In their first home meet of the season, the Bobcats were victorious over Appalachian State 20-15, as they picked up their first win of the season.
Ohio (1-2 overall, 0-2 Mid-American Conference) was dominant in the first four matches, which they swept to take an early 16-0 lead. Beau Wenger (197-pound), Jeremy Johnson (heavyweight), Gabe Ramos (125-pound) and Jake Wojcik (133-pound) each won matches for the Bobcats.
“I think we had a really good meet today,” Ohio coach Joel Greenlee said. “It’s always nice to come out strong in front of the home fans and I think all of our guys wrestled to the best of their ability.”
Notable moments during Ohio’s four-match winning streak included Ramos’s pin to win his bout and Wojcik’s come-from-behind victory to win 7-6 and give the Bobcats a 16-0 lead.
Johnson won his eighth straight match of the season and remains undefeated for the Bobcats in the heavyweight class.
Despite winning the first four matches, Ohio struggled during the following four as Appalachian State made a strong comeback to close Ohio’s lead to only three points at 16-13.
“It was just the luck of the draw for the streaks each team went on,” Greenlee said. “I think four of our strongest guys wrestled in the first four matches and we won all of those. Each team was dominant in the matches they won.”
After the lead was shortened to three points, Ohio senior Nick Purdue (174-pound) claimed a dominant 10-2 victory to give the Bobcats a seven-point lead, thus clinching the overall victory for his team.
Appalachian State won the final match of the afternoon, but it was not enough for the Mountaineers to win the meet overall. Each team won five matches in the dual at the Convo.
The Bobcats will be in action again on Monday evening at Chattanooga. This will be the first of four consecutive road matches for the squad and the penultimate meet of the calendar year.
QUICK FACTS:
• Ohio won its first meet of the season
• Jeremy Johnson is undefeated on the season through eight matches
• Each team won five matches
• Ohio won the first 16 points of the meet
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