Sports
Wrestling: Ohio Edges Buffalo On The Road
By: Jerod Scheetz
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The Bobcats used a strong start in Sunday’s match against Buffalo to stop their dual meet skid at two, beating Buffalo 22-18. Ohio (3-5, 2-3 MAC) did not let the travel time to Buffalo (5-12, 0-2 MAC) affect their performance, and Ohio put together a solid team effort.
“I have been happy with our preparation all year,” Ohio head coach Joel Greenlee said after the match. “Once again, we were ready to go, made weights, and had a nice week of workouts.”
The Bobcats jumped on the Bulls early with a major decision from Ryan Garringer. Ohio would go on to win four of the first five matchups, taking a 16-3 team lead.
Sophomore Jeremy Johnson highlighted the quick start with his pin of Jedd Mason.
“That start we had was the key,” Greenlee said. “Garringer’s major decision, and Johnson’s pin put us way ahead right away. (Gabe) Ramos and (Drew) Hammer kept it rolling and built that lead.”
Buffalo finished very strong after a jumpstart performance from Senior Kevin Smith. Smith took a 4-0 decision over Ohio’s Darrin Boing, and Buffalo’s Blake Roulo followed up with a decision of his own over Andrew Romanchik.
Bobcat freshman Harrison Hightower sealed the victory with his sixth pin of the year. Those six points put Ohio back up 22-9 with just two matches remaining.
Even with the match out of reach, the Bulls made the score respectable with two dominating performances to end the match. Mark Lewandowski took five points for his tech fall victory at 165 pounds over Ohio’s Miles Chapman. Lewandowski battled through a knee injury in the match, but Chapman couldn’t take advantage of it. Jake Waste finished the match with a major decision over Michael Duckworth.
Even with the poor finish, Ohio held on to win 22-18. The Bobcats next take the mats when they play host to Clarion on February 4 at 7 p.m.