Rattled with injuries, the Ohio wrestling team closed out its winter intersession action placing 23rd of 32 teams at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C., Dec. 29-30.
174-pound wrestler Ryan Knapp finished with the best record for the Bobcats, going 4-2 in the tournament.
On the second day of competition, Knapp faced two opponents from Mid-American Conference foe Kent State, Eric Chine and Aaron Miller, whom he defeated 4-0 and lost to 0-12, respectively.
I think (Chine) was more of a back-up guy but it was still a good match for me to have
Knapp said. In the next match (Miller) was better and my body was wearing down a bit so I would have like to done better but it's still good to see these guys before (conference meets).
Only one other Ohio wrestler made it to the second day, 184-pounder Brian Cesear who finished out the Southern Scuffle with a 3-2 record, and coach Joel Greenlee said he needs the team to reach another level.
We still need to wrestle better he said. I think we're getting better and
yeah
we have injuries but you can't use that as an excuse. Guys that are in there need to step it up and raise their level of effort. We need to get more guys to step up and make it to the second day of the tournament.
The Bobcats are 3-4 in dual meets so far, and have dealt with a fluctuating lineup all season due to injuries to starters like 141-pounder Frank Brown, 157-pounder Jake Frerichs, 165-pounder Vinny DiGiovanni and heavyweight Marcus Adelman.
We're beginning to adapt to all the injuries as a whole team
Knapp said. It wears down on you
though
when the team isn't doing as well as we'd all like. Our full lineup is starting to heal and after a while
we'll be back where we want to be.
After traveling to compete in large tournaments like the 32-team Southern Scuffle and 52-team Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational over break, Ohio begins their MAC action Thursday against Eastern Michigan. Something Cesear said has a positive and negative side.
I'm excited for the MAC season to get started
he said, but as far as tournaments go
we don't have anymore
