Friday evening, No. 3 Michigan wrestling (8-2, 4-2 Big Ten) welcomed the 6th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (10-1, 4-1 Big Ten) to the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI. The Wolverines were coming off of a busy weekend a week ago — No. 1 Penn State defeated Michigan by 22 points last Friday, but the Wolverines bounced back with a 24-9 win at No. 24 Rutgers last Sunday.
Tonight, Michigan wrestling fought valiantly yet still fell to the 6th-ranked Buckeyes at the end of the night. Still, the Wolverines saw much upside from its stars, such as Cameron Amine and Mason Parris.
Michigan wrestling falls to Ohio State, 23-15
After a weekend of mixed results last week, Michigan wrestling appears to be on a downward trend again with tonight’s 8-point loss to the Buckeyes.
After the first four matches of tonight’s meet, Michigan wrestling trailed the Buckeyes, 14-0. The Wolverines had suffered four-straight losses, yet managed to buy one in overtime as Michigan’s Will Lewan won in sudden death and got Michigan on the board. Things did not get a whole lot better from there, though the Wolverines managed to win three of their remaining matches for 15 points.
The loss is Michigan’s second defeat in its first ten dual meets this season; the Wolverines remain winless against top-10 competition during the 2022-23 season.
Meet results
- 125lbs: No. 10 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) defeated No. 20 Jack Medley (Michigan). (Ohio State 3, Michigan 0)
Michigan’s 20th-ranked Medley took the Buckeyes’ top-10 Malike Heinselman down to the wire — the match remained tied heading into the third and final period, though Heinselman managed to edge out Medley via decision and give the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead early in the meet.
- 133lbs: No. 9 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) defeated No. 12 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan). (Ohio State 6, Michigan 0)
After dropping the first match of the meet, the Wolverines dropped their second-straight match; Dylan Raguson failed to overcome Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez and saw a sudden death loss. The Buckeyes back-to-back victories gave them a 6-0 lead early on in the match.
- 141lbs: No.18 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) defeated No. 23 Cole Mattin (Michigan). (Ohio State 9, Michigan 0)
Cole Mattin and Dylan D’Emilio have now met three times — D’Emilio leads the series, 2-1, after tonight’s win. Mattin went down early, yet managed to climb his way back into the match and tied it up at 4-4 midway through. As the match went on, Mattin appeared to grow stronger, though eventually headed into the 3rd period down 5-4.
Early on in the 3rd, Mattin tied it up at 5-5, before Ohio State’s D’Emilio scored the matches final points, and took home a narrow 7-5 victory.
- 149lbs: No. 3 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) defeated Fidel Mayora (Michigan). (Ohio State 14, Michigan 0)
Fidel Mayora, the nation’s No. 3 149lbs wrestler, dominated Michigan’s Fidel Mayora, 20-5. The Buckeyes continued to pile onto their impressive lead.
- 157lbs: No. 10 Will Lewan (Michigan) defeated No. 23 Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State). (Ohio State 14, Michigan 3)
Heading into the 3rd period, Ohio State’s Gallagher led Michigan’s Lewan, 4-3. With his back against the wall, Lewan swiftly scored a 1-point escape, tying the match at 4-4. Lewan then forced sudden death overtime, and promptly scored a takedown to win it.
- 165lbs: No. 6 Cameron Amine (Michigan) defeated No. 9 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State). (Ohio State 14, Michigan 9)
Michigan’s 6th-ranked Cameron Amine led the match 1-0 heading into the 3rd period; however, the Buckeyes’ Kharchla managed to tie it up early on at 1-1. In a low-scoring affair, the Wolverines and Buckeyes went to sudden death overtime — the 3rd overtime of the meet to this point — yet even that was not enough to settle this massive top-10 showdown.
Michigan’s Cameron Amine won the match in the second overtime as Amine scored a fall — Crisler erupted as the Wolverines shaved Ohio State’s lead down to five.
- 174lbs: No. 8 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) defeated Max Maylor (Michigan) (Ohio State 17, Michigan 9)
After Cameron Amine got the Crisler Center on its feet, Michigan’s Max Maylor took the mat with Ohio State’s Ethan Smith — the 8th-ranked wrestler in the 174lbs weight class. Though Maylor managed to keep it close throughout the first two periods. The Buckeyes’ 8th-ranked Smith was too much to handle and defeated Maylor, further extending Ohio State’s lead.
- 184lbs: No. 5 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) defeated No. 8 Matt Finesilver (Michigan). (Ohio State 20, Michigan 9)
As the final matches of the dual meet approached, Michigan wrestling was in need of some assistance on the scoreboard. While Cameron Amine’s victory brought the score within five, the Wolverines’ immediate loss extended Ohio State’s lead to 17-9. Finesilver entered the 3rd period in the down position and swiftly scored a point; Ohio State responded with two points of its own, and the match sat at 5-2. Another escape for Finesilver brough it within two before Ohio State scored another takedown.
The Buckeyes went on to win, 7-4, and pushed their lead to 20-9 over the 3rd-ranked Wolverines.
- 197lbs: No. 21 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) defeated Rylan Rogers (Michigan) . (Ohio State 23, Michigan 9)
In Rylan Rodgers’ dual meet debut for Michigan wrestling, he faced off against Ohio State’s 21st-ranked Gavin Hoffman. Rodgers kept it closer (2-1) after one period; however, the Buckeyes managed to maintain their lead heading into the 3rd and final period (5-3).
Rylan Rodgers could not overcome Hoffman, and again, the Wolverines fell even further behind.
- 285lbs: No. 1 Mason Parris (Michigan) defeated No. 16 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State). (Ohio State 23, Michigan 15)
After a huge weekend against Penn State just seven days ago, Mason Paris earned the No. 1 ranking in the 285lbs class. As many expected, Parris floored the 16th-ranked Orndorff en route to a massive victory. It was not enough for the Wolverines to overcome the Buckeyes in the dual meet; however, the win brought the score closer and will keep Parris in the nation’s top spot heading into Sunday’s meet against Maryland and next weekend’s meet against No. 10 Oklahoma State.
One of the biggest points of emphasis from tonight’s dual meet should be how dominant Mason Parris looks. He essentially does what he wants when on the mat regardless of opponent. Parris won via fall, pinning Tate Orndorff.
FINAL: Ohio State 23, Michigan 15
What’s next for Michigan wrestling?
The Wolverines have five regular season meets remaining on the 2022-23 slate: vs. Maryland (1/19), vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State (2/3), at No. 2 Iowa (2/10), vs. No. 25 Indiana (2/12), and vs. Central Michigan (2/19).
The Big Ten Championships are set to be held on Saturday, March 5th, and end on Sunday, March 6th. The NCAA championships will begin on Thursday, March 16th, and end on Saturday, March 18th.
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