Ohio dominated Kent State at home Friday night in its first dual meet of the new year.
After suffering an 18-13 loss in last year’s matchup against Kent State, Ohio posted an impressive 24-12 win, which brought the “Grudge Match” trophy back to Athens for the first time in two years.
Ohio’s first points of the night came in the 197-pound weight class when sophomore Aaron Naples jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Kent State’s Shane Mast. Naples then controlled the rest of the match, not allowing his opponent to score for the rest of the match.
This became a theme for the Bobcats.
After heavyweight redshirt senior Zack Parker was pinned, Ohio rattled off six wins in a row.
This includes redshirt sophomore Mario Guillen and senior Cam Kelly extending their leads to 8 and 15, respectively, to earn the Bobcats 9 team points between the two of them.
Coach Joel Greenlee was pleased with the way his team finished.
“It’s something we work hard on, being in good shape and fighting hard for seven minutes.” he said, “It’s paying off.”
Being in good shape payed of very well for both Alec Hagan and Colt Yinger.
Down by two points with under 40 seconds left in the final period, Hagan was able to secure an escape and a takedown, securing three points and the win.
Yinger, a freshman, secured a clutch takedown early in overtime, propelling him to a 3-1 victory over Kent State’s fifth-year senior Isaac Bast.
