“We wrestled pretty well,” said head coach Joel Greenlee. “I was a little worried about it from the standpoint of having a big match on Friday and losing a heart-breaker (to Kent State) and not knowing how we’d bounce back. We bounced back well.”
The day began with a wrestling clinic hosted by Bobby Douglas. Douglas had an impressive wrestling career, winning five national championships and two U.S. Olympic Trials Titles. He captained the United States Freestyle Wrestling Team at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City and was named the Nation’s Outstanding Wrestler in 1970. He is also a member of the Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The dual meet began with the 125 pound wrestlers squaring off. Mountaineer Shane Young started quickly out of the gate, earning a takedown in the first minute of the bout to go up 2-0. Ramos (Hopatcong, N.J.) came up with a nice escape the center of the mat and then a takedown in the final minute of the first round to take a 3-2 lead. Young fought back, opening up the second period with a takedown of his own to retake the lead. Ramos was then able to pull off back-to-back escapes, finding himself in the third period with a 5-4 lead.
Young was not done, however, and came back with a big takedown. Ramos promptly followed it up with another escape, and the bout was tied at six with seven seconds left when the redshirt freshman came back with the winning takedown. Young had over a minute of riding time to get one more point, but Ramos took the bout by a final score of 8-7 to put Ohio up 3-0.
West Virginia’s No. 18 Colin Johnston came through in a big way in the day’s next bout, pinning Tim Silvers (Eaton, Ohio) in 2:38 to give the Mountaineers a 6-3 lead.
Lindsey (Cincinnati, Ohio) started off his bout well, taking a 4-1 lead at the end of the first period. He racked up multiple takedowns in the second period, pushing the score to 14-6 before he eventually pinned Ryan Romano in 5:29, earning a huge six points for the Bobcats.
The 149 pound bout was a very strategic one, as Morton (Canal Winchester, Ohio) and opponent Mike Rowe tried to feel out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The first score came in the second period when Morton achieved an escape, which he immediately followed with a takedown. Rowe was able to make it close with back-to-back reversals, but Morton added another takedown to take the bout by a final score of 5-2.
In a homecoming of sorts for Tucker (Martins Ferry, Ohio) the redshirt senior found himself in a close battle with Mountaineer Kyle Eason. Tucker took an early 2-0 advantage with a first period takedown, but Eason came back in a big way with a three-point near-fall. Tucker was able to reverse it, however, taking a 4-3 lead into the final period. He was able to hold on to that lead in a furious third period, taking the win by decision.
Donnie Jones of West Virginia (2-9, 2-2 Eastern Wrestling League) came out strong in the first period of the 165 pound bout, earning an early takedown. He pushed his advantage out further to 5-0 before Kevin Christensen (Fairborn, Ohio) escaped his hold for Ohio’s first point in the bout. Jones kept up the pressure and earned a 10-3 victory by decision.
The 174 pound bout got off to a furious start as Ison (Batavia, Ohio) earned a takedown in the first 30 seconds. He pushed the advantage to 11-1 before pinning Matt Weston in just 97 seconds, giving the Bobcats a 21-9 lead. The pin was Ison’s seventh of the season, a mark that leads all Bobcat wrestlers in 2009-10.
“Ison looked great, I thought,” added Greenlee. “He went out there and really put it on his guy.”
Purdue (Genoa, Ohio) followed Ison’s lead by starting fast, leaping out to a 9-2 lead. He kept up the pressure on West Virginia’s Brandon Boyer, finally pinning the Mountaineer with six seconds remaining in the bout.
Schuth (Spencerport, N.Y.) had an impressive bout for the Bobcats at 197 pounds, racking up takedown after takedown to grab an early lead. WVU’s Kyle Rooney stormed back in the second period, narrowing the score to 6-5 in favor of Schuth. Rooney came away with a big takedown in the final seconds of the third period, taking a 7-6 decision.
In the final bout of the day, redshirt freshman Matt Prichard (Dayton, Ohio) wrestled in his first bout of the season. He stymied Brandon Williamson through the first period, taking a 0-0 score into the second. Williamson took the final bout with a 4-0 decision to wrap up the match.
“It was a great event (at Ohio University East),” said Greenlee. “Like I said on Friday, I think that we need to make wrestling important and get our name out there a bit around the state. I thought it was another good crowd today.”
The Bobcats will next be in action when they travel to No. 6 Central Michigan on February 19.
Results:
125: Gabe Ramos (Ohio) vs. Shane Young (WVU) 8-7 dec. OHIO 3-0
133: Tim Silvers (Ohio) vs. No. 18 Colin Johnston (WVU) Fall 2:38 WVU 6-3
141: No. 11 Germane Lindsey (Ohio) vs. Ryan Romano (WVU) Fall 5:29 OHIO 9-6
149: Seth Morton (Ohio) vs. Mike Rowe (WVU) 5-2 dec. OHIO 12-6
157: Clay Tucker (Ohio) vs. Kyle Eason (WVU) 4-3 dec. OHIO 15-6
165: Kevin Christensen (Ohio) vs. Donnie Jones (WVU) 10-3 dec. OHIO 15-9
174: Jacob Ison (Ohio) vs. Matt Weston (WVU) Fall 1:37 OHIO 21-9
184: No. 18 Nick Purdue (Ohio) vs. Brandon Boyer Fall 6:54 OHIO 27-9
197: No. 16 Erik Schuth (Ohio) vs. Kyle Rooney (WVU) 7-6 dec. OHIO 27-12
HWT: Matt Prichard (Ohio) vs. Brandon Williamson (WVU) 4-0 dec. OHIO 27-15
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