In a conference tournament marked by highs and lows for the Ohio wrestling team, no one seemed overly pleased with the team performance at the meet.
The Bobcats did manage two Mid-American Conference champions but also failed to place anywhere in three different weight classes.
I don't think you have a chance of winning the tournament or even finishing in second if you don't have at least nine guys place. So that kills you
Ohio coach Joel Greenlee said.
And in fact that was the end result of the meet. Ohio finished third behind Central Michigan and Northern Illinois. And no one was more upset with his performance than Ed Willis (174-pound weight class), who, after finishing second a year ago, failed to win a single conference match all season.
I think I could have won that tournament or at least easily placed in the top four Willis said after the meet. I let my team down
I let coach down and I let myself down on top of that. I'm happy for everybody else - everyone else that placed and stuff. But I went from second to nothing. I lost some points on stalling calls
and I barely ever get called for stalling. I got pushed around the mat
which is what I'm supposed to do to people. And I ended up losing.
Prior to the meet, Greenlee said the team's goal was to finish above where each wrestler was ranked heading into the meet. Only Matt Smith (125), Joel Weimer (197) and Jeremiah Beltran (HWT) managed that feat. But Beltran's MAC championship made all forget the team's struggles for at least a couple seconds.
In the most exciting match of the day for Ohio, Beltran earned a defensive pin to secure his first championship and join Jake Percival (157) as the only other MAC champion for the Bobcats.
Beltran was down 3-0 in the third, and it appeared as if top-ranked Bill Stouffer of Central Michigan was going to ride out the match. But Beltran put Stouffer on his back in a defensive position with 45 seconds left in the match, earning his first bid to the NCAA tournament.
This last match
I did fairly well
I guess. I felt pretty good
Beltran said. But
I got behind
and I took a chance. I took a chance. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to get out. I was trying
