Ohio (4-7, 1-6 Mid-American Conference) had four of its wrestlers compete in the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Tournament in Cleveland at Rocket Arena. Those four Bobcats include redshirt seniors Derek Raike, Garrett Thompson, Sal Perrine and Zayne Lehman.
The championships provided Ohio with a great opportunity to end its season on a high note after a disappointing MAC season.
On the first day of the tournament, both Lehman and Perrine were able to prevail with opening round victories for Ohio. However, Raike and Thompson were unable to match their teammates’ success, going 0-2 on Thursday.
At 157 lbs., No. 13-seeded Raike went up against Harvard’s No. 20-seeded senior Jimmy Harrington and fell to his opponent by a 4-1 decision. In his second session, Raike wrestled Indiana’s No. 29-seeded redshirt sophomore Bryce Lowery and couldn’t advance with a win.
Following him was No. 24-seeded Thompson at 174 lbs. He went toe-to-toe with No. 9-seeded redshirt sophomore Beau Mantanona of Michigan and eventually came short in a 7-3 decision. In the next round, Thompson faced Virginia Tech’s No. 25-seeded redshirt junior Sergio Desiante and came close to winning but ultimately lost in a 5-2 decision.
Perrine, at 184 lb. weight division, squared off against North Carolina’s No. 18-seeded Jake Dailey in the first round. Perrine was both quick and strong to eventually secure his 9-3 decision victory over Dailey. Soon after, Perrine’s matchup against Missouri’s No. 2-seeded redshirt freshman Aeoden Sinclair resulted in a 4-0 decision.
Finishing off day one with a bang, Lehman recorded a tight but hard-fought 6-4 decision against Indiana’s No. 15-seeded redshirt junior Gabe Sollars. In the second round, Lehman couldn’t overcome No. 3-seeded redshirt junior Stephen Little of Arkansas-Little Rock.
On Friday, Perrine and Lehman’s collegiate wrestling careers unfortunately came to a close in the consolation round. After taking a 4-2 decision win against No. 32-seeded redshirt junior Caleb Uhlenhopp of Utah Valley, Perrine was unable to defeat American’s No. 10-seeded redshirt junior Caleb Campos, losing in a 9-2 decision.
Lehman had an upset over Virginia Tech’s No. 4-seeded redshirt sophomore Sonny Sasso, winning 3-2. That victory earned Lehman a match with Ohio State’s No. 12-seeded redshirt sophomore Luke Geog, where the former lost in a 6-3 decision to the latter.
This concludes Ohio University’s 2025-26 season for its wrestling team and marks Ohio’s head coach Joel Greenlee’s 28th season at the helm.
