Ohio State wrestling: Buckeyes down No. 3 Penn State

The Ohio State wrestling team entered today's dual meet with No. 3 Penn State in need of a signature win. The team was on a two-match losing streak and some of the hype that surrounded Tom Ryan's squad in the preseason was beginning to fade. The Buckeyes responded with a resounding 22-15 win over the defending national champions.

Nathan Tomasello, Hunter Stieber and Kyle Snyder all earned statement victories. Tomasello's 11-2 victory over No. 8 Jordan Conawaywas his first against a Top 10 wrestler in five attempts. Hunter Stieber showed that the panic surrounding his two season-opening matches may have been overblown as he controlled No. 17 Zack Beitz in a 7-2 decision. Snyder made perhaps the loudest statement of all notching a 6-1 win over No. 4 ranked Morgan McIntosh, a returning All-American. While Snyder winning wasn't entirely unexpected, the manner in which he won was. Snyder controlled McIntosh throughout, surrendering only a  lone escape point.

Penn State seized momentum late in the match when Matt Brown pinned Ohio State's Dominic Prezzia, narrowing the team score to 16-12. Ohio State would respond, though. Back to back wins by Kenny Courts and Kyle Snyder made the score 22-12, sealing the deal for the Buckeyes.

Results

125: No. 7 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) maj. dec. No. 8 Jordan Conaway (PSU) 11-2 | OSU 4, PSU 0

133: No. 10 Jimmy Gulibon (PSU) dec. No. 4 Johnni DiJulius (OSU) 5-4 | OSU 4, PSU 3

141: No. 1 Logan Stieber (OSU) pinned Kade Moss (PSU) WBF (2:51) | OSU 10, PSU 3

149: No. 6 Hunter Stieber (OSU) dec. No. 17 Zack Beitz (PSU) 7-2 | OSU 13, PSU 3

157: No. 8 Dylan Alton (PSU) dec. No. 5 Josh Demas (OSU) 3-1 (sv) | OSU 13, PSU 6

165: No. 6 Bo Jordan (OSU) dec. Garett Hammond (PSU) 10-6 | OSU 16, PSU 6

174: No. 4 Matt Brown (PSU) pinned Dominic Prezzia (OSU) WBF (4:27) | OSU 16, PSU 12

184: No. 11 Kenny Courts (OSU) dec. No. 16 Matt McCutcheon (PSU) 4-2 | OSU 19, PSU 12

197: No. 7 Kyle Snyder (OSU) dec. No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) 6-1 | OSU 22, PSU 12

285: No. 6 Jimmy Lawson (PSU) dec. No. 10 Nick Tavanello (OSU) 3-1 | OSU 22, PSU 15

Notes

• Ohio State 174-pounder Mark Martin did not wrestle. He was wearing a walking boot on the Ohio State bench during the match.
• Nick Tavanello was injured in the closing seconds of his match against Jimmy Lawson. He grabbed his knee and was down for a while before finally limping off of the mat.
• No. 3 Penn State was the highest-ranked team Ohio State had beaten in a dual meet since its win over No. 2 Iowa in 2012.
• Attendance for the match was 6,109

Quotes:

Tom Ryan

"It felt good to get a team win. We've been working hard and to come so close and finally getting one felt good."

"The only thing that ultimately matters, right is what happens at the end of the year. So this team has done a really good job, our leaders have done a really good job, of focusing on that. IN the sport of wrestling, that weekend is the weekend when you want to come out on top. Everything else is learning and preparation for that time."

"You  know, we also lost three late. We lost heavyweight... Demas, same thing. And then Johnni lost late, so there's still plenty of room for improvement for this team, but it's certainly good to get this one."

Logan Stieber on the win

"People, the fans, they  really take for granted how hard it is to win a wrestling match, you know what I mean? It's really hard, you know. So you see like my brother he's had three matches and he lost his first two. He's a two-time all-american, he's really good you know, but it's hard, it's hard work to win a wrestling match, so we saw that today and I think we wrestled really well."

On his brother Hunter's performance

"Today he did a good job. He showed a lot of heart you know, you could tell that he was really, really tired, but less tired than last week. So that was the only difference between last week, he was less tired. He wrestled pretty well last week for like three, three and a half minutes. This week it was maybe four-and-a-half, five minutes. When he can get to seven minutes, eight minutes, nine minutes, he can be national champion."

Kyle Snyder on finally beating a top-five opponent after two close calls.

"It felt really good. I felt before the season started, I felt like I was ready and able to compete with the best guys at this weight class and after the two losses to Burak and Gadsen, I still felt the same way."

On how his mindset changed because his match could seal an Ohio State win.

"Mindset was pretty much the same whether we were going to win the dual no matter what. I wanted to win the match just basically because I like winning. Of course it helps the team if I win, but the sole purpose behind me going out there and wrestling is because I want to get my hand raised at the end of the match."

Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson on Logan Stieber

"I'm glad he's a senior. I think he's pinned our guy in a dual probably three times, three out of four times."