The Buckeyes (1-1-0; 0-0-0 Big Ten) return to dual action after competing in the 25th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 1-2 in Primm, Nev., where they finished 10th with 66 points.
IT'S BEEN AWHILE
The dual against Chattanooga is the Buckeyes' first home dual since they opened the season Nov. 16 against then-No. 3 Missouri. Since that time, Ohio State has traveled to Ithaca, N.Y., where it defeated then-No. 9 Cornell, 18-17, Nov. 26 and finished 10th in the Las Vegas Invitational in Primm, Nev., Dec. 1-2.
LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL CHAMPION
Redshirt-freshman Mike Pucillo won the 184-weight class at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 1-2 in Primm, Nev. Pucillo recorded two major decisions and a fall en route to the semifinal where he defeated No. 4 Raymond Jordan of Missouri, 3-1. In the championship bout against Michigan's and No. 3 Tyrel Todd, Pucillo notched a 12-6 victory for the title.
Pucillo became the first Buckeye to win a title at the event since current assistant coach Tommy Rowlands won in 2003 at heavyweight.
CONFERENCE LAURELS
After his winning performance at 184 pounds in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Mike Pucillo was named the Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week for the week of Dec. 4. Pucillo recorded two major decisions and a fall en route to the semifinal where he defeated No. 4 Raymond Jordan of Missouri, 3-1. In the championship bout against Michigan's and No. 3 Tyrel Todd, Pucillo notched a 12-6 victory for the title.
MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Ohio State competed in the 25th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 1-2 and the Scarlet and Gray compiled 66 points for a 10th-place finish. It was the Buckeyes' first Top 10 finish at the invitational since 2003.
Mike Pucillo was victorious in the 184-pound weight class, recording a pair of major decisions and a fall before defeating two Top 4 wrestlers in the semifinal (No. 4 Raymond Jordan) and final (No. 3 Tyrel Todd) for the title. Chris Vondruska recorded a third-place finish at 165 pounds, winning four consecutive matches after losing in the quarterfinals. In the third-place match-up, Vondruska defeated Zach Shanaman of Penn, 3-2. Lance Palmer was the final Buckeye to place, as he finished seventh at 149 pounds. After losing in the quarterfinals, Palmer rebounded with a win in the fifth wrestleback, but lost again in the sixth wrestleback, which dropped him to the seventh-place bout. In that final round, Palmer defeated Drew DiPasquale of Virginia, 7-2.
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
Five Buckeyes are ranked in the Top 20 of their respective weight classes in the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA standings released Dec. 12. T.J. Enright moved up to No. 15 from No. 16 at 133 pounds. Lance Palmer remained ranked No. 19 at 149 pounds. Chris Vondruska improved one spot to No. 18 from 19th at 165 pounds. Mike Pucillo, who is the highest ranked Buckeye, jumped from fourth to third at 184 pounds. J.D. Bergman is sixth after spending last week ranked seventh.
NOTING THE BUCKEYES
So far, the Buckeyes have tallied 164 takedown points and have compiled 651 team points in two duals and two tournaments. Additionally, Ohio State has nine major decisions, four technical falls and 12 falls to its credit.
ASSISTANT COACHES TAKE GOLD
Ohio State wrestling assistant coaches Joe Heskett and Tommy Rowlands claimed titles at the Henri Deglane Challenge in Nice, France, and the American Airlines/New York AC Holiday International in New York, respectively, at the end of November.
In his first season as the volunteer assistant coach for the Buckeyes, Heskett defeated 2000 Olympic silver medalist and 2006 Russian National Champion Arsen Gitinov in the championship match to win the gold medal at 74kg/163 pounds in the freestyle competition at the Nov. 24-25 tournament. For his efforts, Heskett was named TheMat.com Athlete of the Week for the week of Nov. 21.
Rowlands defended his freestyle title at 120kg/264.5 pounds at the New York Athletic Club Nov. 18-19, winning all four of his bouts, including defeating Michael Irving, 4-1 and 6-0, in the final.
SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA
Like the Buckeyes, Chattanooga last competed at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in Primm, Nev. The Mocs put up an eighth-place finish with 69.5 points in the two-day event. Winning for Chattanooga at 133 pounds was Matt Keller. Keller defeated the 2006 141-pound NCAA Champion Matt Valenti of Penn, 9-7, in overtime.
In dual action, the Mocs are 4-0 on the season, with all four wins coming in their home venue of Maclellan Gym.
BUCKEYES VS. MOCS
The Buckeyes own a 4-1-1 advantage over the Mocs, but dropped their last meeting 25-19 in 2004 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Ohio State vs. Chattanooga All-Time Series
2004 - UTC 25, OSU 19
2003 - Ohio State 32, UTC 8
2000 - Ohio State 27, UTC 9
1998 - Ohio State 33, UTC 3
1989 - Ohio State 31, UTC 9
1989 - Ohio State 18, UTC 18
VS. THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Ohio State has faced only one other Southern Conference opponent. Ohio State met The Citadel during the Virginia Duals Jan. 13, 2006 and defeated the Bulldogs, 38-10.
MAKE IT 110
OSU head coach Tom Ryan earned his 110th career victory with the Buckeyes' 18-17 win over Cornell Nov. 26. Ryan gathered his first win as the head coach of the Scarlet and Gray, while his other 109 wins came at Hofstra, where he was the head coach for 11 seasons. Ryan's career record is 110-84-1 (.567).
MARK THIS DATE
Buckeye head coach Tom Ryan compiled his first win as the OSU head coach against then-No. 9 Cornell Nov. 26.
ONLY THE BEST
Ohio State has competed or will compete against some of the toughest teams in the nation in 2006-07. Nine of the Buckeyes' opponents are ranked in the latest Top 25 of the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA poll. Four opponents - Missouri (1), Iowa (5), Penn State (8) and Northwestern (9) are in the Top 10.
LIVE WEB STREAMING
Live web streaming of Ohio State's match-ups against Indiana (Jan. 28) and Michigan State (Feb. 2) are available on ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Log on to the official web site of the Ohio State Department of Athletics for more information.
EXPANDED COVERAGE
The NCAA and ESPN announced in October expanded live television coverage of the 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, Mich.
For the first time, in the 77-year history of the Division I Wrestling Championships, the Saturday morning medal round will be televised. Scheduled for 10 a.m. EST March 17 on ESPNU, the championships medal round determines the third through eighth place finishers who are honored as All-Americans.
The 2007 championships are March 15-17 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich. The University of Michigan and the Detroit Metro Sports Commission will serve as hosts.
Tickets for the 2007 championships are available by visiting http://www.detroitsports.org/wrestling/tickets/index.html.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes will travel to the Southern Scuffle Dec. 29-30 in Greensboro, N.C., while other members of the squad will head to the 44th Annual Midlands Championships, also Dec. 29-30, in Evanston, Ill.
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