Sports
Thompson wins conference title during MAC Championships for Ohio; Greer places second
By: Marc Goldstein
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TRENTON, N.J. (WOUB) — Everything was building to this series of dominance for Garrett Thompson. He won all four of his matches with bonus points to rip his way through the bracket. Thompson’s showing of just how dangerous he is led to him becoming the second straight Ohio wrestler to win MAC Most Outstanding Wrestler, joining his teammate, Peyten Kellar.
The weekend was rather short for Ryan Meek at the 125-pound class. He lost both of his matches, the first to Noah Michaels of Rider by fall and the second to Max Elton of Buffalo by decision. Meek ends his season with just a singular win in duals for a second straight season as the full-time starter for Ohio.
At both 133 and 141, Ohio fared slightly better. TJ England would get his first win of the weekend with a 10-0 major decision over Major Lewis of Bloomsburg before defeating Troy Guerra from Buffalo for a second straight time. The two wins were sandwiched between a tech fall loss at the hands of Lock Haven’s Anthony Noto, the eventual champion. England saw his season end at the hands of Cleveland State’s Nick Molchak. England’s collegiate career comes to a close with more success than he found in the regular season.
Kaden Jett would pick up the first major upset of the weekend at the 141-pound class when he defeated Cleveland State’s No. 7 Ethan Mitchell, 1-0, in the first round. Jett’s experience in the championship bracket was short lived after he lost in his next bout. He lost via fall to Andy Lucinsky of Buffalo to end his season.
In the 149-pound class, No. 6 Derek Raike needed some upset wins to make the NCAA Championships and claim one of the three allocated bids. After a first-round bye, Raike would get one upset, a win by fall over No. 3 Kaden Cassidy from George Mason. However, he would be sent to the consolation bracket after dropping a 6-4 decision to Central Michigan’s Mason Shrader. Raike had a long break between matches and lost to Edinboro’s Ryan Michaels to end the hopes of Raike getting the allocated bid. He would rebound by winning the 5th-place match, giving him an outside chance at getting an at-large bid.
Peyten Kellar was not able to defend his title as an injury has sidelined him since the middle of December. Logan Cravatas went in his stead and faced Johnny Lovett from Central Michigan, the eventual champion of the bracket. Cravatas would drop a major decision to Lovett before defeating No. 2 Colton Washleski from Rider with a tech fall. Despite the upset, Cravatas could not continue his run as he lost a decision to Kaleb Burgess of Buffalo to end his season.
No. 4 Jack Lledo was able to snag one of the top seeds before the tournament. Edinboro’s Max Kirby avenged his loss to Lledo earlier this season with a comeback win over Lledo, sending Lledo to the consolation bracket. Lledo would get a win over Luke Thomas of Bloomsburg in the first bout of the consolation before dropping a 9-6 decision to Tate Geiser of Cleveland State to eliminate the former.
Like Raike, Jeremy Olszko was in need of some upsets in order to secure one of the auto-bids allocated to the MAC. Olszko, like Raike, got a first-round bye. He would face Buffalo’s Marcus Petite in his first bout of the tournament, giving Olszko a chance at revenge for his loss in the final dual of the season to Petite. Olszko would drop the bout in sudden victory. He would make his way through the consolation bracket, defeating two opponents before losing to Malachi DuVall from George Mason. Olszko would get his revenge on Petite in the 5th-place match to get himself on the podium. Olszko has the chance to make the NCAA Championships as an at-large selection like Raike, although his odds look better.
Austin Starr’s season at the 197-pound class has not gone according to plan. He struggled in duals, putting him in the MAC Championships unseeded. Starr would advance by way of a medical forfeit. Starr would lose in his next bout to end his season in disappointing fashion.
As the No. 1 seed, Jordan Greer did not have to do very much to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships. He got a first-round bye then dispatched two straight opponents to move on to the finals. Facing Lock Haven’s Gavin Hoffman, Greer was unable to complete the perfect tournament, losing an 8-3 decision. Despite the loss, Greer will still make his second consecutive trip to the Big Dance.
Ohio finished sixth overall with 62.0 team points, far behind the leaders who all finished with well over 90.0 points. The team performance might not be what it would have hoped, but the individuals were performing well in the spots that mattered most. Thompson and Greer could be joined by Raike and Olszko when the brackets are announced on Wednesday, March 12.