who ended the match with six minutes of riding time, held redshirt senior Brendon Fenton scoreless while he cruised to 5-0 decision.
“I thought Nic did a great job getting down in weight and wrestling a full match,” head coach Tom Ryan said.
Bouzakis started in place of highly touted freshman Jesse Mendez, who Ryan described as “day to day” after also being absent from the Buckeyes lineup last weekend at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas. Ryan said while he can’t speak to the specifics of Mendez injury, he is “healing and getting better.”
“If the national tournament was this weekend, he would’ve played. He would’ve wrestled.” Ryan said.
While Ryan said he was proud of what he saw from his freshmen, he emphasized how the seniors in the upper-weight classes “kept scoring points” to earn bonus points for the team, which he believes will make a key difference in the national tournament.
“In the national championships, an eight-point win is worth twice the [team] points. A pin is worth four times your win,” Ryan said. “It’s a little bizarre but that’s the way it works. Bonus points are so critically important.”
One Buckeye who received that message loud and clear was No. 7 redshirt senior Ethan Smith, who dominated senior Mason Karpinski on his way to a 21-6 win via tech-fall. Smith jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first period with a flurry of takedowns, before stretching his lead to 12-5 heading into the final period.
While the result of the match was essentially decided, Smith kept his foot on the gas in an effort to earn the two extra team points that come with a tech-fall. His win extended the Buckeyes lead to 19-9 after conceding the previous two matches at 157 pounds via decision and 165 pounds due to forfeit.
Smith described his victory, along with the team’s performance, as “great for your confidence” after having a letdown the weekend prior, finishing eighth among 34 teams at the invitational.
“After you have a weekend like we had in Vegas, it can be hard to get back on your horse,” Smith said. “It was great to bounce back.”
Smith said the team locked in and came together after last weekend. He credited a “new training program” as the reason for a shift in mindset for the team after they were “kind of down in the dumps.”
Smith was far from the only senior who earned the Buckeyes bonus points, as redshirt seniors Sammy Sasso, Gavin Hoffman and Kaleb Romero each were victorious via tech-fall.
Sasso continued to ride the momentum from his impressive outing in Las Vegas, recording four takedowns in the opening period to make the score 8-3. Sasso would not let the match live to see the third period, as a four-point near fall preceded by an escape and a takedown gave him the 19-3 win.
Despite the seniors continuing to be the backbone of this starting lineup, Ryan said he hopes to have his lineup at full strength for collegiate duals in New Orleans next week, with the exception of 165-pound redshirt junior Carson Kharchla who will not be available due to injury.
Ohio State will compete in the 2022 Collegiate Duals beginning Dec. 19 at noon.
