Despite having two weeks of preparation for their final home meet of the season, the Bobcats did not appear ready for their battle against West Virginia Friday evening.
Ohio (3-6, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) lost nine of the 10 bouts, falling to the Mountaineers 36-3 in the team’s worst loss of the season. Though Ohio battled in every match, West Virginia was able to gain technical points at key times to seal victories.
“The guys just need to go out there and be more certain on what they want to do,” coach Joel Greenlee said. “I think they are focused too much on winning instead of just getting points. We need to work on the little things more.”
The lone bright spot for the Bobcats was freshman Harrison Hightower. After beginning strong with a 5-0 lead through one round of the 157-pound bout, Hightower remained in the lead and was victorious against Dominic Prezzia to give Ohio its only win of the evening.
“Harrison has been there all year long,” Greenlee said. “He is getting better and better everyday. He is better now than two weeks ago, and in two weeks he will be better than he is today.”
The Bobcats recognized the team’s graduating grapplers on Senior Night. Darrin Boing, Casey Gordon, Andy Hartshorn and Nick Purdue were all honored before the beginning of the meet.
Hartshorn, a heavyweight, started in place of seventh-ranked Jeremy Johnson to wrestle for the final time in The Convo. But wrestling in the heavyweight bout for West Virginia was No. 20 Brandon Williamson, who defeated Hartshorn 5-1.
The Mountaineers dominated the entire contest winning the first seven matches of the meet and earning three victories by technical fall or a pin.
“We really need to be aggressive and go out there to get takedowns and figure out where we want to be at,” Greenlee said. “Too many times we were wrestling well in the middle of the mat, but they took us to the outside and we collapsed.”
West Virginia has won two straight duals against Ohio, after a 23-14 win last year in Morgantown, W.Va.
Ohio will travel to North Carolina this weekend for meets against Duke, North Carolina State and Gardner-Webb.
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