With three wins a piece just beyond the meet's halfway point, junior/sophomore Casey White (Commerce Twp., Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) electrified the crowd after rallying from an early deficit to take control in the third period and put Buckeyes Corey Morrison flat at the 6:47 mark to claim his first pin of the season. White trailed 4-3 entering the final frame after giving up a takedown in each of the opening two periods. With Morrison choosing the bottom position, the Wolverine immediately applied a high-leg turk and locked up a bow and arrow to hold Morrison in a pinning situation for nearly a minute. With time winding down, White used the same move to turn the Buckeye again, forcing him flat with just 13 seconds remaining to earn his first win at heavyweight.
Sophomore Michael Watts (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) completed the Wolverines' second straight come-from-behind win, sealing Michigan's team victory with an 8-5 decision over Will Livingston at 125 pounds. The Buckeye wrestler struck first with a takedown midway through the opening frame; on a restart only 30 seconds later, Watts got a quick jump from underneath to force Livingston to his back for three near-fall points. Watts added a takedown in the second, spinning behind on a bad OSU shot. Livingston added a takedown midway through the third, but Watts held on for his first dual win of the season.
The dual began with an Ohio State upset at 149 pounds as the Buckeyes' 17th-ranked Lance Palmer gave his team an early advantage with a 6-4 decision over senior/junior Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS). After a scoreless first period, Churella took the first advantage early in the second, scrambling out of Palmer's legs to claim a reversal less than 30 seconds into the frame. Palmer evened the score with a pair of escapes. Churella fought off takedown midway through third period to keep the match tied at 2-2 but couldn't finish on single leg at end of regulation, forcing the match into an overtime session. Palmer and Churella traded reversals in the first tiebreaker, but Churella was reversed with two seconds left in the second tiebreaker to lose 6-4.
Fifth-year senior Rob Sulaver (Dearborn, Mich./Dearborn HS) evened the team score in the subsequent match and kicked off a stretch of three consecutive U-M wins with a 7-2 decision over Jason Johnstone at 157 pounds. The wrestlers traded points midway through the first period; Sulaver struck first with a single-leg takedown, and Johnstone quickly scrambled to claim reversal. Sulaver, however, scored an escape before the end of the period to maintain a one-point advantage. After riding Johnstone for the entirety of the second period, Sulaver scored on a restart midway through the third, forcing a scramble as he maneuvered himself to the top.
Senior/junior captain Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) accepted a forfeit victory at 165 pounds, as the Buckeyes bumped 14th-ranked Chris Vondruska to 174 pounds to face unranked sophomore/freshman Jordan Sherrod (Portage, Mich./Central HS). The OSU plan backfired, however, as Sherrod eked out a 2-1 upset victory. After a scoreless opening frame, Sherrod took the match's first lead with a quick second-period escape and -- with Vondruska continually backing up -- extended his advantage when the Buckeye was hit with a second stalling call. Vondruska cut the gap with an escape early in the third, but neither wrestler could convert on scoring attempts in the closing minutes as Sherrod held on for his second dual win.
In the dual's marquee match at 184 pounds, third-ranked Mike Pucillo used an escape and a stalling call to claim a 5-3 decision over fourth-ranked junior/sophomore Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS). Pucillo struck first with the bout's first offensive points, a single-leg takedown midway through the second period. The Buckeye then attempted a cross-body ride, but Todd high-hipped over to earn a quick reversal. Todd could not keep Pucillo on the mat, allowing an escape in the waning seconds of the period that -- combined with the Michigan stalling call earlier in the frame -- proved the difference.
The bout at 197 pounds, matching 19th-ranked fifth-year senior Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) against sixth-ranked J.D. Bergman, would follow suit as the Buckeye wrestler needed only an escape and stalling call to emerge the 2-0 victor.
With the final result already locked up, Ohio State ended the contest with back-to-back wins at 133 and 141 pounds. 18th-ranked T.J. Enright converted a takedown late in the opening period and added another in the third to claim a 5-2 decision over freshman Chris Diehl (Burton, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS) at 133 pounds. In the final match of the day, at 141 pounds, OSU's J Jaggers scored three takedowns, including two in the first, and accumulated 1:04 in riding time to take a 8-3 win against sophomore/freshman Justin Chrzanowski (Metamora, Mich./Lapeer West HS).
The Maize and Blue wraps up the regular season next weekend with Big Ten Conference duals against Penn State and Northwestern. On Friday (Feb. 16) U-M hosts the Nittany Lions in Cliff Keen Arena at 7 p.m., and Michigan closes out the dual schedule Sunday (Feb. 18) against the Wildcats in Evanston, Ill., at 7 p.m. CST.
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