Ohio State junior wrestler Myles Martin faces off against Arizona State’s Kordell Norfleet. Martin won the match and the Buckeyes won the meet 31-12 on Nov. 12. Credit: Colin Hass-Hill | Sports Editor
No. 2 Ohio State wrestling left Nevada and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational tournament with its second straight team title in the event and three individual championships won by redshirt sophomore Kollin Moore (197 pounds), junior Myles Martin (184 pounds) and sophomore Luke Pletcher (133 pounds).
The Buckeyes finished with 155.5 total points. Following Ohio State was Michigan with 140 points and Arizona State with 113.5 points. The event that featured over 100 ranked wrestlers saw seven Buckeyes finish in the top four in their respective weight classes.
Moore finished his tournament run with an impressive victory over Virginia Tech’s Jared Haught. The Buckeye redshirt sophomore pinned Haught in the finals to remain undefeated on the year. Moore and Haught entered the match ranked first and second in the country, respectively.
In the 184-pound finals, Martin defeated Michigan’s Domenic Abounader by way of an 8-5 decision. Martin’s victory clinched the team title for Ohio State.
Pletcher won the first individual title of the day for the Buckeyes at 133 pounds with his 9-3 decision triumph over Josh Terao of American in the finals. Pletcher’s record on the year now stands at 13-0 with two tournament championships.
No. 3 redshirt senior Bo Jordan finished second at 174 pounds after dropping his finals match to No. 1 Zahid Valencia of Arizona State by a 9-6 decision. The loss to Valencia was Jordan’s second this season after the Sun Devils visited Columbus on Nov. 12.
Redshirt junior Micah Jordan finished second as well at 157 pounds and fell in the finals to Michigan’s Alec Pantaleo by a 10-3 decision. Micah’s 8-6, sudden victory, semifinals win over Arizona State’s Josh Shields leveled the series between the two after Shields’ victory on Nov. 12 in Columbus.
In the third-place match at 149 pounds, redshirt sophomore Ke-Shawn Hayes of Ohio State dispatched Max Thomsen of Northern Iowa by a 4-3 decision.
Junior Buckeye Te’Shan Campbell (165 pounds) finished in fourth place in Las Vegas after losing to Nebraska’s Isaiah White in the third-place match.
Also competing out west for Ohio State were redshirt freshman heavyweight Kevin Snyder, sophomore Brendan Fitzgerald (141 pounds) and freshman Brakan Mead (125 pounds). All three fell to opponents in the consolation round of 32.
Ohio State was without junior Joey McKenna (rest) and senior Kyle Snyder (international competition) for the two-day meet.
The Buckeyes will continue their season on Sunday, Dec. 10 with a dual meet against Indiana at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
