Ohio State's Myles Martin defeated Penn State's Bo Nickal to win the NCAA title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)No. 2 Penn State puts its undefeated dual meet record on the line against No. 4 Ohio State on Friday night at Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. The dual meet is slated for 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Last season the Nittany Lions topped the Buckeyes 24-14 at the Bryce Jordan Center in front of nearly 16,000 fans. However, only one of the 10 matchups from last season's dual meet is expected to happen on Friday night. Ohio State won the last meeting in Columbus, in 2015, 22-15.
Below are five matchups to watch in the dual meet.
141: No. 15 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) vs. No. 11 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State)
Both Pletcher and Gulibon are from the same hometown in Pennsylvania, Latrobe. The wrestlers are five years apart in age and attended different high schools, but both trained with the Young Guns Wrestling Club. Gulibon, a 2015 All-American, started the season slowly, going 5-4 in his first nine matches. However, he has been wrestling well of late. He notched a win over NCAA qualifier Tommy Thorn of Minnesota on Jan. 6, and is currently riding a three-match winning streak, with two of those wins coming over ranked wrestlers. Pletcher has put together a remarkable true freshman campaign. He has gone 21-2, with his only two losses coming at the Midlands Championships. Pletcher is coming off a 5-4 win last Friday night over Iowa's Topher Carton.
149: No. 5 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State)
Retherford, the returning NCAA champion, has been the nation's most dominant wrestler this season in Division I, according to the NCAA's most dominant wrestler award standings. He is currently 15-0 this season, with 11 pins, a technical fall and a major decision. He was pushed by Iowa's Brandon Sorensen on Jan. 20 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but prevailed 9-8 in the second tiebreaker. Micah Jordan, who won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December, took his first loss of the season last Friday night against Sorensen, 2-0. He has earned bonus-point victories in 14 of his 21 wins this season.
174: No. 1 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 7 Mark Hall (Penn State)
Bo Jordan, a two-time All-American (third twice), has held the No. 1 ranking at 174 pounds all season. He has seen limited action this season due to injury, but has yet to suffer a defeat. After not practicing for two weeks, Jordan took the mat last Friday night against All-American Alex Meyer and picked up a 3-2 victory. That victory was Jordan's first victory over a ranked wrestler this season. Hall, the nation's No. 1 recruit last year, won a Southern Scuffle title in early January while redshirting, which included victories over three ranked wrestlers. He made his debut in the Nittany Lion lineup on Jan. 20 against Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and fell 7-5 to Meyer. Last weekend he rebounded with two wins to improve his record to 20-2 on the season.
184: No. 10 Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. No. 2 Bo Nickal (Penn State)
Nickal and Martin are expected to renew their rivalry at a new weight class as both moved up from 174 pounds this season. The two met four times last season, with Nickal winning the first three meetings before Martin came back to win in the NCAA finals. While both are having strong seasons, Nickal has been far more dominant. He is undefeated with 11 pins and has picked up bonus points in 13 of his 14 victories. The only match in which he didn't earn bonus points was a 10-5 win over retuning NCAA runner-up T.J. Dudley of Nebraska. Last season Martin became just the 15th true freshman wrestler ever to win an NCAA title. He started the season ranked No. 2 behind Cornell's Gabe Dean, but has fallen to No. 10 in the rankings after taking four losses. He was edged by Iowa's Sammy Brooks 5-3 in his most recent match.
285: No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) vs. No. 3 Nick Nevills (Penn State)
Snyder, the reigning world and Olympic champion, won the Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia last weekend, becoming the first American wrestler to accomplish the feat since 2009. He has wrestled only six matches for the Buckeyes this season because of his international wrestling schedule. He has gone 6-0, with four pins, a technical fall and a major decision. Nevills, a three-time California state champion, has put together a strong season, winning 13 of his 14 matches. His most notable win this season came over two-time All-American Michael Kroells of Minnesota on Jan. 6. Nevills' lone blemish came against second-ranked Connor Medbery of Wisconsin on Jan. 27.
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