Crown Point, Indiana native, Jesse Mendez, wrestling in his first season with Ohio State. Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
The No. 18 Pittsburgh Panthers (6-1, 0-0 ACC) dealt a solid blow to No. 7 Ohio State wrestling (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) after a 21-13 win Sunday afternoon at the Covelli Center. This gave the Buckeyes their first loss of the season. The meet started with 125-pound No. 22 Brendan McCrone being defeated in a 14-9 decision to give the Panthers an early 3-0 lead.
After No. 12 Nic Bouzakis tied it up with a 5-2 win at 133 pounds, No. 3-favorite and 141-pound Jesse Mendez was defeated in a 4-2 decision, giving him his first loss of the season and Pittsburgh the lead. After that, No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio trailed 9-4 with just two minutes left and eventually came back to defeat his opponent 12-11 at 149 pounds, firing up the loyal Ohio State crowd. D’Emilio said he used his confident mentality to make the comeback for his squad.
“People will fade throughout the match, and everybody is really tough in the first period, but I’m just believing that I’m tougher and in better shape to push that pace,” D’Emilio said.
Ohio State’s No. 13 Paddy Gallagher then dominated 17-3 at 157 pounds, with its No. 20 Isaac Wilcox being defeated 10-2 afterward at 165 pounds, both major decisions.
Wrestling at 174 pounds, No. 9 Carson Kharchla held on and won by decision 11-7 after injuring his leg in the third period for the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes finished off losing three straight on the back end to fall 21-13 in the last home dual of 2023.
Head coach Tom Ryan said “almost half” of the team’s weight classes are open for starting positions.
“This is Ohio State University,” Ryan said. “Being a starter here should almost be priceless to you. We’re not in panic mode. It’s a tough day. But we’ve got a great team, and we’ll be back.”
