"We were able to beat Penn State at the National Duals and we were able to battle for the win tonight," Tom Ryan, head coach, said. "It was an ugly win, but we got it. I haven't been a part of too many dramatic wins, but this was great. The stakes were high, battling against a Big Ten team for the conference win. With it being alumni night too, it was a great way to end the evening."
In front of 55 Buckeye wrestling All-Americans and team captains, 10th-ranked Jaggers and senior heavyweight J.D. Bergman kept Ohio State (14-3; 2-1 Big Ten) in the match after pinning their respective opponents. Prior to Jaggers' pin, Bergman, ranked second in the nation, dropped Stefan Tighe in 1:45 to pull the Scarlet and Gray within three points (16-13) with just three bouts remaining after being down by nine points (16-7) for the second time in the match.
Trailing by six points after true-freshman Nikko Triggas lost a close 7-5 decision at 125 pounds, redshirt-sophomore Reece Humphrey pulled the Buckeyes back within three (19-16) after decisioning Tim Haas, 6-2. Jaggers and Strayer then concluded the match at 141 pounds.
"J is an outstanding wrestler," Ryan said. "He can win a national championship and he wants to dominate. He always beats himself up when he isn't successful, but that is how he is. He cares about his teammates and this program."
Sophomore and fifth-ranked Lance Palmer and Penn State's Bubba Jenkins, who is sixth in the nation, started the meet off at 149 pounds. After both wrestlers were scoreless in the first period, Jenkins got on the board thanks to an escape and takedown in the second stanza. Palmer was able to record two escapes in the third period, but that was not enough, as Jenkins tacked on two more points courtesy of a takedown for the final 5-2 score.
Jason Johnstone also dropped a close decision at 5-3. Up 2-1 after the first period, Johnstone could not hold onto the lead as fourth-ranked Dan Vallimont scored a final escape and owned a 1:38 riding time for the win.
With Ohio State down, 6-0, true-freshman and 13th-ranked Colt Sponseller got the Buckeyes on the board at 165 pounds after posting a 9-2 decision over Dave Rella. Owning a 2-0 advantage heading into the second period, Sponseller added five more points on a pair of takedowns and second stalling call on Rella. Sponseller then finalized the match with an escape and an additional point for another Rella stall.
Up next at 174 pounds, senior Alex Picazo faced a tough opponent in No. 16 David Erwin. With Erwin up 2-0 on a takedown at the 2:25 mark, the Nittany Lion was able to pin Picazo in 1:27.
Now down by nine points, third-ranked and redshirt-sophomore Mike Pucillo was up next at 184 pounds. Pucillo earned the 12-2 major decision over Jack Decker to give the Buckeyes four points.
Penn State was able to gain the four points back as true-freshman John Weakley dropped an 11-0 major decision to No. 2 Phil Davis at 197 pounds. However, it was at heavyweight Bergman gave Ohio State six points on the pin to cut the Nittany Lion lead to three.
Ohio State hits the road for three-consecutive matches, beginning with a Feb. 1 meet against Indiana at 7 p.m. in Bloomington. The Buckeyes then will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., Feb. 3 to face Purdue at 2 p.m. Ohio State wraps up its road trip Feb. 8 against Michigan State at 7 p.m. in East Lansing.
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