During its first meet at The Convo, Ohio picked up its second-straight win to start the head-to-head portion of the season.
After a rough start to the dual with Gardner-Webb, a late surge from the Bobcats secured a 23-15 team victory to advance to 2-0 during duals this season.
To start the dual, Ohio’s Oscar Sanchez fell to Gardner-Webb’s Drew West 5:25 into their match in the 125-pound weight class. Following Sanchez’s fall, Mason Brugh and Kyran Hagan lost by decision over their respective opponents in the 133-pound and 141-pound weight classes, giving Gardner-Webb a 12-0 lead to start the dual.
The meet's turning point came in the 149-pound weight class, when graduate student Alec Hagan defeated Gardner Webb’s Corbin Dion by fall after just 53 seconds. This impressive finish from Hagan put the Bobcats back in the dual, narrowing the score to 12-6.
Following Hagan's quick win, redshirt freshman Peyten Kellar defeated Tyler Brignola on a technical fall, when one wrestler wins by a margin of 15 points. In this instance, it was Kellar with a 15-0 performance in the 157-pound weight class.
Ohio took its first lead of the dual 17-15 after sophomore Zayne Lehman came away with a win by decision in the 184-pound weight class.
After taking the lead, Ohio never looked back. It finished off the dual with wins in the 197-pound and 285-pound classes, making the final score 23-15.
The Bobcats get a small break for the holidays, with their next dual at West Virginia on Jan. 6.
