No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Penn State, in the Northwest
Dates: 3/5 February 2023
times: 7/3 afternoon
Places: Covelli Center/Welsh Ryan Arena
I’m watching: BTN/B1G+
Live Updates: Twitter (@wrestlingbucks)
Match Notes/Lineups: Ohio State | Penn State | Northwest
COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 5 Ohio State (11-1, 5-0) faces No. 1 Penn State (11-0, 4-0) on Friday at the sold-out Covelli Center before traveling to face No. 15 Northwestern (5-3, 3) – 3) Sunday in Evanston. The game against the Nittany Lions begins at 7 p.m. and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. The match with the Wildcats starts at 15:00 and will be broadcast on B1G+.
- Tickets for the 2023 Big Ten Championships March 4-5 at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan are currently on sale at mgoblue.com.
- Freshman Jesse Mendez, a 133-pounder from Crown Point, Ind., was named the Big Ten Colleague of the Week on Tuesday after two ranked wins last week against league rivals Michigan and Michigan State. Mendez (11-1 overall, 5-0 vs. Big Ten foes) helped the Buckeyes beat No. 7 Michigan 23-12 and Michigan State 36-3.
- Junior Isaac Wilcox, filling in at 174, won his match against the Terrapins 3-1 in sudden victory over Dominic Solis. Wilcox already has wins at 157, 165 and 174 this year. He also won with 174 against Michigan State.
- Sammy Sasso opened the game against Maryland with a 12-1 big decision victory over No. 18 Ethan Miller. Sasso has won three of his last four bouts by decision, with the other coming in the fall. He is 29-0 in Big Ten duals heading into the matchup against No. 4 Michigan.
- Kaleb Romero defeated Chase Mielnik (UMD) for his 75th career win. Romero won that match by technical fall 22-7.
Freshman Jesse Mendez made the Intermat Top 10 on Jan. 16 and was named an Ohio State blackshirt two days later (1/18/23), the 13th Buckeye to receive such an honor. After a vote by the rest of the Buckeye black jerseys and coaches, Mendez will now have the honor of wearing black at the Jennings Center. For more on the honor, see the last two pages of these notes. - Ohio State handled No. 19 Rutgers in the Big Ten Conference opener 27-12 Jan. 15 behind a pin by Caleb Romero (184), a technical fall victory by Tate Orndorff (HWT) and a major decision win by Sammy Sasso ( 149 ).
- The Buckeyes opened the 2023 Big Ten Conference season with a 26-13 win at Indiana. Sammy Sasso (149) and Caleb Romero (184) pinned their respective opponent to help secure the win. The Buckeyes improved to 52-34-2 all-time against the Hoosiers after winning their 12th straight in Bloomington.
- Redshirt freshmen Andre Gonzalez (125) and Mike Missita (HWT) finished second at the 2023 Edinboro-Kaufman Memorial Open on Jan. 8 in Edinboro, PA.
- Buckeyes head coach Tom Ryan earned his 300th career dual at the Collegiate Duals on Dec. 20, 2022 in New Orleans. Ohio State defeated No. 21 Lehigh 23-12 for the historic victory on the final day of the event. The Buckeyes also beat Lock Haven 39-3. No. 22 Northern Iowa posted a 19-13 victory over Ohio State in the second game of the contest.
- Ryan is 305-146-2 in his career, which includes 11 years at Hofstra (109-82-2) and 17 at Ohio State (196-64).
- Against the Nittany Lions, Ohio State is 12-24 all-time. The Buckeyes are 44-29-1 in series against the Wildcats, including wins in nine of the last 10 meetings.
| #5 Ohio State Buckeyes | Probable lineups | No. 1 Penn State |
|---|---|---|
| No. 10 Malik Heinselman (Sr.) | 125 | Gary Steen (Fr.) |
| #9 Jesse Mendes (Fr.) | 133 | #1 Roman Bravo-Young (GR) |
| When. 19 Dylan D’Emilio (R-Jr.) | 141 | #5 Beau Bartlett (Jr.) |
| #3 Sammy Sasso (R-Sr.) | 149 | #13 Shane Van Ness (R-Fr.) |
| No. 25 Paddy Gallagher (R-Fr.) | 157 | No. 9 Levi Haynes (Fr.) |
| #12 Carson Harchla (r-Jr.) | 165 | #8 Alex Facundo (r-Fr.) |
| #7 Ethan Smith (R-Sr.) | 174 | yes 1 Carter Starocci (Jr.) |
| Okay. 5 Caleb Romero (R-Sr.) | 184 | #1 Aaron Brooks (Sr.) |
| #17 Gavin Hoffman (R-Sr.) | 197 | #4 Max Dean (Sr.) |
| #18 Tate Orndorff (R-Sr.) | HWT | #2 Greg Kerkvliet (Jr.) |
| (InterMat Wrestling individual rankings used) | ||
| #5 Ohio State Buckeyes | Probable lineups | No. 15 Northwest |
|---|---|---|
| No. 10 Malik Heinselman (Sr.) | 125 | #8 Michael DeAugustino (R-Sr.) |
| #9 Jesse Mendes (Fr.) | 133 | #13 Chris Cannon (r-Jr.) |
| When. 19 Dylan D’Emilio (R-Jr.) | 141 | #8 Franky Tal-Shahar (r-So.) |
| #3 Sammy Sasso (R-Sr.) | 149 | #4 Yahya Thomas (GR) |
| No. 25 Paddy Gallagher (R-Fr.) | 157 | #11 Trevor Chumbley (r-Jr.) |
| #12 Carson Harchla (r-Jr.) | 165 | No. 18 Maxx Mayfield (r-So.) |
| #7 Ethan Smith (R-Sr.) | 174 | #17 Troy Fisher (r-Jr.) |
| Okay. 5 Caleb Romero (R-Sr.) | 184 | Evan Bates (R-Fr.) |
| #17 Gavin Hoffman (R-Sr.) | 197 | Andrew Davison (Gr.) |
| #18 Tate Orndorff (R-Sr.) | HWT | #4 Lucas Davison (R-Sr.) |
| (InterMat Wrestling individual rankings used) | ||
NEXT
The Big Ten regular season concludes for the Buckeyes in Columbus on Feb. 10 at the Covelli Center against No. 10 Nebraska at 7 p.m. Ohio State will celebrate its alumni on Senior Night in Columbus. The game is at 7:00 p.m., with the Big Ten Network providing television coverage.
#GoBucks