The 149-pound redshirt senior Dylan Demilio fell to Michigan’s Austin Gomez Jan. 26 at the Covelli Center. Ohio State defeated Michigan 20-19. Credit: Aiden Ridgway | Lantern Photographer
No. 6 Ohio State (14-2, 6-1 Big Ten) dominated No. 22 Indiana (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) at the Covelli Center 32-6 on Seniors Day Sunday.
The Buckeyes welcomed the Hoosiers in their last home dual of the regular season. Ohio State won eight of its 10 matches against Indiana, five of which were major decisions, while one was a fall.
“It’s always nice to be back in the win column,” No. 11 redshirt senior Dylan D’Emilio said as the Buckeyes fell to top-ranked Penn State Feb. 2. “It’s tough, but that’s Big Ten wrestling, you are in the grind of the sport and in the grind of the conference.”
The No. 22 redshirt freshman Luke Geog kicked off the dual with a regular-decision win at 197 pounds over unranked freshman Gabe Sollars by 9-6 to bring the total score to 3-0 for Ohio State.
The 125-, 141-, 165-pound and heavyweight contests were major-decision wins for Ohio State.
The heavyweight contest resulted in the first major-decision win for Ohio State on the day, as No. 7 freshman Nick Feldman took over graduate Nick Willham 12-3, pinned by three takedowns.
At weight 125, No. 23 freshman Brendan McCrone dominated unranked freshman Blaine Frazier by 14-4 for the second major-decision win of the day, topped by two takedowns and a near fall to put the dual 11-0 for the Buckeyes.
No. 3 sophomore Jesse Mendez took over No. 23 graduate Dan Fongaro 19-6 in the 141-pound contest as a result of five takedowns.
“Jesse was the wrestler of the match,” Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan said. “He was moving really well, in and out, left and right, pushing and pulling.”
In the 165-pound matchup, No. 19 junior Bryce Hepner defeated unranked sophomore Robert Major by 14-6. Hepner scored on three takedowns.
At weight 133, No. 11 freshman Nic Bouzakis pinned Hoosiers’ freshman Isaac Thornton during the second period for the only fall of the day to bring the dual to a 17-point difference.
At 149 pounds, D’Emilio won by regular decision over No. 14 graduate Graham Rooks 4-2 of Indiana. The only takedown occurred during the first period.
“Winning by one is a lot better than losing by one, and today he just focused on this,” Ryan said. “It is a good win for him because Rooks is tough and has been battling in Big Ten for a while.”
In the 157-pound matchup, No. 19 junior Brayton Lee’s regular-decision win over unranked senior Isaac Wilcox 4-2 gave Indiana the only three points of the day to put the total score at 24-3.
In the 174-pound contest, No. 11 freshman Rocco Welsh’s major-decision 14-5 win over senior Nick South was topped by four takedowns.
To close the dual, sophomore Roman Rogotzke’s win over Gavin Bell by regular decision at 184 pounds was taken to a sudden-victory period, where Rogotzke put up three more points for Indiana to bring it 32-6.
“The team wrestled well,” Ryan said. “One more and then we are in the postseason.”
Ohio State will face Michigan State to finish the regular season Friday in East Lasting, Michigan. The dual will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
