Sports
Ohio Wrestling cruises to 44-2 win over Morgan State in Ohio Showcase
By: Marc Goldstein
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — There are convincing wins and then there are crushing blowout wins. Ohio (1-0) opened its dual season with the latter on Saturday evening against Morgan State (0-1). The 44-2 final score tells a simple story of dominance and a complete victory, but it was made possible by some standout – and unexpected – performances. As part of the Ohio Showcase, an event where three duals were taking place at once – a dual between Division I teams, one between Division II teams and another between Division III opponents – the host team stole the show.
The lightweights have given Ohio some major trouble over the past few seasons. An inability to find consistent and effective starters has become a theme. While those troubles are not completely in the rearview mirror, the showing against Morgan State was certainly a step in the right direction. Brayden Teunissen got the nod at the 125-pound class after the freshman went 3-1 in his first collegiate action last weekend. Teunissen was able to overpower his opponent, Jimmie Jones, from the opening whistle. The 11-1 major decision victory should continue to inspire confidence in the freshman for the coaching staff.
At the 133-pound class, another new starter would take center stage. Konner Lambers was getting his first starting action of his freshman season and made the most of it. He left no doubt as he simply crushed Julian Dawson to the tune of a 17-1 tech fall late in the second period. Lambers was able to get a number of takedowns and near-fall points to open up a huge lead that he did not relinquish.
For the third straight match, a freshman competed for Ohio as Abe Hermes wrestled at the 141-pound class. His performance was just as dominant as the two before him. He would get the second straight tech fall for Ohio over Marwan Nezeer by a score of 22-4. He would secure takedowns at will and make quick and easy work of his opponent.
Ohio head coach Joel Greenlee was very impressed with the efforts of his young wrestlers that showed out in their home debuts.
Morgan State got its first and only win of the day when Eugene Harney grinded out a victory over Carson Weber. Harney rode out the entire second period to key him to a win as Weber was unable to get any of his shots to land. Weber was coming off a week when he won MAC West Wrestler of the Week for a 4-0 first-place finish in the Freshman/Sophomore bracket of the Southeast Open. Weber was the fourth straight freshman to get a start for Ohio during the dual.
Derek Raike made the move over to the 157-pound class and did not skip a beat. He picked up a major decision over Sincere Bailey in a purely dominant performance. Raike picked up a thunderous takedown in the first period to spur him to a big win.
Max Ray stepped to the mat at the 165-pound class and was unable to get any bonus points during his bout. However, he still emerged victorious over Eric Tecson with a 5-1 win. Ray had to battle for his win, but it was a strong showing for him defensively as he stopped any shots taken by Tecson.
In lieu of Garrett Thompson at the 174-pound class, Jeremy Olszko took the place of his injured teammate. Olszko got a takedown late in the first period, staggering Cort Vann in the process. Vann remained in the match, but would have to leave midway through the second period. As he exited the mat, he slammed his headgear on the ground. His actions lost the Bears a point by way of an unsportsmanlike conduct point reduction.
The next two matches featured a pair of Ohio wrestlers making their long-awaited returns to action after injuries kept them from competing last season. Sal Perrine was the first to the mat and he was firmly in command from the beginning. He overwhelmed Sam Diggs with a flurry of takedowns and near-fall points to win a 19-2 tech fall. Perrine thinks that his performance says more about how he was able to prepare for the season after spending so much time off.
“I got a lot stronger over the past year,” said Perrine. “I was just attacking and staying on my attack. I’m not cutting as much weight to get down to 174, so I feel really strong.”
Greenlee, though, thinks that it is a sign of things to come for his redshirt senior. The big win is being taken as a teaching point for the rest of the roster as Perrine pushed for the result before the end of the second period.
“I hope everybody saw what I saw out there,” said Greenlee. “Sal Perrine is a beast. He was relentless. He could have taken it to the next period and gotten the tech fall there, but he got it in the second. That’s saying something right there. He is a beast right now.”
Zayne Lehman, not to be outdone, got a first-period fall right before the horn sounded to end the period. Lehman was as dominant as he was when he competed for Ohio last in 2023-24. After Wyatt Schmitt won via forfeit at heavyweight as Morgan State did not enter anyone, the dual ended with one of the most lopsided outcomes in recent memory. From the first to the last match, Ohio was in firm control.
The results should inspire confidence for Ohio before it welcomes Wisconsin to Athens next weekend. Greenlee echoes the fact that he wants his team to remain focused on the task in front of them ahead of the big matchup.
“I want our guys to be the toughest team in the gym, no matter what gym it is,” said Greenlee. “We have to be focused on a pursuit of a takedown and the next points. We did a great job of that tonight.”