The No. 5 Ohio State wrestling team defeated No. 14 Northwestern 21-12 Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Credit: Katie Good | Asst. Photo Editor
With the help of three true freshmen, No. 5 Ohio State rolled past No. 14 Northwestern 21-12 Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Buckeyes (12-2, 6-1 Big Ten) were propelled by three true freshmen and bounced back from a loss against No. 1 Penn State Friday. Freshmen Jesse Mendez, Seth Shumate and Luke Geog each earned victories as the Wildcats (5-3, 4-3 Big Ten) earned only three victories across 10 matchups.
Mendez, who wrestles at 133 pounds and is ranked No. 9 in his weight class, suffered a cut over his right eye in the first match of action. His opponent, redshirt junior Chris Cannon, took an early 3-0 lead, but Mendez crawled back to take a 4-3 lead in the third.
Cannon tied things up with under 30 seconds left, with the match headed for extra session. Mendez secured the 6-4 victory with a scrambling takedown to get Ohio State on the board first.
The Wildcats tied things up after the second match saw redshirt sophomore Frankie Tal-Shahar best redshirt junior Dylan D’Emilio in the 141-pound weight class.
It did not last long, as redshirt senior Sammy Sasso defeated graduate Yahya Thomas to give the Buckeyes a 6-3 lead, one they didn’t relinquish.
No. 25 redshirt freshman Paddy Gallagher upset No. 11 149-pounder redshirt junior Trevor Chumbley after Chumbley tied it up in the third period to make it 3-3 going into sudden victory. With 30 seconds of ride time advantage, Gallagher avenged a loss in the Michigan State Open finals.
Prior to Sunday, Geog won his first collegiate event with a 4-0 record at the 2022 Michigan State Open in the Freshman/Sophomore Division.
Coming into the matchup against graduate 197-pounder Andrew Davison, he looked confident out on the mat. After getting a takedown in the first period, he got a reverse in the third to cruise to a 9-5 decision.
Things looked dire for freshman 184-pounder Seth Shumate as he was down 4-1 going into the second period against redshirt first-year Evan Bates. Bates got two takedowns going into the second period, but Shumate was able to get two going into the third period trailing 5-3.
After a Shumate reversal, Shumate pulled off the comeback and won 7-6 by decision, securing his first-career Big Ten dual win.
The Buckeyes will face Nebraska Friday at 7 p.m. at the Covelli Center. Big Ten Network will broadcast.
