No. 6 Ohio State Beats No. 9 Pittsburgh, 22-9

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Four consecutive Buckeye wins at 133, 141, 149 and 157 pounds to end the match propelled the No. 6 Ohio State wrestling team to a 22-9 win over No. 9 Pittsburgh Friday night at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, Pa. With the match tied, 9-9, a quartet of freshmen in Logan Stieber, Hunter Stieber, Cam Tessari and Josh Demas lifted the Buckeyes to their fifth dual win of the season, while also maintaining a perfect record.

 

Tessari, who hails from Monroeville, Ohio, and ranked 15th in the nation at 141 pounds, clinched the win for the Buckeyes with his 6-3 decision over No. 11 Tyler Nauman. Tessari never trailed in the match, owning 2-0 and 6-2 leads after the first and second periods, respectively. 

 

Both teams were locked up at 9-all when No. 3 L. Stieber gave Ohio State a much-needed bonus point on a 9-1 major decision win over No. 20 Shelton Mack at 133 pounds. Up 7-1 in the third, L. Stieber had the riding time advantage, but a stalling call on Mack pushed the Buckeye from Monroeville, Ohio, to the major decision and the Scarlet and Gray to a 13-9 lead.

 

At 141 pounds, No. 6 H. Stieber, (Monroeville, Ohio) tacked on another three points for Ohio State after he decisioned Travis Shaffer, 7-5. The score was tied, 4-4, entering the third period, but H. Stieber recorded a takedown for a 6-4 lead, while also adding riding time. Shaffer managed an escape, but that was not enough as the Buckeyes took a 16-9 lead.

 

Demas, a Columbus native, wrapped up the night with an 8-6 victory vs. Donnie Tasser. After Tasser evened the score, 4-4, in the second, Demas, the 19th ranked wrestler in the nation, answered with a pair of takedowns at the end of the second and in the third periods for the win.

 

The matchup between Ohio State and Pittsburgh began at 165 pounds between Buckeye freshman Derek Garcia and Tyler Wilps. Tied at 2 a piece early in the second period, Garcia quickly took a 4-2 lead on a takedown. However T. Wilps cut the lead to one (4-3) on an escape before the period came to an end. With Garcia choosing bottom in the second, the Buckeye from Sedro Woolley, Wash., escaped for a 5-3 lead. Scoring a takedown, T. Wilps sent the first match of the evening into overtime on a takedown, but Garcia scored the sudden victory takedown in extra periods for the 7-5 win.

 

No. 20 Ethan Headlee took a quick 2-0 lead in the first period over No. 4 and redshirt sophomore Nick Heflin at 174 pounds. However, after an escape, the Buckeye from Massillon, Ohio, followed with a takedown to take a 3-2 lead after one period. With a 5-2 lead with two periods in the books, Heflin won the match, 8-2, on another takedown and a second stalling call on Headlee.

 

Redshirt junior C.J. Magrum earned the Buckeyes their first bonus point of the night when he recorded a 13-5 major decision over Max Thomusseit at 184 pounds. With both wrestlers tied, 3-3, in the second period, Magrum answered with a takedown for a 5-3 advantage and entering the third period, Magrum owned a 7-4 lead. In the final period, the Oak Harbor, Ohio, native added a pair of takedowns, an escape a riding time advantage for the win.

 

Freshman Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook, N.J.) and sixth-ranked Matt Wilps were tied, 2-2, after the first period, but a second stalling call on Campolattano, coupled with M. Wilps riding time, gave the Panther a 4-2 victory.

 

With the Buckeyes up 10-3 over the Panthers, Buckeye redshirt sophomore Peter Capone from Johnson City, N.Y., was up next vs. No. 16 Zac Thomusseit. Down 4-2 early in the match, Capone could not overcome Z. Thomusseit’s lead and eventually lost by a 12-6 decision.

 

After an intermission, No. 13 and freshman Johnni Dijulius (Aurora, Ohio) and No.17 Anthony Zanetta battled to a 0-0 score after the first period. At the start of the second, Dijulius escaped Zanetta and immediately followed with a takedown for a 3-0 lead. A second and third stalling call on Dijulius gave Zanetta two points and the Buckeyes were deducted a team point on a bench warning. An escape by Zanetta on the restart at the end of the second and an escape to start the third gave Zanetta a 4-3 lead. However, Dijulius had the riding time and with no further scoring, the match was forced into overtime. A penalty point was awarded to Zanetta in sudden victory for the 5-4 win. 

 

No. 6 Ohio State 22, (5-0), No. 9 Pittsburgh 9, (3-1)

Dec. 9, 2011

Fitzgerald Field House

Pittsburgh, Pa.

 

165 – Derek Garcia DEC Tyler Wilps (Pitt), 7-5

174 – No. 5 Nick Heflin DEC No. 20 Ethan Headlee (Pitt), 8-2

184 – No. 15 C.J. Magrum MAJ DEC Max Thomusseit (Pitt), 13-5

197 – No. 6 Matt Wilps (Pitt) DEC Andrew Campolattano, 4-2

HWT- No. 16 Zac Thomusseit (Pitt) DEC No. 11 Peter Capone, 12-6

125 – No. 17 Anthony Zanetta (Pitt) DEC No. 13 Johnni Dijulius, 5-4

133 – No. 3 Logan Stieber MAJ DEC No. 20 Shelton Mack (Pitt), 9-1

141 – No. 6 Hunter Stieber DEC Travis Shaffer (Pitt), 7-5

149 – No. 15 Cam Tessari DEC No. 11 Tyler Nauman (Pitt), 6-3

157 – No. 19 Josh Demas DEC Donnie Tasser (Pitt), 8-6