The question at the beginning of the 2016-17 season for the Bobcats was a fairly simple one: Who was going to step up and replace a decorated senior class?
The answer, however, was a little more complex.
After four seniors graduated from last year's lineup, including two-time All-American Cody Walters, it was a year in which Ohio tried to find the right pieces of the puzzle. The picture it looked to complete was of a lineup from top to bottom.
Despite almost half of the lineup gone, there were some easy pieces to put back together. The Bobcats returned three NCAA Championship qualifiers from the 2015-16 season in the sophomore duo of Shakur Laney and Cameron Kelly, as well as redshirt junior Austin Reese. Laney and Kelly became staples in the Bobcats' lineup this past season, wrestling at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively.
With a combined regular season record of 43-14 (10-3 Mid-American Conference), it’s fair to say the two were essential to this year's team.
Their ambitions to win MAC titles were fueled by the success and confidence in their regular season bouts.
Unfortunately for Kelly, the championship story wasn’t written for him after he struggled in the MAC Championships, ultimately finishing seventh.
Laney, though, is a different story. The No. 1 seed in the 125 lbs bracket, Laney followed coach Joel Greenlee’s mantra of “wrestle hard” and found himself in the championship match against Northern Iowa's Dylan Peters.
Laney and Peters were supposed to meet earlier in the season when Northern Iowa came to The Convo on Jan. 27. The two were both ranked in the top 15 in many national polls at the time. But the highly anticipated match never happened, as Peters was injured.
Perhaps by meeting on a larger stage with more at stake, it was meant to be that way for the two nationally acclaimed wrestlers. It was on this stage, that Laney accomplished his goal.
He was crowned a MAC Champion.
Winning the title and automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships, No. 13 Laney went an overall 2-2 on the national stage.
Alongside the former was the latter in redshirt junior Noah Forrider. Anchoring the 141 lbs and a few times 149 lbs weight classes, Forrider was a versatile wrestler for the team. After a 24-4 (7-1 MAC) regular season, Forrider found himself earning a third-place spot atop of the podium at the MAC Championship and ultimately paved his way for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships where he went 1-2 to finish his year.
While individuals shone, as a whole, the Bobcats were similar to a yo-yo. They were up and down. Starting the season off at the Mountaineer Quad in Morgantown, West Virginia, the Bobcats went 1-2 on the day with their lone win against West Virginia, the apparent youth loomed like a dark cloud.
But instead of a storm, out came the sun.
Opening conference play against Buffalo, the youth in question was no longer asked about as the Bobcats cruised to a 25-9 victory over the Bulls.
At the time, Greenlee said he didn’t expect to see that dominance, but for most of the season, Ohio proved to be dominant by winning its first five out of seven duals.
“As far as the first half of the season goes, I thought we were on fire," Greenlee said.
But struggle returned. After losing to Northern Iowa, Ohio hit a slump. Ohio only won one of its last four team duals, capping its first losing season since the 2011-12 season.
“February we fell apart just because of guys getting hurt and stuff, but that’s how it goes,” Greenlee added.
With all 10 starters returning next year, the Bobcats look to challenge the powerhouse programs of Missouri and Northern Iowa.
As for the postseason, with a MAC champion returning, it could be a special season for some next year as Ohio has closes the book on this year.
