Ohio State junior Tate Orndorff ties up with Rutgers graduate wrestler Christian Colucci during the Ohio State-Rutgers match on Jan. 24. Ohio State won 19-14. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Ohio State wrestling handed Rutgers its second loss Sunday, but it took toughness and resilience to claim victory.
No. 11 Ohio State (2-1) defeated No. 17 Rutgers (0-2) 19-14 to secure the team’s second win over a ranked opponent this season.
“We expected them to fight, and they did fight,” Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan said. “It was a slugfest, it was ugly both sides, and we had a few more slugs.”
The Buckeyes held a narrow 16-14 lead over the Scarlet Knights entering the final match of the afternoon. In a battle of the heavyweights, Ohio State redshirt junior Tate Orndorff and Rutgers graduate student Christian Colucci faced off in the deciding bout of the dual.
In a tough match, Orndorff carried a 2-1 lead into the third period. From there, a takedown gave him a 4-2 advantage, a score that would end up being the final.
“I was confident in Tate, that he would find a way to win,” Ryan said. “It wasn’t beautiful, there’s a lot of things he did wrong, but the fact that he won a match that determined the team win is good.”
With Orndorff’s win, Ohio State pushed past Rutgers in an afternoon of competitive battles between the two programs.
“He sealed the deal for us,” Ohio State redshirt junior Kaleb Romero said. “We’re super proud of him for that.”
The dual started at 125 pounds between Ohio State junior Malik Heinselman and Rutgers redshirt sophomore Nicolas Aguilar, with No. 16 Heinselman continuing his strong start to the season. He had four takedowns and two escapes on the way to a 10-4 decision over Aguilar.
The victory gave Ohio State an early 3-0 lead, but the Buckeyes would go on to lose three of the next four matches, with the lone victory coming from redshirt sophomore Sammy Sasso.
Sasso, the No. 1 wrestler at 149 pounds, struggled to contain Rutgers redshirt senior Mike VanBrill early in the match and trailed 3-2 after the first period. Sasso then used two takedowns, near fall points and a reversal to earn an 11-5 decision.
Ohio State went into the intermission trailing Rutgers 11-6.
Ryan said the wrestlers in the first half lacked energy and execution, so he wanted to see his wrestlers improve in those areas in the second half.
“You have to have energy out there and you have to execute, so the second half of the lineup needed to pick up the slack,” Ryan said.
After the break, Ohio State redshirt junior Ethan Smith set the tone for the rest of the competition that would see the Buckeyes win four of the final five matches.
Smith, the No. 11 wrestler at 165 pounds, scored in a variety of ways to beat Rutgers redshirt senior Brett Donner. Smith had two takedowns, an escape, two stalling calls and a bonus point to win an 11-3 major decision.
At 174 pounds, Ohio State redshirt junior Kaleb Romero looked strong in his match with Rutgers graduate student Joseph Grello. Romero had three takedowns and earned a 15-5 major decision to move to 3-0 on the season.
The team’s performance encourages the team to compete for their spot on the team and to improve with every practice and competition, Romero said.
“As a team, we need to keep on our offense, keep fighting, keep competing, and keep fighting for every point,” Romero said. “We’re gonna work and we’re gonna keep improving.”
The Buckeyes have a busy weekend ahead with a home dual against No. 24 Michigan State Friday and away dual with Maryland Jan. 31. The start times of both meets are still to be determined.
