Ohio State Gets First Big Ten Dual Win Over Illinois

The Big Ten is widely regarded as the best conference for collegiate wrestling, and the No. 6 Buckeyes dominated No. 25 Illinois in their first conference matchup, taking the dual 36-6 on Friday.

Ohio State only lost two of 10 bouts, both losses to top 10 wrestlers. Luke Geog started the night off with an 18-2 tech fall win over Peter Marinopoulos and the Buckeyes didn’t look back.

Here’s a look at how every individual weight class did against the Illini:

197 pounds: No. 23 Geog had two quick takedowns in the first period with a four-point near fall and a two-point near fall added on before another takedown. He took a 15-2 lead into the second period. He ended the match soon into the second with another takedown and an 18-2 win to put the Buckeyes up 5-0.

Heavyweight: After earning Big Ten Wrestler of the Week with his clutch win to beat Cornell, No. 18 Nick Feldman earned a tech fall of his own. After a slow first period, Feldman racked up points via takedowns and a stalling call against Sungyup Ryu to beat him 17-2.

125 pounds: No. 22 Brendan McCrone got another fall in the first period, needing just 1:23 to pin Justin Cardani after a quick takedown to put Ohio State up 16-0 in the dual.

133 pounds: The bout was a little closer for No. 12 Nic Bouzakis, the first of the dual to go the length. He led 6-2 after the first period then earned two points for a reversal to start the second. Tony Madrigal escaped to start the third period to make it 8-4, but the only other point was a riding point added for Bouzakis, who won 9-4.

141 pounds: No. 3 Jesse Mendez had two quick takedowns in the first period and a stalling point. After a second period and escape and takedown he led 11-2 and a point for riding time gave him a 12-2 win over No. 25 Danny Pucino to put the Buckeyes up 23-0.

149 pounds: No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio suffered the first loss of the dual for the Buckeyes, dropping his match 4-1 to No. 10 Kannon Webster decided by a takedown late in the second period. The Illini still trailed 23-3.

157 pounds: Isaac Wilcox, who moved down to 157 pounds from the 165-pound weight class for the rest of the season, officially got the win for the Buckeyes, putting the dual out of reach for Illinois with a 4-3 win over Joe Roberts to take a 26-3 lead with just three weights left.

165 pounds: Bryce Hepner took over at 165 pounds, and did so effectively, pinning No. 25 Chris Moore in 4:00, giving Ohio State a 32-3 lead.

174 pounds: Freshman Rocco Welsh, who has done very well with Carson Kharchla out with an injury, faced off against the No. 3 wrestler in the country, Edmond Ruth. It was scoreless through the first, with Welsh scoring the first point with an escape 90 seconds into the second period. Ruth escaped early in the third to tie the match and with the point for riding time, he won 2-1, scoring the Illini their final three of the night.

184 pounds: Seth Shumate got the Buckeyes back on the board to finish the dual with a major win over Caden Ernd 14-2. Ohio State won the dual 36-6.

The Buckeyes next dual is at home against Maryland on Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.