A key major decision by senior Colt Sponseller at 157 pounds gave the Buckeyes (1-2) a little breathing room midway through the match en route to their fifth-consecutive win over Edinboro (1-4-1).
With a four-point lead (12-8) after the completion of four matches, Sponseller, ranked 14th, posted a 9-0 major decision against Johnny Greisheimer to extend the Buckeye lead to 16-8. The senior captain from Glenmont, Ohio, moves to 11-1 on the season courtesy of three takedowns, a pair of escapes and a riding time advantage.
Ohio State proceeded to win three of the next five matches at 165, 174 and 197 pounds to secure the win. Redshirt-sophomore and 165-pounder Jared Kusar already owned a 7-2 lead in the second period vs. Ethan Saylor before pinning the Fighting Scot at the 4:52 mark. Mathematically still able to win the match, Edinboro’s chances were dashed following redshirt-freshman and No. 14 Nick Heflin’s 2:33 pin against Chris Hrunka at 174 pounds. Classmate C.J. Magrum recorded the final Buckeye win at 197 pounds, beating Shawn Fendone, 7-4. Magrum erased a 3-2 lead by Fendone in the third period by way of a takedown and three-point nearfall despite Fendone’s riding time advantage.
Edinboro found itself digging out of an early hole when it forfeited matches at 125 and 133 pounds. Redshirt-junior Bo Touris was slated to start at 125, while sophomore and 10th-ranked Ian Paddock was rested at 133 pounds.
The Fighting Scots earned a pair of bonus points in their first two wins of the afternoon, keeping them very much in the match. At 141 pounds, Kasey Davis handed Buckeye freshman Randy Languis a 19-7 loss, before No. 15 Torsten Gillespie shut out redshirt-junior Sean Nemec, 8-0, at 149 pounds. Nearly as quickly as Ohio State had taken a 12-0 lead, Edinboro had swiftly pulled to within four.
At 184 pounds, redshirt-freshman Peter Capone lost a tough 4-3 decision to No. 3 Chris Honeycutt. With the scored tied at, 2-2, at the end of the second, Capone took a 3-2 lead in the third on an escape, but Honeycutt answered with a takedown for the victory.
Heavyweight Johnny Hiles dropped a 2-0 decision to Michael Horton. A third-period escape by Horton, plus riding time was enough to give Edinboro its fourth win on the afternoon.
The Buckeyes will open their Big Ten Conference schedule at Penn State at 2 p.m. Dec. 19. The Nittany Lions entered action Sunday second (tie) in the conference with a 5-0 record.
Results:
125 Bo Touris (OSU) forfeit 0-6 (OSU)
133 No. 12/No. 10 Ian Paddock (OSU) forfeit 0-12 (OSU)
141 Kasey Davis (EU) maj. dec. Randy Languis (OSU), 19-7 4-12 (OSU)
149 No. 15/No. 12 Torsten Gillespie (EU) maj. dec. Sean Nemec (OSU), 8-0 8-12 (OSU)
157 No. 14/No. 9 Colt Sponseller (OSU) maj. dec. Johnny Greisheimer (EU), 9-0 8-16 (OSU)
165 Jared Kusar (OSU) fall over Ethan Saylor (EU), 4:52 8-22 (OSU)
174 No. 14/No. 19 Nick Heflin (OSU) fall over Chris Hrunka (EU), 2:33 8-28 (OSU)
184 No. 3/No. 3 Chris Honeycutt (EU) dec. Peter Capone (OSU), 4-3 11-28 (OSU)
197 C.J. Magrum (OSU) dec. Shawn Fendone (EU), 7-4 11-31 (OSU)
285 Michael Horton (EU) dec. Jonathan Hiles (OSU), 2-0 14-31 (OSU)
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