Stieber, Ohio State Bring the Hardware

Adam Cairns (Columbus Dispatch)

This is the first full season of the Bloodround website. Kevin and myself, Tommy, have been writing about wrestling for years but decided to finally spawn our own venture. The last thing we needed actually was a name, and the name we ended on really came in handy Friday night during the best round of all sports. It does feel like a bit of irony that we, two wrestling junkies from Michigan, officially launch the venture on a season that ends up being the year of the Buckeye. 

In a year which you didn't know whom of five probable contenders was going to win the championship, Ohio State had it locked up (their 1st as a program) before the final ten matches Saturday night. Freshman phenom Nathan Tomasello won his 125 lb final to join teammate, Hodge winner, and now just the 4th guy to win four national championships Logan Stieber on the top of the podium. It was really the quarterfinal round that really decided the team race. The Buckeye freshman triumvirate, Stieber, and a favorable draw for Kenny Courts gave them five semi-finalists while Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, and Cornell never got the tournament going in their favor. The fact that 2nd place only scored 84 points shows other teams never got it going.

While each championship match deserves its own article, scoring may have been the pleasant theme of the finals. 149, the first match, was really the only 1-1 "no scoring" match you often get when two really good wrestlers meet up. The other nine matches were very exciting including two athletic heavyweights having a 7-6 barn burner. The highlight of the night was Kyven Gadson's (Iowa State) outside trip lateral throw for a 2nd period pin of Snyder (Ohio State). 

It was a great tournament that kept your attention the whole time. Upsets and unpredictability in each bracket and the team race added to the buzz. Congrats to Ohio State and the 80 All-Americans on an amazing season. Congrats to Edinboro on earning the team trophy for their 3rd place finish. And of course, congrats to Michigan on the five all-americans. The Wolverines finished in 11th just outside of my top ten prediction. 

Speaking of predictions it appears Kevin defeated Tommy by a narrow score of 21-19. It was a mess, but Kevin wins in a year where not many picks were correct from anyone. 

Team Standings (Top 10):
1. Ohio State 102
2. Iowa 84
3. Edinboro 75.5
4. Missouri 73.5
5. Cornell 71.5
6. Penn State 67.5
7. Oklahoma State 65
8. Minnesota 59.5
9. Nebraska 59
10. Virginia Tech 56

Placement Match Results

125:
1st: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia), 9-5
3rd: Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 7-4
5th: Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. Connor Youtsey (Michigan), 9-3
7th: Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) dec. Jordan Conaway (Penn State), 5-4

133:
1st: Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) dec. Cory Clark (Iowa), 11-8
3rd: A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) dec. Chris Dardanes (Minnesota), 4-3
5th: Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 9-5
7th: Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) dec. Rossi Bruno (Michigan), 7-3

141:
1st: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) dec. Mitchell Port (Edinboro), 11-5
3rd: Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) dec. Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), 17-8
5th: Kevin Jack (North Carolina State) dec. Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), 3-0
7th: Lavion Mayes (Missouri) wins by medical forfeit over Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers)

149:
1st: Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. David Habat (Edinboro), 3-1 SV
3rd: Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) dec. Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), 3-1 SV
5th: B.J. Clagon (Rider) dec. Chris Villalonga (Cornell), 6-3
7th: Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) pinned Daniel Neff (Lock Haven), 2:38

157:
1st: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) maj. dec. Brian Realbuto (Cornell), 10-2
3rd: James Green (Nebraska) dec. Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech), 3-2
5th: Ian Miller (Kent State) won by medical forfeit over Dylan Ness (Minnesota)
7th: Brian Murphy (Michigan) won by medical forfeit over Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh)

165:
1st: Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. Taylor Walsh (Indiana), 14-7
3rd: Bo Jordan (Ohio State) pinned Jackson Morse (Illinois), 1:00
5th: Nick Sulzer (Virginia) dec. Ethan Ramos (North Carolina), 12-4
7th: Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) dec. Jim Wilson (Stanford), 3-2

174:
1st: Matt Brown (Penn State) dec. Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh), 5-4 
3rd: Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) dec. Logan Storley (Minnesota), 6-4 SV
5th: Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) dec. Mike Evans (Iowa), 2-1 TB1
7th: Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) dec. Kurtis Julson (North Dakota State), 3-2

184:
1st: Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. Nate Brown (Lehigh), 6-2
3rd: Victor Avery (Edinboro) dec. Blake Stauffer (Arizona State), 3-2
5th: Kenny Courts (Ohio State) dec. Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State), 4-3
7th: Willie Miklus (Missouri) dec. Tim Dudley (Nebraska), 6-5

197:
1st: Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) pinned Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), 4:24 
3rd: Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) dec. Scott Schiller (Minnesota), 12-7
5th: J'den Cox (Missouri) dec. Conner Hartmann (Duke), 4-2 TB1
7th: Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. Max Huntley (Michigan), 6-4

285:
1st: Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) dec. Adam Coon (Michigan), 7-6
3rd: Mike McMullan (Northwestern) dec. Connor Medbery (Wisconsin), 3-2
5th: Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. Jimmy Lawson (Penn State), 6-0
7th: Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) dec. Michael Kroells (Minnesota), 6-2