Ohio State’s Kollin Moore wrestles Cash Wilcke in the dual-meet against Iowa on Jan. 21 in the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Photo Editor
EAST LANSING, Michigan — Ohio State sophomore Kollin Moore successfully defended his Big Ten title, claiming his second straight individual title at 197 pounds.
Moore has spent most of the season ranked first at 197 pounds, but dropped two of his last three matches of the season to lower ranked opponents. He still entered the Big Ten tournament as the No. 1 seed, but the recent struggles led to intrigue about his tournament performance.
Penn State No. 2 seed Shakur Rasheed hung in against Moore, but the ability to hit on the shots taken by Moore was the deciding factor. Rasheed failed to score against him other than the escapes. Moore took the victory 8-4.
In Moore’s semifinal, he won the fight 5-3 against Michigan’s No. 4 seed Kevin Beazley. The pair previously met on Feb. 11, where Moore dominated 17-6.
Moore wrestled against the other Penn State Anthony Cassar in the final. On Feb. 3, Moore matched with Penn State’s other 197-pounder, who pulled off the 6-3 upset against the then-undefeated Moore. That bout all but sealed the tide flip from Ohio State to Penn State’s favor in that dual meet.
Despite the victory, Penn State’s starting spot at 197 was still undecided between Shakur Rasheed and Cassar.
Penn State decided to go with Rasheed, which resulted in the third individual Big Ten champion for Ohio State.
