Sports
Wrestling: Ohio Defeats Eastern Michigan 17-16
By: Sarah Rachul
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The Ohio wrestling team took the win in a nail-biting match Sunday against Eastern Michigan. The Bobcats won five out of the 10 matches to win with a one point advantage, 17–16.
Head coach Joel Greenlee was pleased with his wrestlers’ performance.
“It’s good for us to get a victory. Eastern Michigan beat North Dakota State a week ago and North Dakota State is in the top 25, so that’s a confidence builder for us,” said Greenlee.
Jeremy Johnson won the first match of the night for Ohio with a major decision against Eastern’s Chris Eggert. Johnson took a total of 13 points against Eggert’s 4 points. This match was an improvement for Johnson, as he lost his match against Central Michigan’s Jarod Trice. Johnson hit the mats Sunday with a clear head, and it certainly worked in his favor.
“You can’t think about the night before if you have a match today. If I would have came out here and just think about how I lost last night and felt sorry for myself, then I wouldn’t have got it done. I really had something to do for my team. I had to come out here and get bonus points and that’s what I did,” said Johnson.
Phil Wellington took the closing match for Ohio tonight with a decision. Wellington's performance was clutch, as Ohio was down by two points overall and the freshman's decision gave Ohio the three points it needed for victory. Wellington’s match was a close one at 4–2 but he had mentally prepared himself before he hit the mats.
“It felt pretty awesome. I knew going in it was going to be a tough match, I just had to go in there and do it for the team,” said Wellington.
The three other wins for Ohio garnered a total of 12 points toward Ohio’s total of 17. Ohio’s Andrew Romanchik won his match with a decision against Eastern’s Justin Melick. Harrison Hightower gained three points for Ohio with a decision against Eastern’s Jacob Dorulla. Cody Walters continued his undefeated run with a major decision win against Eastern’s Mike Curby.