Minnesota Falls on Road to No. 5 Ohio State
No. 2 Minnesota fell to No. 5 Ohio State, 22-13, in a dual that featured seven matches decided by three points or fewer, the most of any dual in which Minnesota has wrestled this year. Of those contests, four were decided when the winning wrestler secured his match’s only takedown in the third period or overtime, with each team winning two of those bouts.
For Minnesota, the first of these victories came from Jake Short, who got Minnesota on the board with a 3-1 victory over Randy Languis in sudden victory overtime in the night’s fourth match. Short scored the match-winning takedown on a counter early in the period, earning his first career Big Ten victory.
Short’s match followed a battle at 141 between No. 4 Nick Dardanes and No. 1 Logan Stieber. Stieber appeared to be controlling the match and held an 8-3 lead heading to the third period but Dardanes, in what has become his hallmark during his Gopher career, continued to push despite the score. Down four points in the match’s final minute, Dardanes finished two takedowns against the three-time defending national champ, but was forced to allow Stieber the one-point escape on both efforts. A stalling call against Stieber at the buzzer gave Dardanes one more point, but he dropped the decision, 10-9.
Prior to that match, the dual began at 125 with No. 7 Nathan Tomasello earning a major decision over Ethan Lizak, 19-5. At 133, Sam Brancale returned to the lineup and fell to No. 10 Johnni DiJulius, 4-1, in the first of the night’s seven tight bouts. The match of the dual between Dardanes and Stieber followed, with the decision there giving Ohio State a 10-0 lead.
Following Dardanes’ and Short’s matches, No. 1 Dylan Ness earned a 5-2 decision over No. 12 Josh Demas. The victory improves Ness’ record this season to 24-0. His 24-match winning streak ties teammate Scott Schiller for the longest career winning streak by any active Gopher, and ties Ness for the 16th-longest winning streak in Gopher history.
The teams headed to the intermission with Ohio State leading the dual 10-6. Following the break, No. 5 Bo Jordan pinned No. 17 Nick Wanzek late in the second period at 165. The Gophers rebounded at 174, where No. 4 Logan Storley patiently grappled with No. 13 Mark Martin, scoring the match’s lone takedown off a counter in the third period to win, 3-0.
In the night’s only rematch from the past two seasons, No. 11 Brett Pfarr took on No. 12 Kenny Courts at 184. With the contest tied at one late in the third period, Courts secured the match’s only takedown. Pfarr was awarded a point when Courts was hit for stalling with one second remaining to make the score 3-2, but Head Coach J Robinson asked for a video review of Courts’ takedown. Upon review, the call was upheld, finalizing the 3-2 result.
The Buckeyes clinched the dual victory at 197, where No. 3 Kyle Snyder won a 3-1 decision over No. 5 Scott Schiller, the fourth bout on the night decided by a late takedown.
No. 12 Michael Kroells wrapped up Minnesota’s evening on a high note, earning an 18-7 major decision over Ray Gordon. The margin of victory was Kroells’ largest in a dual match this year, and his second-largest counting tournament competition.
The Gophers will finish their Big Ten schedule on Sunday when they visit Maryland for the first-ever Big Ten dual between the two schools. Sunday’s dual will begin at 12 p.m. CT and will be available to stream live on BTN Plus.
#5 Ohio State 22, #2 Minnesota 13
125: #7 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) maj. dec. Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) 18-5
133: #10 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) dec. Sam Brancale (Minnesota) 4-1
141: #1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) dec. #4 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) 10-9
149: Jake Short (Minnesota) dec. Randall Languis (Ohio State) 3-1 sv
157: #1 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) dec. #12 Josh Demas (Ohio State) 5-2
165: #5 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) fall #17 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota) 4:46
174: #4 Logan Storley (Minnesota) dec. #13 Mark Martin (Ohio State) 3-0
184: #12 Kenny Courts (Ohio State) dec. #11 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) 3-1
197: #3 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) dec. #5 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) 3-1
285: #12 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) maj. dec. Ray Gordon (Ohio State) 18-7