The Ohio Bobcats had an excellent week on the mats, compiling a 4-0 record with victories over Northern Colorado, Cleveland State, The Citadel and Appalachian State.
Ohio hosted the Bobcat duals on December 4 and in a dominating performance, the Bobcats won each of the three meets at the Duals by over 15 points, with none of the competition reaching double-digit point totals.
In the first match of the day for the Bobcats, Ohio captured a 32-3 victory over the Citadel. The Citadel captured the first bout of the day 7-4, in a bout between two freshman wrestlers Giazza Segarra (The Citadel) and Kyle Ciccarello.
That would prove to be the lone bright spot on the day for the Bulldogs, as the Bobcats proceeded to win the nine remaining matches, with four of these wins coming from major decisions or technical falls.
After making short work of the Bulldogs, Ohio took care of Appalachian State, 26-9. Senior Jacob Ison pinned Colt Howell in one minute, and finished the day with a record of 3-0.
The Bobcats then defeated the Cleveland State Vikings, 41-4. The Bobcats only lost one match against the Vikings, with Rob Michaels defeating Kevin Christensen by way of major decision.
In the other nine matches against Cleveland State, the Bobcats earned one forfeit, five technical falls, and two major decisions.
Going undefeated at the Bobcat Duals for Ohio were Quentin Keyes, Seth Morton, Jacob Ison, Nick Purdue, Erik Schuth, and Andy Hartshorn.
After the Bobcat Duals, Ohio traveled out west to begin a three-match road trip that would take them across the state of Colorado.
In the first matchup of the road trip, the Bobcats defeated the Bears of Northern Colorado by a final score of 33-7.
After a slow start because of another loss at the 125-pound weight class, the Bobcats made a big statement to the host Bears as Quentin Keyes pinned Zach Nash in under a minute.
The Bobcats then won each of their next two matches, with Germane Lindsey earning a pin of Michael Balagna in only 41 seconds.
Clay Tucker then lost a close 5-4 decision against Justin Gaethje, but the Bobcats rebounded and finished the match with five straight victories.
Keyes Wins MAC Wrestler of the Week
After struggling earlier in the season, Ohio University 133-pound wrestler Quentin Keyes gave his team a huge performance at the Bobcat Duals, posting a 3-0 record.
On the day, Keyes dominated all three of the opponents he faced. This dominance earned Keyes the MAC Wrestler of the Week Award.
In his first match of the day, Keyes earned a 16-0 technical fall against Jordan Dix, a freshman from The Citadel.
Keyes then dominated Frank Celorrio of Appalachian State, winning the match 14-5. Last year as a junior, Celorrio won the Southern Conference championship and earned a berth to the national tournament.
In his final match of the day, Keyes earned another victory, this time over Cleveland State's Zech Huff. Against Huff, Keyes once again showed his dominance, defeating the freshman by way of technical fall 17-1.
Elsewhere in the MAC
The University of Buffalo was the only other MAC school to see action last week, as the team traveled west to compete in the Las Vegas Invitational. The Bulls had their best finish since 2005 at the event, placing 23rd out of 42 teams.
Placing for the Bulls was 165-pound wrestler John Cannon. The sophomore, finished in seventh for Buffalo against a field loaded with talent.
In Las Vegas, Cannon matched up against several nationally ranked wrestlers including Andy Rendos of Bucknell University. Rendos, ranked thirteenth in the nation, defeated Cannon 8-3.
Despite falling to Rendos, Cannon bounced back with victories over strong competitors including two wins against Oscar Huntley of Navy. Then, in Buffalo's most impressive win of the day, Cannon took down Eren Civan of Columbia.
Civan, a junior, was named to the All-Ivy League second team last year with his only loss of the conference season to nationally ranked Cornell wrestler Mack Lewnes. Lewnes finished his regular season last year with an unblemished 35-0 record.
Also doing well for the Bulls were Jimmy Hamel and Kevin Smith. Both Hamel, a junior who last year qualified for the national championships, and Smith, a sophomore, made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament before losing two straight matches to see their days end.
2 Sports
Noah Meyers
