Ohio’s found itself up matched up against some of the toughest teams in the NCAA, but put forth a strong case as also being a big-time team in the Southern Scuffle on Wednesday, the first day of the annual two-day tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn.
No. 11 heavyweight redshirt senior Jeremy Johnson led the Bobcats with a 2-0 performance to advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals. Johnson’s day started with a first period fall over The Citadel’s Gerald Johnson. He then defeated Duke’s Brian Self 15-3 in the round of 16 to keep himself in contention for the title.
Ohio lost four competitors in the round of 16, all to high-profile opponents. In the 184-pound class, redshirt senior Ryan Garringer was defeated by two-time defending national champion No. 1 Ed Ruth. 165-pound redshirt junior Harrison Hightower also fell, getting defeated by Oklahoma State’s three-time All-American, No. 2 Tyler Caldwell 5-1.
True freshman Cullen Cummings lost in the round of 16 to The Citadel’s Matthew Frisch 9-2. The biggest loss of the round, however, was No. 13 redshirt sophomore Phil Wellington, who fell 3-1 to No. 16 Nick Bonaccorsi of Pittsburgh.
125-pound sophomore KeVon Powell remains alive in the consolation bracket.
The Bobcats will resume competition Thursday at 9:00 a.m.
