Malik Heinselman of Ohio State gets his hand raised after defeating Devin Schnupp of Penn State by a 7-4 decision in the 125-pound bout of the Ohio State-Penn State dual. Ohio State lost the dual against Penn State 28-9. Credit: Lantern File Photo
Ohio State wrestling is looking to build momentum heading into the remaining Big Ten schedule with a win over Rutgers Sunday.
The No. 11 Buckeyes (1-1) will host the No. 17 Scarlet Knights (0-1) at the Covelli Center in the program’s first home meet of the season.
Ohio State junior Malik Heinselman will try to continue his strong start against No. 22 Rutgers redshirt sophomore Nicolas Aguilar in a rematch of last year’s dual where Aguilar majored Heinselman 14-1.
Last year’s performance against Aguilar was not the best showing, Heinselman said, and he looks forward to avenging his previous loss this season.
“I have taken my mentality to a new level this year,” Heinselman said. “I think I can beat him, and I think I can be a top contender.”
Heinselman moved up five spots to No. 16 in the FloWrestling polls after his first two victories against Illinois and Wisconsin, and a win against a top-25 opponent Sunday will continue to solidify him as one of the nation’s top 125-pound wrestlers.
Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan said Heinselman has all the tools to be elite and this season is where he can prove it.
“It’s time for him to be the man,” Ryan said. “He’s one of the guys that, if we’re gonna fight for a trophy this year, Malik has to step up.”
Other Buckeyes who hope to carry success from the Illinois and Wisconsin tri-meet into Sunday’s matchup with Rutgers are redshirt sophomore Sammy Sasso and redshirt junior Kaleb Romero.
Sasso, the No. 1 149 pounder, started his season with two victories including a pin of then-No. 7 redshirt senior Mike Carr of Illinois. He will look for his third win in a matchup with Rutgers redshirt senior Michael VanBrill.
Romero, the No. 3 wrestler at 174 pounds, went 2-0 with two decisions against Illinois and Wisconsin. He will compete against No. 24 Rutgers graduate student Joe Grello, who he defeated 6-2 last year.
At 141 pounds, Ohio State redshirt freshman Dylan D’Emilio will face Rutgers graduate student Sebastian Rivera, the No. 1 wrestler in the weight class.
Rivera is in his first season for the Scarlet Knights, but he is no stranger to the Ohio State program. In 2020, he graduated from Northwestern where he was a two-time Big Ten Champion and three-time All-American in four seasons with the Wildcats.
“Sebastian has a lot of things going for him,” Ryan said. “He’s not going to fall over. He’s gotta be knocked down and he’s not gonna be knocked down easy.”
D’Emilio will be challenged in this position, but it is something he must learn to overcome, Ryan said, and overcoming challenges is something this Ohio State team can learn from.
“It’s gonna be a very challenging year, and we know this: the organizations, the individuals on this planet, that attain what they want, they overcome the challenges,” Ryan said. “We need to do that, and our first chance of doing that is this Sunday.”
Ohio State is 6-0-1 all-time against Rutgers. The Buckeyes have won the last six meetings since 2001 with the lone tie coming in 1984.
Rutgers opened its season with a 26-10 loss to No. 2 Michigan. Its scheduled home match with No. 3 Penn State was postponed because the Nittany Lions were dealing with COVID-19 related issues.
Ohio State split a pair of matches in a season opening tri-meet on Jan. 17. The Buckeyes lost a tough 18-15 match to the host No. 10 Illinois before defeating No. 22 Wisconsin 25-9.
The Buckeyes face the Scarlet Knights at noon Sunday and the dual can be seen on BTN Plus.
