Jan. 22, 2006
ASHLAND, Ohio - The Ohio wrestling team defeated Cleveland State 21-18 but lost to Lock Haven and host Ashland on Sunday at the 17th Annual Wendy's Classic Duals.
The nine-team event, hosted by Ashland University at Kates Gymnasium, began in the morning with a closely contested meet between the Bobcats and the CSU Vikings. Sophomore 125-pounder Caleb Metcalf (Waterville, Ohio) gave Ohio a strong start by pinning Joe Wornoff just 2:08 into the opening match.
Cleveland State won the next three bouts but Bobcat redshirt freshman Jake Frerichs (Uniontown, Ohio) evened the score at 9-9 with a 4-2 decision over Victer Crenshaw at 157 pounds. After a Viking win at 165, sophomore Ryan Knapp (McConnelsville, Ohio) pinned David Gilkey in the 174-pound bout to give Ohio a 15-12 lead.
At 184, Bobcat junior Brian Cesear (Amherst, Ohio) lost a close match to 19th-ranked Ron Howard by a 5-4 score but redshirt freshman Larry Reichard (New Albany, Ohio) gave Ohio a 21-15 edge heading into the final match with a pin of Ishmal Williams in the 197-pound contest. The pin came with just four seconds remaining in the opening period.
The meet ended with Cleveland State heavyweight Rashard Goff claiming a 5-0 decision over Bobcat backup Dave Campbell (Lebanon, Ohio).
"We only won four matches but we got bonus points from three of those four," said Ohio head coach Joel Greenlee. "Cleveland State is a decent team that beat Ohio State earlier this month. There's kind of a rivalry between us so we were fired up and ready to wrestle."
After a short break, the Bobcats came back to wrestle Lock Haven, a team that features three nationally ranked competitors. The Bald Eagles had nearly upset No. 23 Northern Illinois earlier in the day and shot out to a 21-3 lead against Ohio.
The only Bobcat win in the first eight matches came at 133 pounds, where redshirt freshman Terry Jackson (Uhrichsville, Ohio) posted a 9-2 decision over Casey Moore. Ohio's only other points in the 25-9 defeat came at 197 pounds when Reichard won by forfeit.
In their final meet of the day, the Bobcats went head-to-head with host Ashland, who had rested all their starters in a 47-3 loss to No. 6 Central Michigan in its prior meet. Even though both teams won five matches, the Eagles came away with a 16-14 victory.
Metcalf and Frerichs again came through for Ohio with Metcalf winning 5-4 at 125 pounds and Frerichs claiming an 8-5 decision at 157. With Ashland leading 12-6 heading into the 174-pound match, however, two mistakes by Knapp proved costly for the Bobcats. A late takedown by the Eagle's 174-pounder and Knapp consequently removing and throwing his headgear resulted in a major decision for Ashland and a team point being taken away from Ohio.
The Bobcats made it interesting with Cesear and Reichard winning close decisions at 184 and 197, respectively, but Ohio junior Marcus Adelman (Alliance, Ohio) needed a technical fall or pin in the heavyweight match to prevent defeat. In his first match of the day, Adelman posted a 5-0 win but it was not enough to make up the difference.
"I think we've gotten a lot better but we need to keep plugging away," said Greenlee about his team's overall performance. "Every single one of our guys needs to get better on the bottom. We've just got to work at that and build more confidence doing it."
Greenlee also praised Reichard, who went 3-0 on the day to improve to 10-6 this season, including 6-1 in duals.
"Reichard had a great day," he said about the 197-pounder. "He went out there and got it done. Larry had good motion on his feet and he stayed after guys."
The Bobcats (6-7, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) will next travel to Buffalo, N.Y., on Jan. 28 for three duals meets. Ohio will face MAC rival Buffalo at 9 a.m. Saturday followed by an 11 a.m. meet with Delaware State and a 1 p.m. dual against Ithaca.
Ohio 21, Cleveland State 18
125 - Caleb Metcalf (Ohio) fall Joe Wornoff, 2:08
133 - David Armstrong (CSU) dec. Terry Jackson, 7-6
141 - Mike Hurley (CSU) dec. Albert Madsen, 11-4
149 - Ryan Hurley (CSU) dec. Aaron Gomoll, 3-2
157 - Jake Frerichs (Ohio) dec. Victer Crenshaw, 4-2
165 - Tim Scarl (CSU) dec. Kent Smith, 4-1
174 - Ryan Knapp (Ohio) fall David Gilkey, 4:51
184 - #19 Ron Howard (CSU) dec. Brian Cesear, 5-4
197 - Larry Reichard (Ohio) fall Ishmal Williams, 2:56
HWT - Rashard Goff (CSU) dec. Dave Campbell, 5-0
Lock Haven 25, Ohio 9
125 - #17 Obenson Blanc (LH) dec. Caleb Metcalf, 3-1
133 - Terry Jackson (Ohio) dec. Casey Moore, 9-2
141 - Brian Ellis (LH) dec. Frank Brown, 7-4
149 - #17 Joshua Medina (LH) dec. Aaron Gomoll, 10-4
157 - #18 Seth Martin (LH) dec. Jake Frerichs, 6-2
165 - Rory McCoy (LH) dec. Kent Smith, 12-10
174 - Carlos Ponce (LH) dec. Ryan Knapp, 5-2
184 - Derrick Morgan (LH) dec. Brian Cesear, 8-5
197 - Larry Reichard (Ohio) win by forfeit
HWT - Tim Meyers (LH) major dec. Dave Campbell, 11-3
Ashland 16, Ohio 14
125 - Caleb Metcalf (Ohio) dec. Mike Compton, 5-4
133 - Tony Iovine (AU) dec. Terry Jackson, 3-2
141 - Zach Meissner (AU) dec. Albert Madsen, 5-2
149 - Marcus Gordon (AU) dec. Aaron Gomoll, 3-1
157 - Jake Frerichs (Ohio) dec. Pete Carnabuci, 8-5
165 - Eric Lakia (AU) dec. Kent Smith, 6-1
174 - Clint Carmony (AU) major dec. Ryan Knapp, 12-1
184 - Brian Cesear (Ohio) dec. Matt Allen, 13-11
197 - Larry Reichard (Ohio) dec. Ryan Kirst, 9-8
HWT - Marcus Adelman (Ohio) dec. Joe Reamer, 5-0
Note: Ohio deducted one team point at 174
