Ohio began its 2014-15 campaign at the Michigan State Open on Sunday
Ohio continued its streak of successful starts to the season by placing 11 wrestlers in the top five of their respective weight classes in the team’s first meet of the 2014-15 campaign at the Michigan State Open on Sunday.
Two of Ohio’s 11 wrestlers recorded first-place finishes, as Cody Walters won the 174-pound class and Tywan Claxton won the 149-pound division.
Walters, a redshirt junior, was an All-American during his sophomore year but struggled through injuries last year.
Walters won his final match and earned first place in his weight class after his opponent forfeited because of medical reasons, but Ohio coach Joel Greenlee was still impressed with his showing during the tournament.
“I think it’s just starting off the year on the right foot,” Greenlee said. “When you win the tournament and take down a couple tough guys on the way to the finals and the guy in the finals doesn’t wrestle you, but it gives you the win.”
Greenlee was pleased with Claxton’s results, saying he wasn’t surprised that he performed well but that he didn’t expect Claxton to win.
The rest of the team also fared well, with redshirt junior Phil Wellington finishing second in the 197-pound class, redshirt senior Harrison Hightower finishing third in the 165-pound class, redshirt junior Spartak Chino finishing fourth in the 157-class and redshirt junior Andrew Romanchik finishing fifth in the 157-pound class.
Five others placed in the top five in the freshman and sophomore division, including freshman Austin Reese, who took home first place in the 165-pound class.
Greenlee said the most important thing about the Michigan State Open was that it allowed the team to go out and face real competition.
“It’s important to get out and wrestle somebody else instead of wrestling ourselves,” Greenlee said. “We’ve been wrestling ourselves for a month. You get different looks and you find out the areas you’re really doing well, and you find the areas you need to work on a little bit. It was important to go out and just wrestle different people.”
With some impressive finishes, Greenlee said he is satisfied with how his team performed in its first match, but he does note that his team does have some work to do before its Green & White intrasquad scrimmage on Sunday.
“I think we’ve got a pretty good team,” Greenlee said. “I think we’ve got something special going on, we’ve got a great group. I think we’re in great shape, but there’s things we have to work on to get better.”
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