The tension was palpable inside the wrestling room Wednesday afternoon as two sets of Bobcats prepared to take on each other to fight for starting spots.
A group of other teammates had assembled along the walls of the room to watch the wrestle-offs, waiting to find out if Albert Madsen, 141 pounds, and Nick Terbay, 197 pounds, would retain their starting positions or Frank Brown, 141 pounds, and Larry Reichard, 197 pounds, could force a deciding match yesterday.
It's the most nerve-racking thing there is
it's like a match times five Madsen said. You know what the kid does he's your friend
you wrestle him every day and you warm up in the same room as him. It sucks really.
Madsen won his match against Brown, defending his spot; however, the battle at 197 would not be so simple. Reichard scored a sudden victory takedown over Terbay to push the best-of-three test to its full length, but Terbay won yesterday, solidifying his place in the final lineup.
With the starting lineup set, the Ohio wrestling team (10-9, 1-2 Mid-American Conference) is preparing for its second and final weekend at home in The Convo this season, facing West Virginia tonight and Kent State on Sunday.
After three consecutive weekends on the road and with only four-of-22 total dual meets at home, the Bobcats are glad to stay put.
It's nice to finally be here wrestling in front of your own fans
133-pound wrestler Terry Jackson said. I mean
my parents travel
but just being able to hang out after and not have to rush to the bus to head home is nice.
Both the Mountaineers (4-4) and Golden Flashes (11-3-1, 1-0-1 MAC) boast two wrestlers ranked in the NWCA/InterMat poll: No. 16 Brandon Rader at 141 pounds and No. 2 Matt Lebe at 157 pounds for West Virginia, and No. 15 Chad Sportelli at 125 pounds and No. 16 Alex Camargo at 184 pounds for Kent State.
Ohio coach Joel Greenlee, who heads into tonight's contest with 99 career wins at the helm of the Ohio program, said both meets are important, especially the one against MAC foe Kent State.
Kent came out recently and said they're the best team in the state
and after beating Ohio State and Cleveland State
they are right now
he said. They don't really have a bad weight class
and they're important from a MAC seeding standpoint. We let a couple (matches) get away from us at Buffalo
