No. 6 Ohio State Remains Undefeated After Comeback Win vs. Pittsburgh

Ohio State wrestling has had an undefeated season so far, with wins by over 30 points against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (36-6), Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (40-4) and Hofstra University (38-6). However, on Friday, December 13, the Buckeyes traveled to the University of Pittsburgh and began the dual with an unusually slow start, trailing 0-14.

While many wrestling programs rely on their heavyweights to secure wins, the Buckeyes struggled against Pitt's ranked wrestlers. At 174 pounds, e'Than Birden (OSU) faced No. 17 ranked Luca Augustine (PITT). Birden led 1-0 going into the third period and managed to hold Augustus through two overtime periods. Despite his best efforts to maintain his lead, Birden ultimately lost 2-1 in the second overtime.

In the first major upset of the night at 197 pounds, No. 15 Ryder Rogotzke (OSU) went up against No. 16 Mac Stout (PITT). Stout defeated Rogotzke 8-2, allowing Rogotzke to score only escape points. By the time they reached intermission, the Panthers had secured a technical fall at 285 pounds, with No. 14 Dayton Pitzer (PITT) winning decisively 16-1 over Hogan Swenski (OSU).

Winner at 285 ➡️ Dayton Pitzer

Dayton wins by a 16-1 tech fall 👏👏

Pitt 14, Ohio State 0

📺 ACCNX pic.twitter.com/feOcXOa3OH
— Pitt Wrestling (@Pitt_WRES) December 14, 2024

After intermission, the Buckeyes returned ready to make a comeback despite being down 0-14. At 125 pounds, No. 6 Brendan McCrone (OSU) won by major decision over Matt Marlow (PITT) 8-0, giving the Buckeyes their first points of the night. Following McCrone's win at 133 pounds, Nic Bouzakis received another major decision win for Ohio State, continuing the team's bonus point victories with two takedowns in the third period to secure the four team points.

Despite an upset by Pitt's Jared Keslar at 165 points over No. 8 Sammy Sasso (OSU) with a 13-11 win, the Buckeyes had secured the dual win with wins at 141 pounds, 149 pounds and 157 pounds. The last dual wins allowed the Buckeyes to continue their undefeated streak this season with a 20-17 victory over the Panthers.

The Buckeyes will have to continue building strength and skill in their heavyweight classes as they wrestle more prominent wrestling schools in late December and early January.

Up next

Ohio State will participate in the 2024 Collegiate Duals in Nashville on December 21. Their first match will be against the University of North Carolina at 3 p.m. CST. They will then compete against Lock Haven University at 5 p.m. CST. The Buckeyes will conclude the day with a match against the Iowa State Cyclones at 7 p.m. CST.

All 2024 Collegiate Duals will be streamed on Rokfin.

In the team's last dual against North Carolina on Nov. 20, 2022, Ohio State won 33-9 to extend the team's series lead to 4-0. The only matches the Buckeyes dropped were 141 pounds and 157 pounds. At 141 pounds, Jordan Decatur (OSU) tied the match against No. 25 Lachlan McNeil (UNC) at the beginning of the third period, 7-7. However, McNeil got the winning takedown to win 9-7 by decision. At 157 pounds, the Buckeyes took a forfeit, giving the Tar Heels another six points.

125 | FOR TWOOOO

Malik adds a takedown in the final seconds to take the bout 3-1 over Wagner (UNC) #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/xbQOq5wxgW
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) November 20, 2022

According to the Iowa State Athletics archives, the Buckeyes and Cyclones have not faced each other in wrestling since January 10, 2010. The Cyclones won 23-9 in that dual meet, extending their series lead to 10-0. December 21 will mark the first time in 14 years that the two teams compete against each other in an official dual meet.