After last weekend’s meet against Clarion was postponed, the Bobcats are eager to return to the mats to take on West Virginia Friday evening for Senior Night.
Ohio (3-5, 2-3 Mid American Conference) will compete for the first time since defeating Buffalo Jan. 29, and will honor the team’s four seniors before the dual meet: Darrin Boing, Casey Gordon, Andy Hartshorn and Nick Purdue.
“It will be nice to honor those guys for their hard work,” Ohio coach Joel Greenlee said. “Plus, being home is always a benefit. Even though we lost to these guys last year, the past doesn’t matter much.”
West Virginia (6-4) is looking to rebound against the Bobcats after falling 26-12 to No. 9 Pittsburgh last weekend.
But the Mountaineers have had recent success over Ohio, winning three of the last four meetings between the teams in dual meets.
The two squads both competed in the Reno Tournament of Champions earlier this season, but there was only one match between Ohio and West Virginia. The Mountaineers’ Nathan Pennesi defeated Boing 3-0 in a 141-pound matchup in the consolation round of the tournament.
At Reno, West Virginia finished in seventh place overall with 52.5 team points, just one place higher than Ohio.
Each team has multiple similarities. Both teams have two ranked wrestlers and both teams have also lost to Bloomsburg.
Leading the way for the both teams are the wrestlers in the heavyweight class. West Virginia senior Brandon Williamson is ranked 20th and has recorded 20 wins, but Ohio’s Jeremy Johnson is No. 7 and already has 25 wins this year as just a sophomore.
“Their guy is definitely good, but I think we still have the advantage in that match-up,” Greenlee said. “He may be a senior, but Jeremy is very good and I have confidence that he will do well.”
Although the meet against the Mountaineers is Senior Night for the Bobcats, due to the postponement of the Clarion invite and the MAC Championships, the seniors will compete two more times in The Convo.
Up Next:
OHIO vs. West Virginia
7 p.m. Friday at The Convo
— Mountaineers have won three of last four meetings.
— Each team has two ranked wrestlers.
— Ohio will honor four seniors on Senior Night.
cl027410@ohiou.edu
