Redshirt senior Kaleb Romero raises his hand during the Ohio State-Virginia Tech match Friday. Ohio State won 18-13. Credit: Katie Good | Asst. Photo Editor
The No. 4 Ohio State wrestling team began the 2022-23 season on a high note by besting No. 10 Virginia Tech 18-13 Friday at the Covelli Center.
The Buckeyes won in a fashion they aren’t usually accustomed to, with No. 2 149-pounder redshirt senior Sammy Sasso suffering a loss to the No. 27 freshman Caleb Henson via a takedown in sudden victory 5-3.
The Buckeyes responded well, rattling off wins in six of their next seven matches. Redshirt freshman Paddy Gallagher impressed in the 157-pound division with a decisive 14-8 victory to even the team score at three points apiece.
No. 6 junior Carson Kharchla continued the positive momentum at 165 pounds, earning a 3-1 victory over No. 29 redshirt sophomore Connor Brady, giving the Buckeyes their first lead of the night 6-3.
Redshirt senior Ethan Smith faced off next against No. 2 junior and former 2019 national champion Mehki Lewis at 174 pounds. Smith tied the match at two with an escape late in the second period.
An escape by Lewis in the third proved to be the difference in the match, with Smith surrendering a 3-2 loss.
The Buckeyes would not look back after this, earning three wins in a row from redshirt seniors Kaleb Romero, Tate Orndorff and Gavin Hoffman. The coaching staff stressed the importance of the freshmen “feeding off’ the leadership of the seniors in the upper-weight divisions, and their presence was felt in a big way.
“The thing that’s unique about this team and the senior leadership, they are very committed to helping this team win a championship. They’re all in,” Ryan said. “They did a great job tonight.”
Romero was the first of the three to take the mat at 184 pounds. An escape with just under two minutes left in the final period accompanied by a stalling penalty gave Romero the edge over the No. 9 redshirt senior Hunter Bolen.
Although he started the season on the right foot, Romero believes there’s still much improvement to be made as the season progresses.
“I felt like I could’ve got to my offense a little more. Across the board, there is a lot to learn from.” Romero said. “It’s a long season. We’re living it match by match and looking to get better every day.”
At 197 pounds, redshirt senior Gavin Hoffman met junior Andy Smith. Hoffman jumped out to a lead with an early takedown and never looked back, resulting in a 4-1 victory and extending the Buckeyes’ team lead to 12-6.
No. 7 Ordorff continued applying pressure on the Hokies in the heavyweight division, outlasting No. 18 redshirt sophomore Hunter Catka.
In the 125-pound division, senior Malik Heinselman extended the team lead to 18-6 with a 3-2 decision victory against redshirt-freshman Eddie Ventresca.
Freshman 133-pounder Jesse Mendez was the second of three freshmen to wrestle for the Buckeyes on Friday, suffering a narrow defeat to redshirt junior Sam Latona 3-2.
The last match of the night belonged to freshman Nic Bouzakis. The Tampa, Florida, native is set to redshirt this season, yet stepped up a weight class to 141 pounds due to injuries from upperclassmen redshirt junior Dylan D’Emilio and senior Jordan Decatur.
Bouzakis jumped out to the early lead with a takedown in the first period, yet was defeated by Hokies No. 16 freshman Tom Crook.
While the Buckeyes didn’t receive the production they may have hoped for from their freshmen, head coach Tom Ryan is not losing confidence in their abilities to compete this season.
“I’ve seen a couple of freshmen lose their first competition and come back and win the NCAA’s,” Ryan said. “This guy (Mendez) is special. He wrestled a tough opponent tonight.”
The Buckeyes as a team moved to 1-0 on the season, yet Ryan believes there is much room for improvement top to bottom, such as in aggressiveness, focusing on the legs and not getting caught up in “upper body tie ups.”
“We need to be more aggressive,” Ryan said. “Overall, we didn’t have enough attempts, but we found a way to win.”
The Buckeyes return to the mat Friday at Covelli Center as they host Columbia beginning at 7 p.m.
