No. 18 Jose Rodriguez knocked off No. 6 Ethan Lizak at 125 pounds (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)THE STORT STORY
the Gophers and Buckeyes split 10 matches, but two falls, a technical fall and major decision were the difference in the team score as four of Ohio State's five wins were via bonus points. The only non-bonus point win for the Buckeyes was a signature victory for No. 18 Jose Rodriguez at 125 pounds, as he knocked off sixth-ranked Ethan Lizak, 12-10, with a takedown in sudden victory. The Jordan bothers -- Bo and Micah -- had a technical fall and pin, respectively, while Nathan Tomasello also had a fall at 133 lbs.
With the team score tied at 20-20, Martin stepped to the mat and racked up points early and often against Bobby Steveson in an 18-6 dual-clinching major decision.
TOP FIVE MATCHUP AT 197
The dual started at 197 pounds with the feature matchup of the afternoon - second-ranked Brett Pfarr and fourth-ranked Kollin Moore. Moore, looking to avenge an earlier loss to Pfarr at the CKLV Invitational last December, fell behind early but eventually drew to within one, 6-5, in the third period. He couldn't, however, work for the tying takedown as Pfarr locked up riding time for the 7-5 decision.
Minnesota would go ahead 8-0 after Michael Kroells' 20-5 technical fall over Josh Fox at heavyweight, but that set the stage for Rodriguez, who fell behind Lizak 6-0 in the first on a takedown and four-point nearfall. Rodriguez would battle back, scoring a second period reversal to make the score 6-2. In the third, he put on a takedown clinic - scoring five times and finishing off the final one in the waning seconds to tie the score at 10-10. His victory made the team score 8-3. In the first sudden victory period, Rodriguez completed him comeback with a takedown to make the team score 8-3 in favor of Minnesota.
TOMASELLO MOVES TO 15-0
No. 1-ranked Tomasello needed just 2:52 to get a first-period fall against Mitch McKee that gave Ohio State its first lead of the day, 9-8. It was Tomasello's first fall of the year and ninth bonus point win. In the next bout at 141, No. 12 Tommy Thorn controlled No. 15 Luke Pletcher 7-2 to temporarily give the lead back to Minnesota, 11-9.
JORDAN TECH FALL AT 149
Micah Jordan quickly swung the momentum back in the favor of the Buckeyes at 149 lbs. when he picked up his team-leading 24th win of the year. Jordan got things going in the second period, taking down Brandon Kingsley three times and then adding two more third-period takedowns to go along with two four-point near falls. The takedowns and back points added up to a 22-5 technical fall.
MINNESOTA WINS THE NEXT TWO, JORDAN PINS AT 174
The Gophers got a pin at 157 and decision at 165 to push their lead to 20-14, but Bo Jordan gave Ohio State critical bonus points at 174 when he needed just 2:15 to pin Christopher Pfarr. The win was Jordan's 11th of the year and 10th by either major decision, technical fall or pin.
With the dual hanging in the balance, Martin was in control of Robert Stevenson from the outset at 184, scoring eight first-period points (three takedowns, one two-point near fall) and four more in the second. His 18-6 major decision provided the decisive margin of victory.
POST MATCH NOTES
• Ohio State's win in Minneapolis was its first since February of 1993.
• The Buckeyes closed out the Big Ten regular season with seven or more wins for the third consecutive season.
• Ohio State has at least three bonus point wins in all 11 of its dual victories this season.
NEXT UP
The Buckeyes will compete next weekend in the NWCA Dual Championship Series at an opponent to be announced soon.
Results:
197: No. 2 Brett Pfarr (MINN) decision over No. 4 Kollin Moore (OSU) 7-5 | MINN 3, OSU 0
285: No. 8 Michael Kroells (MINN) technical fall over Josh Fox (OSU), 20-5 | MINN 8, OSU 0
125: No. 18 Jose Rodriguez (OSU) decision over No. 6 Ethan Lizak (MINN), 12-10 | MINN 8, OSU 3
133: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) fall (2:52) over No. 17 Mitch McKee (MINN) | OSU 9, MINN 8
141: No. 12 Tommy Thorn (MINN) decision over No. 15 Luke Pletcher (OSU), 7-2 | MINN 11, OSU 9
149: No. 5 Micah Jordan (OSU) technical fall over Brandon Kingsley (MINN), 22-5 | OSU 14, MINN 11
157: No. 8 Jake Short (MINN) fall (1:44) over Anthony DeCarlo (OSU) | MINN 17, OSU 14
165: No. 18 Nick Wanzek (MINN) dec Cody Burcher (OSU), 5-2 | MINN 20, OSU 14
174: No. 1 Bo Jordan (OSU) fall (2:14) over Chris Pfarr (MINN)| MINN 20, OSU 20
184: No. 10 Myles Martin (OSU) major decision over Bobby Steveson (MINN), 18-6 | OSU 24, MINN 20
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