Ohio (6-4 overall, 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference) takes on Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (7-1, 1-0 in the MAC) at The Convo this upcoming Friday evening. Ohio is coming off a sixth-place finish in the NWCA National Dual, where they fell in a close matchup with Central Michigan 23-15 in the fifth-place duel.
The Bobcats dominated in their last duel in The Convo, defeating Bloomsburg 37-3, with nine wrestlers finishing with dominant wins, three of which came in shutouts.
Ohio looks to continue its home dominance with the return of 2025’s MAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler in redshirt senior Garrett Thompson. Junior Derek Raike and redshirt seniors Sal Perrine and Zayne Lehman look to be dominant forces in a tough conference matchup.
The Cougars head into The Convo with two dual wins, defeating Little Rock (23-16) and Edinboro (27-6). Leading the Cougars is 4th-ranked redshirt senior Caleb Tyus at 149 with an 11-0 record. Close behind him is 165-pound junior Brock Woodcock with a 16-6 record. Their 175-pound class has two tough wrestlers in junior Dominic Lopez (12-9) and freshman Caleb Neal (10-6).
Their heavy classes are tough with senior Deron Pulliam sitting at 6-4 in 184, sophomore Nick Nosler at 7-9 in the 197, and junior Bryson Buhk at 13-8.
The Cougars currently sit #42 in the nation and are a true contender in the MAC tournament. Look for Thompson and Raike to pick up momentum for the Bobcats with key matchups such as Tyus and junior Marcel Lopez to set the tone early for the Cougars.
SIUE defeated Ohio in their previous matchup 22-12 last season, and in the matchup history, both schools have gone back and forth in this matchup with a career record of 2-2. Home field advantage is the name of the game as both teams are 2-0 at home.
Match Information
Opponent: SIUE Cougars
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: The Convo
Where to Watch: ESPN+
Ohio wrestler to watch: Jack Lledo
The redshirt junior from Pennsylvania Valley, Pennsylvania, has been on an upward trajectory, winning five of his last seven duels for the Bobcats.
He’s greatly improved from last season, where he finished 11-17. He’s currently coming off back-to-back duel wins against Central Michigan’s Chandler Amaker by a decision of 7-2 and Bloomsburg’s Vasilios Dimou by a technical fall of 17-2. He’s the type of scrappy wrestler who wouldn’t back down till the end.
SIUE wrestler to watch: Marcel Lopez
The redshirt junior has been more than consistent for the Jaguars this season, putting together an overall record of 18-7 this season with five majors. In the team’s recent upset over No. 14 Little Rock, Lopez got a solid win over Little Rock’s Dillon Cooper.
