Ohio (1-0) notched a statement victory over Wisconsin (0-1) in its season opener, winning 25-14. Despite the game being tied early at 14-14, the Bobcats' back-end wrestlers secured a dominant win.
Ohio fell into a hole early. In the 125 weight class, Wisconsin redshirt freshman Nicolar Rivera took down Ohio sophomore Ryan Meek. This was due to a fall 4 minutes and 19 seconds into their duel, giving Wisconsin 6 points after one match. The Badgers would further their lead after the 133 lb. weight-class match when redshirt freshman Zan Fugitt prevailed over freshman Kolten Barker via technical fall 16-1.
After this, the Bobcats took over, and the next three matches would end with the Badgers seeing green. This shift began with redshirt freshman Kaden Jett fueling the comeback after defeating Brock Bobzien after a 5-2 decision. Following this, redshirt sophomore Derek Raike improved his record after taking down redshirt freshman Royce Nilo in another 16-1 technical fall.
Redshirt junior Peyton Kellar took the mat next for Ohio and kicked off his season on the right note after beating redshirt junior Luke Mechler in a close matchup. Keller prevailed on an 8-7 decision.
The next two matches saw both teams split with decision victories. Badger redshirt junior Cale Anderson won against redshirt sophomore Jack Lledo in a decisive 8-2 decision in the 165-weight class. The Bobcats would answer back, with redshirt freshman Max Ray scoring eight points in the win, tying the match at 14 apiece.
Ohio would take over after this as the final three matches fell the Bobcat's way. Ohio’s redshirt junior Garrett Thompson would break the tie after defeating redshirt freshman Lucas Condon in a low-scoring 4-2 decision. Following this performance, redshirt sophomore Austin Starr would shine in a 15-1 major decision, taking down Wisconsin graduate student Niccolo Colucci.
Wrapping up the contest, Bobcat Jordan Greer cleared Gannon Rosenfeld in another majority decision 13-4, capping an outstanding performance from Ohio. The night would close with The Bobcats scoring 11 unanswered points and winning 25-14.
This is Ohio’s first win against a Big Ten opponent in almost 10 years. The last Big Ten win was in 2015, when Ohio toppled Indiana 22-13. The Bobcats will look to build off this momentum as they head to East Lansing to compete in the Michigan State Open Nov. 9.
