The win also marks the Buckeyes' first victory over Wisconsin since a 28-17 win in Madison Feb. 23, 2003.
Ohio State won six of 10 matches, including a win by freshman Colt Sponseller, the 2007 National High School Senior Athlete of the Year. Sponseller, whose wrestling status was a match time decision, saw his first action as a Buckeye at 165 pounds and posted a 3-1 win over Jake Donar.
The match ended on a dramatic note, with five lead changes and Ohio State up only four points heading into the final bout at heavyweight. However, senior and Oak Harbor, Ohio, native J.D. Bergman kept his perfect record in tact (11-0) by pinning 11th-ranked Kyle Massey 2:32 into the first period.
Nikko Triggas earned his eighth win of the season, opening the match with a 16-0 technical fall over Drew Hammen at 125 pounds. A native of Campolindo, Calif., Triggas held an 11-0 advantage at the end of the first period. After scoring a two-point nearfall with 40 seconds remaining in the second, Triggas recorded another two-point nearfall with just one second left on the clock in the second period to end the bout, helping the Buckeyes jump out to a 5-0 lead.
With the Buckeyes down 6-5 going into the 149-pound match, Columbia Station, Ohio, native Lance Palmer put Ohio State back on top (8-6) after notching an 8-2 win over Kendall Vogel. With a slim 2-0 lead on a takedown after the first period, the eighth-ranked Palmer increased his advantage after scoring an escape and a takedown in the second stanza. Vogel took the down position in the third and managed to escape to avoid the shutout, but Palmer answered with a takedown with 54 seconds left. Another escape by Vogel could not overcome Palmer's lead, which included an extra point for a 4:13 riding time advantage.
Sponseller, a Millersburg, Ohio, native recorded the next OSU win and opened with a strong start, scoring an early takedown. Donar notched an escape with 35 seconds left in the first period to cut Sponseller's lead to one (2-1). However, an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Donar gave Sponseller an extra point and that 3-1 lead held for the remainder of the match.
At 174 pounds, Alex Picazo improved to 7-3 after defeating Justin Peterson, 12-7. The local product out of Grandview Heights, Ohio, owned a 7-4 lead after the second period and two escapes, a takedown and a riding time of 1:40 in the third period was sufficient enough to overcome Peterson's escape and takedown.
Fifth-ranked Mike Pucillo decisioned No. 12 Trevor Brandvold, 5-4, to move to 9-1 on the year at 184 pounds. It was a scoreless bout going into the third period, but an escape by Pucillo, a Strongsville, Ohio, native at the 1:48 mark ended the scoring drought. However, Brandvold answered with a takedown 19 seconds later (1:29). Continuing the back and forth affair, Pucillo recorded a reversal to go up 3-2. Brandvold scored a reversal of his own to regain the lead at 4-3, but Pucillo would not be denied the escape with two seconds left and the riding time advantage of 2:28.
Jason Johnstone, a native of Massillon, Ohio, lost a hard-fought 1-0 contest to third-ranked Craig Henning at 157 pounds. A lone escape by Henning in the second period was enough for the Badger to earn the win.
Reece Humphrey (133) and J Jaggers (141) could not hold on to their first-period leads in their respective weight classes. Fifteenth-ranked Humphrey had a slim 5-4 lead before dropping a 7-5 decision, while No. 7 Jaggers owned a 2-0 lead before losing 10-4. John Weakley lost a 12-2 major decision to fourth-ranked Dallas Herbst at 197 pounds.
Ohio State hits the road for three consecutive matches, beginning with an all-day affair at the Ohio Duals Sunday in Athens, Ohio.
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