Ohio had 10 wrestlers place at the Navy Classic on Saturday in Annapolis, Maryland. Ohio continued its hot start to the season as it placed second out of 12 teams. The only team that the Bobcats placed behind was Michigan State. Ohio beat 10 schools, including Navy, Bucknell, American, Rutgers, The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute and Mid-American Conference opponents Kent State, Edinboro, Lock Haven and Bloomsburg.
The two big winners for the Bobcats on Saturday were redshirt sophomore Jordan Slivka and freshman Sal Perrine as they both placed first in the 157-pound and the 174-pound brackets, respectively. Perrine is one of the Bobcats’ freshmen who has gotten off to a blazing start, as he has now placed in all three of his matches, the other results being a first- and third-place finish. Slivka has also placed in all three matches with him placing third in the previous two tournaments.
Freshman Zayne Lehman secured another strong tournament finish for the Bobcats as he placed fifth in the 184-pound weight class due to his opponent having to medically forfeit. Lehman has now placed in all three tournaments that he has wrestled in for Ohio. Sophomore Jordan Greer also placed fifth in the 197-pound bracket while redshirt junior Jordan Earnest placed sixth in the 285-pound class, marking the third tournament in a row that Greer has placed and the second for Earnest. Giovanni DiSabato, a redshirt junior, also placed fifth at 133 pounds, a strong followup to his first-place finish the previous week.
The final Bobcats that placed at the Navy Classic were redshirt sophomore Oscar Sanchez who placed third in the 125-pound bracket, redshirt senior Kyran Hagan who also placed third at 141-pounds, redshirt junior Colt Yinger who placed fourth in the 165-pound class after a medical forfeit and Alec Hagan, a redshirt senior who is competing this season after missing all of last season, also placed fourth in the 149-pound bracket after reaching his match limit for the tournament.
The Bobcats’ second-place finish on Saturday shows what they’re capable of. The mix of veteran leadership and young talent is something that everyone will be keeping an eye on this year.
