Jan. 3, 2007
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio wrestling team earned three pins and won the first five matches of a 37-9, dual meet victory over ACC member Virginia Tech Wednesday at the Convocation Center.
"I'm proud of these guys," Head Coach Joel Greenlee said. "We've told them all year long if you go out and wrestle tough and you're aggressive things are going to turn out good for you. We're wrestling without a 141-pounder and a 184-pounder. We've moved some guys around and wrestled hard and things turned out good for us."
The Bobcats improve to 8-3 this season in dual meets and beat the Hokies for the second consecutive season. Virginia Tech falls to 4-3 on the year after starting out the season with four consecutive wins.
The meet kicked off with the 141-pound match, where sophomore Terry Jackson (Uhrichsville, Ohio) wrestled up a weight class from his normal 133 because of Bobcat injuries. Jackson faced Virginia Tech's Andre Johnson and went on the attack right away, but despite forcing a stalling warning on Johnson he was unable to score in the first period. Johnson got on the board early in the second period with an escape. Jackson responded with a minute remaining in the period with a takedown for two points. He took a 2-1 lead into the third period and also held a riding time advantage. Jackson earned a point on an escape in the third period and hung on for the 3-1 victory to open the meet for the Bobcats.
"Jackson got us started off," Greenlee said. "We moved him up because he's the bigger of the two (between Matt Smith) and he did a great job. Jackson's turning into the wrestler and the leader that we need him to turn into.
Freshman Clay Tucker (Martins Ferry, Ohio) was up next at 149 for Ohio looking to end a personal nine-match losing streak. Tucker battled Jon Bonilla-Bowman, who had previously been ranked in the NCAA national poll. After a scoreless first period, Tucker earned five unanswered points in the second period before Bonilla-Bowman got one point on an escape. Bonilla-Bowman answered in the third period with two takedowns to tie the score at five but Tucker responded with four points on a reversal and had a riding time advantage for an 11-5 decision and a 6-0 Bobcat lead.
Sophomore Jake Frerichs (Uniontown, Ohio) wasted little time in doubling the Ohio lead as he earned a pin of Virginia Tech's Derek Gallagher just 2:13 into the first period for the win. Gallagher held a 4-2 lead in the match before Frerichs responded with a reversal and a nearfall before the pin. It was the second pin of the season for Frerichs and gave the Bobcats a large advantage in the team scores at 12-0. He improved to 6-4 on the year with the win.
"Terry's match and Clay's match got me all pumped up," Frerichs said. "I got on top, threw my legs in and was able to come out on top."
Freshman Jacob Ison (Batavia, Ohio) kept the Bobcat momentum and his great start to the season going at 165 pounds. Facing the Hokies' Eric Decker, Ison earned two points on a takedown and three on nearfall in the first period before giving up a point on an escape at the end of the round. After another Decker escape to start the second period, Ison earned another takedown and received a point on a penalty for an 8-2 lead heading into the third period. He added a reversal and a riding time advantage of 3:41 for an 11-2, major decision win. The win improved Ison's season record to 18-8 and gave the Bobcats a 16-0 lead.
"Tucker and Jacob Ison had the biggest matches of the nights. They beat two guys who placed last weekend in the tournament where we didn't place. I don't think we were near 100-percent last weekend but we came back."
The 174 pound match featured two of the best wrestlers from each team as junior Antione Love (Gahanna, Ohio) faced Virginia Tech's Steve Ratley. Love entered the match 12-4 on the year with six pins while Ratley entered 20-7 on the season with a school-record 17 pins this season. Love earned the first two points of the match on a takedown and Ratley responded with an escape. Love tallied another takedown in the first period for a 4-1 lead. Love, after submitting to a stalling penalty, got another takedown for a 6-1 lead but Ratley earned a reversal to cut the lead to 6-4. Love was able to hold on and earned an escape for a 7-5 win to give Ohio a 19-0 lead.
The Bobcats sent junior Ryan Knapp (McConnelsville, Ohio) into action at 184 pounds against Steve Borja. Knapp wrestled up a weight class due to Ohio injuries at 184. Borja earned two points on a takedown in the first period but Knapp escaped for a point of his own. The second period resulted in no score but Borja earned an escape and a takedown in the final period for a 5-1 lead. The junior Bobcat earned an escape but another takedown by Borja and a riding time advantage resulted in Virginia Tech's first win of the night, 8-2.
Sophomore Larry Reichard (New Albany, Ohio) extended the Bobcat lead at 197 pounds with a pin of Hokie Tim Miller just 2:07 into the first period. Reichard earned two points on a takedown and three more on a nearfall before the pin. Reichard improved to 11-9 on the season and earned his fourth pin of the season for a 25-3 Bobcat lead.
Senior Marcus Adelman (Alliance, Ohio) made it back-to-back pins for the Bobcats as he took down Jim Powers in the heavyweight match. Adelman earned the pin in 2:41 after building an 8-0 lead. The win moved him to 8-7 on the season and was his first pin of the year. The result was the final score of 37-9.
"We had a good week of practice," Adelman said. "Unlike before I'm starting to get into it mentally. All year I've been wrestling kind of down but today I was ready to go. This win gives us confidence. It proves that everything we do in the wrestling room is working."
Ohio will use its momentum as the Bobcats head into the NC State Duals Saturday. Ohio will face Gardner-Webb at 12:00 p.m., Campbell at 2:00 p.m. and South Dakota State at 4:00 p.m.
Ohio 37, Virginia Tech 9
125: Seth Morton (Ohio) won by forfeit
133: Matt Rosen (VT) won by forfeit
141: Terry Jackson (Ohio) dec. Andre Johnson, 3-1
149: Clay Tucker (Ohio) dec. Jon Bonilla-Bowman (VT), 11-5
157: Jake Frerichs (Ohio) fall Derek Gallagher (VT), 2:13
165: Jacob Ison (Ohio) maj. dec. Eric Decker (VT), 11-2
174: Antione Love (Ohio) dec. Steve Ratley (VT), 7-5
184: Steve Borja (VT) dec. Ryan Knapp (Ohio), 8-2
197: Larry Reichard (Ohio) fall Tim Miller (VT), 2:07
HWT: Marcus Adelman (Ohio) fall Jim Powers, 2:41
