Pictured: Ohio State’s 2021 NCAA finalist Sammy Sasso (149).
Friday, January 21, was the most talked-about night of the 2021-2022 season thus far. That should come as little surprise given that we had a pair of top-6 Big Ten duals running back-to-back on the Big Ten Network. First No. 1 Penn State took on No. 3 Michigan at 6 p.m. Eastern. Then, as a nightcap, we had No. 2 Iowa facing No. 6 Ohio State at 8 p.m. Eastern. Does it get any better than that?
The duals lived up to the excitement. So much so that I decided to dedicate a story to each of them.
Here are some thoughts and observations from both Penn State vs. Michigan and Iowa vs. Ohio State in a weight-by-weight breakdown format.
Iowa vs. Ohio State
Overview: Ohio State made it far more competitive then I expected. We had multiple tight bouts that came down to the wire, upsets, and plenty of excitement amongst the Covelli Center crowd. Tom Brands' Hawkeyes may have won, 21-12, but Tom Ryan and company have a lot to be encouraged about moving forward.
125: It feels that Iowa's Drake Ayala has been the talk of college wrestling in recent weeks. He has gone from talented redshirt freshmen competing in Opens to full-fledged starter in place of arguably the biggest name in college wrestling. Oh, and the youngster managed to grab a pair of ranked wins and secure ranking as high as No. 10 nationally after only a handful of varsity starts.
In the end, Ayala, ranked 10th at the time, took the 7-5 overtime loss to senior then-No. 17 Malik Heinselman, but the Hawkeye impressed. Once again, he battled back after giving up the opening takedown. Then, the true freshman showed grit by securing a crazy takedown at the buzzer to force overtime.
For Heineman, he showed immense focus to give up the match-tying takedown at the buzzer, only then to re-focus and get the win over a higher-rated wrestler. It's a quality win for the veteran Buckeye, possibly his best of the season.
133: Austin DeSanto returned to the lineup after missing three consecutive duals. Also encouraging, Austin secured a commanding 19-4 technical fall that showcased the relentless offensive attacking ability that DeSanto has become known for. That pace was no match for Ohio State's Dylan Kuntz. It is easy to see why some say the fiery lightweight has one of the best motors in the sport.
As for the elephant in the room, why pull Cullen Schriever's redshirt for what might amount to nothing more than three stars? That is a strange move. It's also not something you'd expect from a blue-chip recruit like Schriever. In any case, let's leave that topic there and wait to see how February and March play out at 133 in Iowa City.
141: As expected, Iowa 2021 NCAA finalist Jaydin Eierman remained unbeaten on the season at 12-0 overall. However, as has been the case so often this season, the final score was by a slimmer margin than I (and others) probably expected.
For comparison sake, in 2021, Eierman finished the year at 12-1 with a 62% bonus rate. In 2022, he currently sits at 12-0, but his bonus rate is only 42%. Is there something to this decline in offensive output? We will find out in March.
149: I'll call this one a "sneaky good bout." I certainly did not expect this match to come down to the final wistle and only be a 3-2 decision. Last year, the Buckeye pinned the Hawkeye. Sammy Sasso is known for his offense. Max Murin, well, he has struggled with consistency and battled injury.
With that, few could have imagined we would have seen quite possibly the best match of the 2021-2022 season here. And among to Pennsylvania preps no less. I hope we see Sasso vs. Murin 2.0 later this season.
157: Kaleb Young is getting back to his winning ways. Young has seen his schedule ease up a bit after a brutal start to his season, facing a stretch where six of seven opponents were ranked.
After his 4-0 shutout of Ohio State's Jashon Hubbard on Friday, Young has won four matches in a row (with two bonus-point wins) and likely regained some confidence.
The Hawks will need Kaleb to return to his All-American form of 2020 and 2021 if the Black and Gold want a second straight team crown.
165: Alex "The Bull" Marinelli, went down in a battle of youth vs. veteran savvy.
Carson Kharchla has turned heads all season after injury kept him from the starting lineup last year as a redshirt freshman. This season, he's 17-1 with a win over a defending NCAA finalist. Still, beating three-time All-American, No. 4 Marinelli (ranked No. 1 by various publications at the time), 3-2, thanks to a late takedown in the final seconds, has further validated his resume. It's an excellent win for the Buckeye, but he'll likely need to replicate it at Big Tens or NCAAs if he wants to win it all.
For Marinelli, it's his final ride in that all-black singlet. He has been the top seed at the national tournament multiple times. Will he bounce back and make 2022 his best year yet?
174: I don't want to jinx it, but the story for me at 174 for the Hawks is that 2021 NCAA finalist Michael Kemerer has looked like his usual self as of late.
Kemerer is 25 years old, a seventh-year senior, and wearing double knee pads and a shoulder brace. Before the season, the big question was whether his heath and age would catch up with him?
So far, it certainly has not. Friday was his biggest test of the season to date then-No 7 Ethan Smith. Both guys looked great, and Kemerer came away with a tough 6-3 decision, controlling most of the match.
This Friday (January 28), his most important test of this season will be a 2021 NCAA finals rematch with Carter Starocci. Buckle up!
For Smith, he is right there! He has had some absolute slugfests with the very best in the nation.
So far, he has faced guys currently ranked as follows: No. 2 Kemerer (Iowa), No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech), No. 5 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), No. 6 Logan Massa (Michigan), and No. 8 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly). .... Wow!
Of those five bouts, all were decided by five points or fewer, including four by three points or less. While he hasn't broken through yet, Smith could be dangerous by Detroit.
184: On paper, it seemed safe to chalk this up as a win for then-No. 5 Kaleb Romero over No. 18 Abe Assad. After all, Romero just took Olympic Bronze medalist to the limit in an overtime defeat. And, Assad, an experienced sophomore, fell to a talented high schooler senior at the Luther Open in November.
However, that's why you don't wrestle matches on paper. It took overtime for Romero to secure the 3-1 decision over the Hawkeye. Despite the loss, you must be impressed with what you saw from Abe.
Assad is 7-2 since his tight 4-3 loss to high schooler Clayton Whiting, and his lone losses are to No. 3 Hayden Hidlay, 6-0, and No. 5 Romero, 3-1.
197: Once again, this one was closer than the initial rankings would indicate. Iowa's Jacob Warner, a three-time All-American, ranked No. 3, eked out a 6-5 decision over then-No. 20 Gavin Hoffman. Hoffman, a former blue-chip high school recruit, was a three-time Pennsylvania state champion, who has yet to qualify for NCAAs.
Simply put, Warner was gassed. Hoffman pushed him to the brink. While the Buckeye took the loss, maybe this will be the confidence boost he needs to be able to live up to those once lofty expectations from his high school days.
285: There were no surprises here. Iowa's Tony Cassioppi delivered with a 13-4 major decision over Tate Orndorf to close the dual and send the visiting No. 2 Hawkeyes home with a 21-12 Big Ten dual meet win over the No. 6 Buckeyes.
Over their careers, Cassioppi is 4-0 with four bonus-point decisions when facing Orndorf, which includes a pair of falls and an 11-0 shutout.
Final Thoughts: The dual was better than expected and served as an excellent ending to the best Friday of the 2021-2022 season to date. The home crowd magic of the Covelli Center in Columbus certainly motived the Buckeyes to a few upsets, making the dual closer than anticipated. The Buckeyes are a talented team and were a great test for the defending Big Ten and NCAA champions.
What's crazy to imagine is how different these two squads will look next season in 2022-2023 when Iowa graduates nearly all of its starting lineup. Conversely, Ohio State will bring in one what some are postulating (albeit very prematurely) the best recruiting classes in NCAA wrestling history, led by a trio of No. 1's in Nick Feldman, Nic Bouzakis, and Jesse Mendez.
Bout-by-Bout Results
No. 2 IOWA 21, No. 6 OHIO STATE 12
125 Malik Heinselman (OSU) dec. Drake Ayala (IA), 7-5; 0-3
133 Austin DeSanto (IA) tech. fall Dylan Kuntz (OSU), 19-4; 5-3
141 Jaydin Eierman (IA) dec. Dylan D’Emilio (OSU), 4-0; 8-3
149 Sammy Sasso (OSU) dec. Max Murin (IA), 3-2; 8-6
157 Kaleb Young (IA) dec. Jashon Hubbard (OSU), 4-0; 11-6
165 Carson Kharchla (OSU) dec. Alex Marinelli (IA), 3-2; 11-9
174 Michael Kemerer (IA) dec. Ethan Smith (OSU), 6-3; 14-9
184 Kaleb Romero (OSU) dec. Abe Assad dec. (IA), 3-1; 14-12
197 Jacob Warner (IA) dec. Gavin Hoffman (OSU), 6-5; 17-12
285 Tony Cassioppi (IA) major dec. Tate Orndorff (OSU), 13-4; 21-12
Records: Iowa (11-0, 5-0), Ohio State (5-2, 1-2)
Date: Jan. 21, 2022
Attendance: 4,400
https://twitter.com/theopenmat/status/1486437957825351681
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