After the Hokies cut the Buckeye lead to 12-6, a trio of wins by freshmen Logan Stieber (133), Hunter Stieber (141) and Cam Tessari (149) helped clinch the Ohio State win. Last second takedowns by both H. Stieber and Tessari proved to be a huge difference maker in a tightly contested match that featured zero bonus points.
"The matches we won late, we attacked," Tom Ryan, head coach, said. "The matches we lost late were because we didn't attack. You have to keep attacking to build your lead. This is an exciting group and they want to win."
Wrestling before a St. John Arena home crowd of 2,464, No. 15 H. Stieber (8-1 overall; 3-1 dual) trailed Zach Neibert, 4-2 and 4-3 after the first and second periods, respectively. An escape by Neibert at the 1:45 mark in the third left H. Stieber in a 5-3 deficit. However, the Buckeye from Monroeville, Ohio, countered with a takedown with 1:06 remaining in the match to tie the score. Twelve seconds later, Neibert answered with an escape to take a 6-5 lead, but H. Stieber continued to press and with just seven seconds left, scored a takedown for the 7-6 victory.
With the Buckeyes up 18-6, the 16th ranked Tessari (7-1 overall; 4-0 dual) won in dramatic fashion over Nick Brascetta. Also a native of Monroeville, Ohio, Tessari was down 3-2 early in the match before the score was even at 3 a piece entering the third. An escape by Brascetta with 1:41 left gave the Hokie a slim 4-3 lead, but with five seconds left on the clock, Tessari scored a takedown for the decisive 5-4 lead. After a Virginia Tech injury timeout, Tessari scored an escape to seal the individual and team win.
The match began at 174 pounds and 2011 Big Ten runner-up and fourth ranked Nick Heflin (8-0 overall; 4-0 dual) lifted the Scarlet and Gray to an early 3-0 lead when he beat Chris Moon 6-2. Heflin, a redshirt sophomore never trailed throughout the match, taking 2-1 and 5-2 leads, respectively, heading into the third period. There was no scoring in the final stanza, but Heflin, a native of Massillon, Ohio, did earn 3:31 of riding time.
An escape and a takedown in the final minute of his match against John Dickson at 184 pounds helped redshirt junior C.J. Magrum move to 4-0 in dual matches and 6-1 overall. Leading by a 8-6 margin, Magrum, who hails from Oak Harbor, Ohio, clinched the match with those three points, plus a riding time of 1:10.
Freshman Andrew Campolattano (7-2 overall; 3-1 dual) lost a close 4-3 decision to Nick Vetterlein in the 197-pound bout. A takedown by Vetterlein with two seconds left on the clock sealed the Hokie victory.
At this point, Ohio State owned only a 6-3 advantage, but jumped to a 12-3 lead after 17th ranked David Marone was forced to default his match to redshirt sophomore Peter Capone (6-2 overall; 4-0 dual) at the 1:41 mark in the second period because of an injury.
Moving on to the 125-pound class, freshman Johnni Dijulius suffered a 7-5 setback to Ty Mitch. Back-to-back stalling warnings on Dijulius tied the score between the pair of Aurora, Ohio, natives and forced the match into overtime. With four seconds left, Mitch scored a takedown for the win and cut the Ohio State lead to six (12-6).
However, fourth-ranked L. Stieber's (8-0 overall; 4-0 dual) 6-1 win at 133 pounds over No. 5 Devin Carter was the first of three consecutive to solidify the OSU victory.
Virginia Tech ended the afternoon with back-to-back wins at 157 and 165 pounds. In a matchup that pitted former Westerville North High School teammates against one another, No. 13 Josh Demas (7-1 overall; 3-1 dual) lost, 7-2, to No. 5 Jesse Dong. Hokie Pete Yates, ranked 14th in the nation, beat Buckeye freshman Derek Garcia (6-4 overall; 2-2 dual), 9-3.
Up next, Ohio State will travel to the 30th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which will take place Dec. 2-3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Results:
174: #4 Nick Heflin (OSU) dec. Chris Moon, 6-2
184: C.J. Magrum (OSU) dec. John Dickson, 12-6
197: Nick Vetterlein (VT) dec.. #14 Andrew Campolattano, 4-3
285: Peter Capone (OSU) def. #17 David Marone, Inj. Def.
125: Ty Mitch (VT) vs. Johnni Dijulius, 7-5 (SV)
133: #4 Logan Steiber (OSU) dec. #5 Devin Carter, 6-1
141: #15 Hunter Steiber (OSU) dec. Zach Neibert, 7-6
149: #16 Cam Tessari (OSU) dec. Nick Brascetta, 6-4
157: #5 Jesse Dong (VT) dec. #13 Josh Demas, 7-2
165: #14 Pete Yates (VT) dec. Derek Garcia, 9-3
Postmatch Quotes
Tom Ryan, Ohio State head coach
On the match
Clearly this was a new environment for us when you have six freshmen in the lineup. They are used to big matches, but I don't think they are used to this type of environment. They aren't used to being in matches when they are up by one or down by one with 10 seconds to go. Normally they are up by 12 at the end of the match. These guys have won so much."
Hunter Stieber, freshman 141-pounder
On his match tonight
"The third period came and I knew I had to score points; I had to get my offense going. In the first period it wasn't going too well. I did some dumb things, but as soon as I started pushing, he (Zach Neibert) started getting tired. I knew in the third period if I kept pushing, I could get some more takedowns."
On the sense of urgency towards the end of the match
I looked up at the clock and there were only 40 seconds left. I shot in and got in a big scramble. I knew I had to win that scramble, I knew I had to score. I had time to go back out and start back up."
Cam Tessari, freshman 149-pounder
On his last-second win
"It felt great. I felt like I was being the aggressor the whole match, but things weren't going my way. I knew if I kept it up the whole match, it would happen and it showed."
On the step up from high school
"Coming from high school, we kind of dominated that scene and coming into college you are facing tougher competition. It was frustrating at times, but we handled it well and got a few last second wins. It feels good to get a win, but we have a lot of work to do."
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