No. 5 Ohio State Tops Michigan State, 25-13

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Fifth-ranked Ohio State won six of 10 matches, including four by bonus points, to secure a 25-13 victory over Michigan State Friday evening at Jenison Field House in East Lansing. With the win, the Buckeyes are 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten while the Spartans falls to 3-7, 0-4.

The match started at 125 pounds where Nathan Tomasello got rolling in the second period, extending a 3-2 first-period advantage to a 14-6 lead after two periods. He then scored nine points in the third period to gain the 25-9 technical fall victory. It was his third tech fall of the season.

Mike Manuche made his 2014-15 dual match debut, replacing Johnni DiJulius in the lineup, and dropped a 12-4 major decision to Hermilo Esquivel. Esquivel went ahead for good in the second period on the strength of two escapes and two takedowns.

In the next match at 141 pounds, senior Logan Stieber needed just 3:09 to pin Terry Turner. For Stieber, it was his sixth pin of the year and 14th via bonus points. The senior from Monroeville, Ohio is now 14-0 on the season and 104-3 in his career. The win gave Ohio State an 11-4 lead.

Randy Languis was the next Buckeye up at 149 pounds, and he was knotted up with Nick Trimble at the end of two periods, 2-2. Languis started the third period with an escape, taking a 3-2 lead, but was taken down by Trimble with under a minute remaining. Trimble was called for stalling as time expired in the third period, tying the score at 4-4 and sending the match into overtime. Languis scored an escape in the first tiebreaker but Trimble evened the score at 5-5 on a figure four violation. Trimble won the match on a takedown with 29 seconds left in the sudden death period.

At 157 pounds, senior John Demas scored a takedown as the first period expired and after a scoreless second period, start the third with an escape. He added a late takedown and racked up well over two minutes of riding time for a 6-0 decision. Demas is now 11-1 on the year.

Bo Jordan continued the Buckeyes’ momentum at 165 pounds, jumping out to a 4-2 first period lead and then extending his advantage to 8-4 on a late takedown in the second period. He then scored nine third-period points and totaled over two minutes in riding time. His 18-7 win gave Ohio State a 18-7 lead and upped his season record to 8-0.

Dominic Prezzia gave up a takedown and two-point near fall in the third period and fell 5-1 to Nick Proctor at 174 pounds butKenny Courts came back at 184 pounds to score a 3-1 sudden victory decision over John Rizqallah at 184 to give Ohio State a 21-10 lead. Courts improved to 14-3 overall this season and scored the winning takedown with just four seconds left in overtime.

Kyle Snyder, the reigning Big Ten co-Wrestler of the Week, ran his season record to 16-2 with a 17-6 decision over Nick McDiarmid. Snyder scored early and often in the match, jumping out to a 12-4 lead after two period while also compiling nearly two minutes of riding time.

The match was rounded out at 285 pounds where Chris Nash won by decision over Ray Gordon, 7-4.

The Buckeyes return to action on Sunday, Jan. 18, when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face the 16th-ranked Wolverines at 2 p.m. The match can be seen live on BTN Plus.