The Ohio wrestling team found some success in East Lansing, Mich., yesterday placing two wrestlers at yesterday's Michigan State Open.
174-pounder Antione Love placed fifth while Jacob Ison grabbed seventh in the 167-pound weight class. Ohio coach Joel Greenlee said that, along with Love and Ison, his team performed well as a whole.
I really thought that everyone wrestled pretty well
he said. As far as things we need to work on it'll just help if we can get everyone healthy.
Both 133-pound wrestler Terry Jackson and the 157-pounder Jake Frerichs were out with hand and knee injuries, respectively. Also held out of action were Caleb Metcalf at 125, due a knee injury sustained in practice on Thursday and 185-pounder Nick Terbay, due to a case of food poisoning.
Fifth-seeded Love pushed farthest into the brackets, managing to rattle off three straight wins to start the day, including an 8-6 upset decision over fourth seeded John Murphy of Michigan State. However, dropping two matches to Edinboro wrestlers, one to top seeded Matt Herrington and another to Phil Moricone, left Love in the fifth place match, which he won by injury default.
Love said working through the consolation bracket proved to be quite the task.
It was a really good experience and the competition was intense he said. It was a battle. Once you get knocked out you just have to get up and scratch through it.
The other Bobcat to make some noise in the brackets was Ison, who was pinned by top-seeded Deonte Penn of Edinboro 1:58 into the second-round match. Ison worked his way through the consolation bracket before dropping a 3-1 decision to Michigan State's Rocky Cozart. Ison then secured seventh place, also by injury default.
Other notable 'Cats include 125-pound wrestler Seth Morton, who was able to notch two victories after falling in the first round while filling in for Metcalf. Anthony Ciracky was seeded seventh at 165 and racked up two wins before submitting in the fourth round of the consolation tournament.
The various injuries provided opportunities for freshmen like Morton to make an appearance in their first collegiate meet. Four other Bobcats made their first appearance on Sunday as well. Ison said that their performance showed a lot of promise.
We were hurt a little bit but we wrestled pretty hard
he said. We had guys like (Kevin) Christensen come in and they did well for us.
That type of gritty performance is something Ohio is looking to keep up while the rest of campus is preparing to take six weeks off. Ison said that the break provides a chance for the 'Cats to relax as well.
Things (classes) are coming to a close
he said. We just have to focus more on wrestling instead.
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