Jan. 31, 2014

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ohio State Wrestling Contact:

Danielle Warner (warner.238@osu.edu)

 

No. 12 Ohio State Falls to No. 11 Michigan, 21-12

Nick Heflin, Mark Martin, Logan Stieber earn wins; Buckeyes return to action at 7 p.m. Monday at Purdue 

 

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 12 Ohio State wrestling team dropped a 21-12 decision to No. 11 Michigan Friday night in St. John Arena. Buckeyes Nick Heflin (197 pounds), Mark Martin (174 pounds) and Logan Stieber (141 pounds) earned wins for the Scarlet and Gray in front of 4,412 fans. Ohio State falls to 7-4 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten. Michigan improves to 9-2 overall and 5-0 in the conference. 

 

Up next, Ohio State will face No. 24 Purdue at 7 p.m. in West Lafayette. The match between the Buckeyes and Boilermakers will air live on BTN.

 

Trailing 6-0 early after starting the evening with the 157-pound bout, Martin, a sophomore and No. 14 in the nation, got the Buckeyes on the board first with a 4-3 victory over Collin Zeerip. With both wrestlers tied, 2-2, entering the third period, Martin scored a takedown in the final period and held Zeerip to only an escape to secure the victory.

 

A 16-3 major decision by Heflin over Chris Heald cut the Wolverines’ lead to two (9-7). A senior ranked No. 8 in the country, Heflin jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a takedown and 3-point nearfall and nearly recorded the fall in the first period. However, Heald managed to get out and forced the match into the second period. Heflin collected four more takedowns, an escape, penalty point and riding time (3:13) en route to the win.  

 

Recording Ohio State’s final win of the evening, Stieber, a redshirt-junior who is ranked No. 3, posted a 16-1 technical fall over No. 13 Steve Dutton. Stieber already had an 8-0 lead entering the second period and proceeded to record three additional takedowns, an escape and riding time (4:32).

 

In other action, Ohio State was forced into three consecutive overtime bouts between heavyweight and the 133-pound bouts.  Heavyweight and redshirt-freshman Nick Tavanello and No. 2 Adam Coon traded escapes in the second and third periods en route to sudden victory. After a scoreless overtime period, Coon recorded a reversal after choosing bottom and took a 3-1 lead in the first tiebreaker. In the second tiebreaker, Tavanello scored an escape, but could not notch a takedown in his attempt at victory.

 

Like the Tavanello-Coon match, Buckeye 125-pounder and redshirt-freshman Nick Roberts and Conor Youtsey exchanged escapes before heading into the extra session. After holding Roberts, ranked No. 15, the entire 30 seconds in the first tiebreaker, Youtsey escaped Roberts in the second tiebreaker for the 2-1 win.

In just his second loss of the season, No. 5 and redshirt-sophomore Johnni DiJulius dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Rossi Bruno at 133 pounds. It took a pair of sudden victory periods and four tiebreakers before Bruno edged DiJulius.

 

The Scarlet and Gray suffered losses at 157, 165, 184 and 149 pounds Friday night. Opening the evening at 157 pounds, redshirt-junior Randy Languis lost to No. 14 Brian Murphy, 5-2. Up next at 165 pounds, senior Joe Grandominico fell to No. 6 Dan Yates, 8-4, while184-pounder and No. 10 Kenny Courts (redshirt-sophomore) lost to No. 20 Domenic Abounader. In the 149-pound bout, senior and No. 18 Ian Paddock lost to No. 7 Eric Grajales, 7-2. 

 

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