Ohio lost to nationally ranked Missouri on Sunday.
The excitement of competing against a nationally ranked team could not help Ohio prevail over Mid-American Conference foe Missouri Sunday.
The Bobcats lost to the Tigers 27-9, despite redshirt seniors Spartak Chino and Phil Wellington picking up wins for Ohio.
“We aspire to be like them (Missouri), we just have to go back to the wrestling room and keep working,” Ohio coach Joel Greenlee said.
Ohio (3-1, 0-1 MAC) looked to shrug off some rust, as the team’s last match was at the Navy Classic in November. Yet, its performance was not enough, as Missouri (4-0, 2-0 MAC) won eight out of 10 matches.
Prior to the match in Columbia, Missouri, Greenlee said he was looking for weaknesses in Missouri, as the reigning MAC champs have shown few, if any, flaws this season. Prior to the matchup, Missouri had beaten No. 3 Ohio State, 26-17.
“Missouri is a great team, we have to give them credit,” Greenlee said.
Greenlee said he believed the Bobcats would be favored at the 157 lbs and 174 lbs weight classes with Chino and redshirt senior Cody Walters, respectively.
Although Chino was able to win 4-3, Walters lost in a close 5-4 decision to Missouri's Blaise Butler. Wellington would win by disqualification, tallying his 11th win of the season.
The loss is Ohio's first in terms of dual meets after finishing sixth at the Navy Classic on Nov. 21.
As Ohio looks to remedy its recent slump, the team will travel to Tennessee to wrestle Tennessee Chattanooga (4-1) on Friday. Tennessee Chattanooga is coming off a 31-12 win against Campbell University.
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