Sports
Ohio Wrestling dominates its annual ‘Grudge Match’ with 29-11 win over Kent State
By: Marc Goldstein
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Rivalries are supposed to be gritty, difficult victories. Even the most lopsided matchups can be overlooked when two rivals face off. A mutual hatred of opponents can truly be the great equalizer. However, in the Grudge Match, that was not the case. Ohio (7-3, 5-1 MAC) was able to decisively defeat Kent State (1-12, 0-6 MAC), 29-11.
The match started a little differently than usual. Ohio honored four of its seniors, Aidan Waszak, Bobby Gaylord, Drew Harris, and Jordan Greer. Another difference from the usual cadence of Ohio’s duals was the results. Early in the dual, Ohio was able to jump out to a lead for a change.
Malachi O’Leary was able to defeat Nico Collelo, 11-5, to open the night. O’Leary got a takedown about 30 seconds into the match and never let up, getting another before the first was over. His win was a welcome change of pace from the usual struggles that have plagued Ohio at the 125-pound class.
Following O’Leary, TJ England would find a way to secure a second consecutive win for the Bobcats to open the night. Facing Adan Benavidez, England got a takedown and escape to propel him to a 4-2 decision to give the Bobcats a 6-0 lead.
Despite a tech fall defeat by freshman Prestyn Park to trim the Ohio advantage to one, Derek Raike made sure that the dual would not remain close for long. Raike, one of the most dominant wrestlers on Ohio’s roster over the past month of competition, made quick and easy work of Cael Andrews. Raike swung Andrews over his shoulder for a nifty throw-over move which was followed by near-fall points to make it 7-0 in the blink of an eye. Raike did not stop the pressure on Andrews, eventually getting a 20-3 tech fall to make the lead six once again. The efforts by the first four wrestlers were noticed by Ohio head coach Joel Greenlee.
NIU. [HG Biggs | WOUB Public Media]
Logan Cravatas, still filling in for the injured Peyten Kellar, surrendered an early takedown to Keegan Knap. Cravatas shrugged off that, picking up a takedown of his own before getting two more in his match to secure the 15-7 major decision victory to make it 15-5, Ohio.
Although Jack Lledo could not get the win, Garrett Thompson left no doubt in his match. Thompson has been internally fighting with Raike over the title of the most dominant wrestler on the Bobcat roster. Tonight, he matched his teammate, getting a tech fall of his own. Thompson did not get his first takedown until two minutes into the match. For him, that is deliberate. Thompson suffocated (almost literally) his opponent for some near-fall points to end the period. Thompson got an escape, takedown and then another takedown as well to open the third period to finish the 16-0 mauling of Hunter Andel.
Jeremy Olszko, quietly becoming a model of consistency, had to fight hard for the win, getting an escape in the second period and a point for riding time to defeat Kyle Snider, 3-0.
Austin Starr’s dual season has been strange. He has taken losses to opponents who are not at his caliber while dazzling with strength and speed that make many believe that those losses are anomalies. Against No. 1 in the MAC, Blake Schaffer, Starr got off to a lightning-fast start with a takedown. After an escape by Schaffer, he nearly had another takedown before the Golden Flash flipped the script, getting a takedown and near-fall points. Starr recovered to tie the match, but Schaffer eventually emerged for the 10-8 decision.
Regardless, the dual was in hand. Greer stepped to the mat to end his career at The Convo with a bang. He did exactly that, pinning Brentan Simmerman in the first period to a chorus of cheers from the crowd.
“Everything came full circle,” Greer said. “Last year was rough. Coming back from ACL surgery. A 14-10 record is not what I wanted. So this year, one of my big goals was to win every single home dual and win every single MAC dual. I’m on pace to do that right now, so I’m achieving my goals one by one.”
Greer and the Bobcats might be done wrestling at home, but the quest for a regular season title, or at least a share of one, is still on the table. Ohio will have to defeat SIUE next week and have SIUE defeat Northern Illinois the following week for Ohio to win a regular season crown for the first time since 2011.
Nonetheless, the win against Kent State means that the Grudge Match trophy will stay in Athens for another year, extending its stay in Southeast Ohio for a fourth year. Greenlee explains what the victory means to the program and his team.
“It’s just an exciting dual,” Greenlee said. “It means something to the guys, it means something to our fans. That’s the purpose: to create some excitement around wrestling and I think that’s what happened.”
The win will be remembered for many for a long time. The domination on Senior Day against a hated rival is something that can unite a team and fanbase. As the regular season winds down, the surge of confidence during this dual will be key for the Bobcats getting to where they want to be as a team and individually.