For the first time since 2011, Ohio places no All-Americans at NCAA Championships.
Ohio came to the NCAA Championships with high hopes of placing multiple All-Americans on the podium.
On Friday evening, those hopes were dashed.
The Bobcats advanced three wrestlers — 149-pound redshirt junior No. 11 Tywan Claxton, 157-pound redshirt junior Spartak Chino and 174-pound redshirt junior No. 9 Cody Walters — to the blood rounds on Friday, where a wrestler either finished an All-American or is sent home packing.
Claxton, who had a blazing start to his final tournament appearance, looked like he would have his first All-American bid clinched as he led Lock Haven’s Daniel Neff 5-4 with a few seconds left in the first tiebreaker round.
With four seconds left, Claxton went for a single leg takedown, but Neff earned a two-point reversal, which put a shocking end to Claxton’s season.
Chino played the role of Cinderella this past week, winning matches over a 16-seed and a 15-seed to find a way into the blood round, where he faced Michigan’s No. 11 Brian Murphy.
Again, Ohio narrowly missed out on an All-American bid, with Chino losing a 4-3 decision.
But then there was Cody Walters, a wrestler who has been on the All-American podium before and was Ohio’s best chance to do it again.
Dealing with an undisclosed injury, Walters was bounced from the second round after an 8-3 loss to Pittsburgh’s No. 8 Tyler Wilps, the eventual runner-up.
He made his way to the blood round, only to find himself dealing with the same fatigue that faulted him earlier in the tournament, losing a 3-0 decision to Minnesota’s No. 6 Logan Storley.
Walters missed out on an opportunity to become Ohio’s sixth wrestler with multiple All-American honors, which is a feat that was last accomplished by heavyweight Jeremy Johnson last year. This year is the first time since 2011 the Bobcats have left nationals without an All-American.
This tournament saw the final collegiate appearance of Claxton and 165-pound redshirt senior Harrison Hightower, who fell one round short of the blood round.
Even with two key departures, a young lineup and the return of wrestlers such as Walters, Chino, 197-pound redshirt junior Phil Wellington and many more, Ohio will assuredly have more than their fair share of chance to earn an All-American bid—and possibly even a national champion.
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