Stieber, Jordan, Snyder Key No. 5 Buckeyes’ Win over No. 2 Minnesota

COLUMBUS, Ohio – On a night when the Buckeyes honored 10 seniors, including three-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber, wins by a pair of freshman – and Stieber – propelled fifth-ranked Ohio State to a 22-13 victory over second-ranked Minnesota in front of 5,642 fans at The Jerome Schottenstein Center. Ohio State, which has now won eight straight matches, improves to 12-3 overall, 8-1 in the Big Ten. Minnesota is 10-2, 6-2.

Friday’s win is the highest ranked opponent Ohio State has defeated since knocking off No. 2 Iowa, 21-9, on January 20, 2012. Overall, the Buckeyes have defeated four teams currently ranked in the top 16 – No. 3 Minnesota, No. 5 Penn State, No. 12 Virginia and No. 16 Michigan.

Redshirt freshman Bo Jordan won his 14th straight match of the season in impressive fashion, getting a fall in 4:46 over 17th-ranked Nick Wanzek at 165 pounds to give the Buckeyes a 16-6 lead. For Jordan, the performance built off last week’s showing that saw him pick up technical falls in wins over Purdue and Rutgers.

With the dual meet hanging in the balance, true freshman Kyle Snyder improved his record to 22-2 on the year with a 3-1 victory over fifth-ranked Scott Schiller at 197 pounds. The most anticipated match of the night, Snyder scored the winning takedown with under 10 seconds left in the third period.

Not to be outdone, Kenny Courts also picked up a critical victory at 184 pounds when he scored a last-second takedown in the third period to secure a 3-1 win over No. 11 Brett Pfarr. The back-to-back victories gave Ohio State a 22-9 lead in the match with just the 285 pound match remaining.

Stieber, competing in his final home dual meet in the Scarlet and Gray, led throughout against fourth-ranked Nick Dardanes at 141 pounds, fending off a late rally from Dardanes to hold on for a 10-9 victory. Stieber, now 19-0 on the year and 109-3 in his career, gave Ohio State a 10-0 lead through three matches with the win.

The match started at 125 pounds and Nathan Tomasello ensured a bonus-points victory by rolling to a 19-5 major decision. He scored three first-period takedowns for a 6-2 advantage and didn’t let up in the second, getting a reversal and three more takedowns for a 14-5 edge.

In the next match, the much-anticipated showdown between 10th-ranked Johnni DiJulius and No. 1 Chris Dardanes did not take place as the Gopher senior did not make the trip to Columbus. Instead, Minnesota sent out Sam Brancale. DiJulius had a takedown in both the first and third periods to gain a hard-fought 4-1 decision.

Minnesota won matches at 149 and 157 pounds to cut the Ohio State lead to 10-6 at intermission.

The Buckeyes return to action next Sunday, Feb. 15, when it travels to No. 15 Edinboro for the first round of the National Duals. The match gets underway at 1 p.m.

Ohio State Wrestling
No. 5 Ohio State 22, No. 2 Minnesota 13
Jerome Schottenstein Center (Value City Arena)
Attendance: 5,642 
Record: Ohio State 12-3, 8-1 | Minnesota 10-2, 6-2

125: #7 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) major decision over Ethan Lizak (Minn) 19-5 | OSU 4, Minn. 0
133: #10 Johnni DiJulius (OSU) decision over Sam Brancale (Minn) 4-1 | OSU 7, Minn. 0
141: #1 Logan Stieber (OSU) decision over #4 Nick Dardanes (Minn) 10-9 | OSU 10, Minn. 0
149: Jake Short (Minn) decision over Randy Languis (OSU) 3-1 SV | OSU 10, Minn. 3
157: #1 Dylan Ness (Minn) decision over #12 Josh Demas 5-2 | OSU 10, Minn. 6
165: #5 Bo Jordan won by fall over #17 Nick Wanzek 4:46 | OSU 16, Minn. 6
174: #4 Logan Storley (Minn) decision over #13 Mark Martin 3-0 | OSU 16, Minn. 9
184: #12 Kenny Courts decision over #11 Brett Pfarr (Minn) 3-1 | OSU 19, Minn. 9
197: #3 Kyle Snyder decision over #5 Scott Schiller (Minn) 3-1 | OSU 22, Minn. 9
285: #13 Michael Kroells major decision over Ray Gordon 18-7 | OSU 22, Minn. 13