The Buckeyes began their rally at 149 when fourth-ranked Lance Palmer defeated Clint Sponseller, Ohio State's Colt Sponseller's brother, in a 9-0 major decision and gave the Buckeye a 17-15 lead going into the final match. In the first period, Palmer took down Sponseller at 2:05 to get the early 2-0 lead. Palmer went on to take down Sponseller again in the third period with 59 seconds remaining to seal the victory. Palmer holds a 10-2 record this season.
The final match, Ohio State's No. 15 Jason Johnstone and Ross Tice battled at 157 for the outright team victory. Tice opened the match with a take down, but Johnstone took the lead after an escape and a take down to give him a 2-1 lead to end the first period. The second period ended with a 6-2 score in Ohio State's favor. The match ended with a total of three take downs for Johnstone in a 9-3 victory and sealed the win for the Buckeyes.
In the first two matches, two members of the Buckeye squad won in major decisions and gave Ohio State an early lead. In 165, Colt Sponseller defeated Obie Simpson and posted five take downs to finish with a final 12-4 score. In 184, top-ranked Mike Pucillo held off No. 6 Dustin Kilgore with a 6-1 win to extend Ohio State's lead to 10-0. Pucillo recorded two take downs and an escape.
Kent State, however, battled back into the match with three upsets against the Buckeyes. In heavyweight, No. 14 Corey Morrison of Ohio State was upset by Jermail Porter in a 4-3 decision. Morrison was ahead after two periods, 3-1, but Porter was able to take down Morrison with 15 seconds remaining and claimed 1:15 in riding time to close the match. Morrison moved to 12-5 this season.
With a 5-2 final, Ohio State's No. 18 Nikko Triggas was upset by Nic Bedelyon. Triggas was taken down in the final minute to claim the victory for Bedelyon. Triggas is 13-6 on the season.
The Golden Flashes took the lead after No. 12 J Jaggers was pinned by Kent State's Drew Lashaway to make the score 15-13 in Kent State's favor.
Ohio State continues its win streak with a 4-0 record, while Kent State fell to 3-2 record. The Buckeyes will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa for the National Duals Jan. 10-11.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now