Ohio (1-1) traveled to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, finishing tied for 20th out of 30 teams with 28 points this weekend.
Leading the way was senior Sal Perrine, placing sixth in the 184 class. Perrine dominated for Ohio, facing six ranked wrestlers and finishing with a 3-3 record. Starting with a 2-1 decision win over the 18th-ranked Ian Bush after picking up the tying escape in the second period, he forced Bush into a penalty in overtime.
His next matchup was against Iowa State’s 10th-ranked Isaac Dean, where an early takedown by Dean in the first period gave him the win in a 4-2 win. Perrine bounced back with back-to-back wins over No. 33 James Rowley and No. 15 Aaron Ayzerov of Columbia by fall at 4:23. Oklahoma’s 12th-ranked Brian Soldano dominated Perrine in a 16-1 decision with three nearfalls and two takedowns, leading into a fifth-place rematch with Isaac Dean that was a back-and-forth battle into triple overtime.
The first period ended with both wrestlers knotted at zero until Perrine broke the silence in the second period with an escape, before Dean responded with an escape of his own in the third period. Both wrestlers fought back and forth with escapes before Dean took the tiebreaking win with more riding time.
Redshirt junior Derek Raike finished seventh in the 157 class. Raike opened the tournament, facing top wrestler Ty Watters in a 6-0 decision loss. He would then win three straight matchups, first defeating Wyoming’s Antonio Avila with two takedowns, a nearfall and two escapes.
He then defeated 33rd-ranked Drayden Morton of Cal Baptist by a 13-9 decision, opening with a takedown before Morton responded with an escape and takedown, and Raike ended the first period with a takedown.
He next faced 14th-ranked Cael Swensen of San Diego State, where Raike won by a decision of 3-2 with a takedown in the first period. He then faced 23rd-ranked Chance McLane of Arizona State, where he lost in a 4-1 decision, placing him in the seventh-place matchup against 19th-ranked Jimmy Harrington of Harvard. Raike finished seventh for Ohio with a forfeit win over Harrington.
In the 125 class, freshman Brayden Tenuissen opened the tournament facing Stanford’s Nick Provo, falling by way of a tech fall 19-4. He bounced back, defeating Sacred Heart’s Corey Ianucci 18-2 tech fall with five takedowns. He lost his final matchup against Cal Poly’s Koda Holeman by a 3-2 decision.
Freshman Abe Hermes struggled facing two ranked opponents. He first faced eighth-ranked Julian Tagg of San Diego State, losing by pin at 5:38. Hermes bounced back, defeating Cal Baptist’s Damian Alvarez by a decision of 7-3 with two takedowns. He finished the day facing 18th-ranked Caedyn Ricciardi, losing by a major decision of 14-4 to the Navy Midshipman.
Freshman Carson Weber went 0-2 in the tournament, looking outmatched as he first faced Virginia Military Institute’s Patrick Jordon, where Jordon pinned Weber at 1:04. In his second match, he faced Cal Poly’s Andre Gonzales by a true fall of 17-2.
In the 165 class, redshirt junior Jack Lledo finished 0-2, first facing 16th-ranked Nicco Ruiz of Arizona State by a major decision of 17-3. He had a tough battle in his second match, falling 4-1 with Ruiz pulling off a takedown in the third period for the win.
At 174, redshirt sophomore Jeremy Olszko dropped a close one to 20th-ranked Brody Conley of West Virginia by a score of 4-2, with Conley getting a takedown in the second period and putting the match out of reach with an escape. Olszko bounced back, winning by an 11-5 decision over Edinboro’s Tate Geiser. In his final matchup, he faced Northwestern’s Eddie Enright, where he lost by a 12-3 major decision.
Redshirt senior Zayne Lehman started hot, winning his first two matches. He first defeated Arizona State's Max Acciardi by a decision of 6-0 with a takedown and a reversal in the third period to put the match away. He next defeated Cornell’s Aiden Hanning by a major decision of 9-1, with two takedowns in the first period and a reversal in the third period. Lehman lost his next two matchups by a major decision of 11-1 against #8 Joey Novak of Wyoming and was pinned by Stanford’s Angelo Posada.
Finally, redshirt freshman Wyatt Schmitt faced two opponents at 285. He first faced #22 Juan Mora of Oklahoma by a technical fall of 19-4. In his final match, he battled Virginia Tech’s Parker Ferrell, losing by a 2-0 decision.
Ohio will travel to North Carolina on Dec. 20-21, to duel Davidson and Gardner-Webb, continuing its stretch of away tournaments before Mid-American Conference play begins.
