Northwestern
Ohio State
Ohio State Pulls Out 23-18 Win Over Northwestern
2/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 20, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. --No. 19 Northwestern took sixth-ranked Ohio State into three compelling overtime matches and won four bouts on the night but came up just short, losing a 23-18 decision to the Buckeyes Friday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The 'Cats return to the mats against No. 1-ranked Iowa at 2 p.m. on Senior Day Sunday before turning their attention to their postseason competitions.
Friday night's much-anticipated 184-pound bout between No. 1 Jake Herbert (25-0) and No. 2 Mike Pucillo (15-0) did not come to fruition as the Buckeyes opted to send Pucillo out for the 197-pound contest instead. Herbert made Ohio State pay, picking up his 13th fall of the year in just 2:04 against T.C. Pendleton, giving the Wildcats an 18-13 lead in the process.
Through much of the ensuing 197-pound match, it appeared NU would enter the final match with the lead until Pucillo got the turn he was looking for on Northwestern's John Schoen, winning by pin with just 19 seconds to go to put the Buckeyes up by one.
In the heavyweight bout, Ohio State's Corey Morrison iced the win with an 11-2 major decision of NU's Paul Rands.
NU's fourth-ranked Brandon Precin got the home team off to a good start against the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, Nikko Triggas, at 125. Although Triggas earned the first takedown, Precin reversed and was soon in the hunt for a first-period fall, picking up five back points on his way to a 7-2 lead. He did not relinquish a point the rest of the way, tech falling Triggas by a 17-2 margin.
Robert Joyce stepped in at 133 with the tall order of facing No. 3 Reece Humphrey. Joyce used two escapes to tie the bout in the first before both wrestlers exchanged penalty points in an intense match. Humphrey eventually prevailed, however, by an 11-5 decision.
At 141, Keith Sulzer picked up an early takedown but was only in control for 18 seconds before Jaggers scored one point on an escape. Jaggers spent the second period compiling riding time but did not score and opted to start down in the third period, looking for the tying escape point. He got it with 1:14 remaining off a restart, sending the match to overtime.
Just 36 seconds into the extra session, the official ruled Jaggers had gained control, giving him the 4-2 win and the Buckeyes a 6-5 overall advantage.
Ohio State (15-2, 6-1) also rested fourth-ranked Lance Palmer, instead going with senior Owen Schaefer to take on NU's Andrew Nadhir. The Wildcats sophomore was in control throughout the match, picking up three first-period takedowns and never allowing Schaefer to regain momentum. Nadhir remained on the attack, making sure his fifth consecutive win was a major decision for the Wildcats.
At 157, it was a battle between Northwestern's 14th-ranked freshman Jason Welch and OSU's 13th-ranked senior Jason Johnstone. With Johnstone holding a 7-4 advantage in the third, Welch notched the takedown he needed to get within one with 55 seconds remaining as his riding time began to accumulate.
An injury to Johnstone stopped the clock with 45 seconds showing and 21 seconds of riding time in Welch's favor. The freshman managed to ride out the match to tie it at seven and send the match to overtime. Just 30 seconds into the sudden victory period, Welch (20-7) dropped Johnstone for the victory, claiming his fifth Big Ten win this season.
After a win by Ohio State's second-ranked Colt Sponseller at 165 reduced Northwestern's lead to two, Wildcat redshirt freshman Robert Kellogg faced the Buckeyes' Dave Rella at 174 in what proved to be the third overtime match of the evening. Kellogg looked strong early, picking up a takedown on the way out of bounds in the first period. Even after a takedown by Rella late in the second, Kellogg quickly escaped to protect a two-point lead.
But after a Rella escape to start the third, the Buckeye scored two with 50 seconds to go, giving him the chance to ride out the match. After a stoppage with four seconds to go, Kellogg made the most of his last opportunity to tie, rolling out from the bottom position to even things up on an escape at the buzzer, bringing the fans and the NU bench to their feet.
Each wrestler scored once on an escape in the first overtime tiebreak periods, sending the match to a second sudden-victory session where Rella managed a match-winning takedown inside of a minute after the start of the period.
Kellogg is now 2-2 in overtime matches this season.
No. 6 Ohio State 23, No. 19 Northwestern 18
125: Brandon Precin (NU) TF Nikko Triggas (OSU), 17-2 (6:21) (NU 5, OSU 0)
133: Reece Humphrey (OSU) dec. Bobby Joyce (NU), 11-5 (NU 5, OSU 3)
141: J Jaggers (OSU) dec. Keith Sulzer (NU), 4-2 (SV) (OSU 6, NU 5)
149: Andrew Nadhir (NU) MD Owen Schaefer (OSU), 14-5 (NU 9, OSU 6)
157: Jason Welch (NU) dec. Jason Johnstone (OSU), 9-7 (SV) (NU 12, OSU 6)
165: Colt Sponseller (OSU) MD Dominic Marella (NU), 16-6 (NU 12, OSU 10)
174: Dave Rella (OSU) dec. Robert Kellogg (NU), 8-6 (SV-2) (OSU 13, NU 12)
184: Jake Herbert (NU) FALL T.C. Pendleton (OSU), 2:04 (NU 18, OSU 13)
197: Mike Pucillo (OSU) FALL John Schoen (NU), 6:41 (OSU 19, NU 18)
285: Corey Morrison (OSU) MD Paul Rands (NU), 11-2 (OSU 23, NU 18)
Players Mentioned
