Down 7-0 early in the match, Ohio State owned the lead only once throughout the afternoon before the final score. After redshirt-junior and No. 3 Logan Stieber put the Buckeyes on the board in the 141-pound match with his 2:02 pin over Dominic Olivieri, senior Ian Paddock followed with a 10-4 win vs. No. 16 Caleb Ervin at 149 pounds to give the Scarlet and Gray their first lead (9-7) of the afternoon.
The Ohio State lead was brief as Illinois won three consecutive matches via decision between 157-174 pounds to take a 16-9 advantage. However, all three matches were close affairs with Buckeyes Randy Languis, Joe Grandominico and Mark Martin losing by a combined score of 16-10. Facing No. 15 Zac Brunson at 157 pounds, Languis dropped a 4-2 decision, while Grandominico lost a 5-2 decision to No. 12 Jackson Morse in the 165-pound match-up. It took an extra two minutes before Martin’s match against Tony Dallago was decided and it was after the first tiebreaker the score was 7-6 in Dallago’s favor.
The Buckeyes answered with three consecutive wins of their own, including Tavanello’s match winner. Redshirt-sophomore and No. 7 Kenny Courts began the run with an 8-1 victory vs. Nikko Reyes at 184 pounds. Down, 16-12, entering the 197-pound bout, senior Nick Heflin, ranked No. 4, faced Jeffrey Koepke and was a 2-1 victor, setting up the heavyweight match between Tavanello and Lopez.
Up next, Ohio State will wrestle No. 16 Northwestern at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at Cincinnati Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ohio State’s allotment of tickets is sold out. The Buckeyes will return to St. John Arena Jan. 24 for a 7 p.m. match vs. No. 8 Nebraska. The match vs. the Cornhuskers will be streamed live on BTN.com.
125: Jesse Delgado (ILL) dec. Nick Roberts (OSU), 11-7 (3-0)
133: Zane Richards (ILL) tech. fall Kyle Visconte (OSU), 24-9 (7:00) (7-0)
141: Logan Stieber (OSU) pinned Dominic Olivieri (ILL), 2:02 (7-6)
149: Ian Paddock (OSU) dec. Caleb Ervin (ILL), 10-4 (7-9)
157: Zac Brunson (ILL) dec. Randy Languis (OSU), 4-2 (10-9)
165: Jackson Morse (ILL) dec. Joe Grandominico (OSU), 5-2 (13-9)
174: Tony Dallago (ILL) dec. Mark Martin (OSU), 7-6 TB1 (16-9)
184: Kenny Courts (OSU) dec. Nikko Reyes (ILL), 8-1 (16-12)
197: Nick Heflin (OSU) dec. Jeff Koepke (ILL), 2-1 (16-15)
HWT: Nick Tavanello (OSU) dec. Christopher Lopez (ILL), 3-1 SV1 (16-18)
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