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[Marc Goldstein | WOUB]

Ohio Wrestling can’t hold on late, loses to Northern Illinois, 21-20

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — As Ohio (5-3, 4-1 MAC) battled Northern Illinois (3-3, 3-1 MAC), there was a desire for Ohio to minimize some of its possible weaknesses to get an advantage. 

The weak link for the Bobcats all season has been its first trio of wrestlers. No matter what combination of names is cobbled together on a given night, the results have not come. This issue did not start just last week; rather, it has been a permeating thing that has sunk many duals for the Bobcats over the past two seasons. In the past two seasons, wrestlers competing for Ohio at the 125-, 133- and 141-pound classes have gone a combined 43-130 including 13-52 in duals. 

Ohio’s coaching staff decided to start the match at the 149-pound class and build up a big enough lead with the strength of the roster to make the bouts for the lightweights meaningless to the dual. Against Northern Illinois, Ohio did not pick up enough bonus points to put the dual out of reach, losing 21-20. 

The dual started perfectly for Ohio. Derek Raike continued to put on a show for the home crowd. He dominated early and often against Tommy Curran. Raike got multiple takedowns in the first period and eventually won his bout 14-6 to pick up a major decision. Raike moved to a perfect 7-0 in duals this season and has dominated in those wins. Raike appears poised to make a deep run at the MAC Tournament and, depending on the allotments, potentially make it to the NCAA Tournament. 

Following his exhilarating win last weekend against Edinboro that saw him get a pin, Logan Cravatas couldn’t replicate his success. Landon Johnson was nearing a major decision until the final seconds when he got near-fall points to push him to a tech fall, giving Northern Illinois a slight 5-4 advantage. 

Jack Lledo was also coming off an impressive win and hoping to get his hand raised for a second consecutive time. He faced Brett Smith and trailed going into the final period. An escape by Lledo to open the period tied the score and a takedown later in the period propelled him to the 7-6 victory over Smith, vaulting Ohio back in front, 7-5. 

The newly-minted No. 10 wrestler in the country, according to the first NCAA Coaches Poll, Garrett Thompson, was the next to go for the Bobcats. As expected, he dominated with a flurry of offensive attacks and near-fall points to get a major decision win. The win is impressive, but, as was realized later, more bonus points would have likely been preferred in this match. 

The next match mirrored Thompson’s to a certain degree. The only difference was that Jeremy Olszko was able to get the tech fall in his rather than the major decision. Olszko continued his dominance with another tech fall, his second in as many matches. 

Olszko’s victory made it 16-5, Ohio. Even with five wrestlers to go, Ohio still should have all but won this dual at this very point. Max Ray, filling in for Austin Starr, might have lost to make it an eight-point lead for Ohio, but this was rather winnable. 

Jordan Greer, ranked 21st in the NCAA Coaches Poll, got a major decision of his own, 15-3, to give Ohio a 20-8 lead. Greer, like some of his teammates and coaches, was frustrated with the fact that he could not put more bonus points on the board for his team. 

“I liked what I did out there,” Greer said. “I wanted the tech fall… I am (kind of) disappointed in myself for not getting it. It showed, coming down to the last match. If I got a tech fall, maybe a couple of other guys got bonus points, and maybe we could have won that match. I could have gotten to my offense more in that second period and not try to ride as much.” 

That being said, picking holes in victories is one of the most nit-picky things in sports. A win for Ohio should be celebrated even if there were points left on the board. Conversely, though, when the results of a dual are so razor thin, hindsight is always 20/20, and wondering “what if” for some of the matches is an easy thing to do. 

In the 125-pound class, Ryan Meek was outmatched by Blake West, the No. 1 wrestler in the MAC and No. 28 wrestler in the country. The inability to land any shots or get out from the bottom position was again the deciding factor for Meek. 

Ohio Wrestling head coach Joel Greenlee on the bench.
Ohio Wrestling head coach Joel Greenlee on the bench. [Joshua Jacob | WOUB Public Media]
Similarly, TJ England was pummeled in his match. Sporting a black carbon fiber mask, England was seemingly impaired and unable to give much to his team at a critical juncture. When he stepped into the match, the score was just 20-12 and the outcome was very much up in the air. His opponent, Markel Barker, seemingly knew the situation well and was getting takedowns at will in the third period, letting England go and then getting another takedown. Barker was effectively trading three points for one, allowing him to win by tech fall, not a major decision, 20-4. 

With the writing all but on the wall, Kaden Jett lost a major decision to Jacob Brya, 12-0, to officially put the nail in the coffin of a disappointing result. 

Despite the losses, Greenlee does not blame his lightweights and turns some of the onus onto his best wrestlers, challenging them to bring in more points. 

“I think it’s a team problem. We left points on the board at 149 and left points on the board at (285), 174, and 184. If we get all those bonus points, we still win the dual by a couple of points. It’s not exactly just a lower-weight problem.”

Ohio is back in action on Feb. 2 against Central Michigan at the Convo.