Feb. 3, 2007
ATHENS, Ohio - Facing a pair of teams that defeated the Bobcats last season, the Ohio wrestling team reversed each of those decisions and defeated both Ashland and Virginia Saturday at the Convocation Center.
"I think you see it and the guys see it as all the hard work is paying off," Head Coach Joel Greenlee said. "(The wins) mean we're on the right track."
Ohio (15-6, 2-1) is a perfect 5-0 at home this season with only a Feb. 15 match up against sixth-ranked Central Michigan remaining.
Ohio earned the victory over Ashland by a score of 24-12 and then defeated Virginia in the triangular finale 18-12. The Bobcats lost to Ashland last season 16-14 and fell to the Cavaliers a year ago 18-15. The 15 dual meet wins this season is tied for the most by a Bobcat team since Greenlee took over for the 1997-98 season. Greenlee also led Ohio to a 15 win season in dual meet competition in 1999-2000.
The Bobcats got strong performances from their last two wrestlers in each meet to pull out the victories. Ohio started out the day with a 24-14 victory over Ashland. The Bobcats earned six points right away on a forfeit at 125 and went up by as much as 18-6 after a pin from redshirt freshman Jacob Ison (Batavia, Ohio) at 165. The Eagles battled back with major decision wins in the next two matches to draw within four points at 18-14 but the Bobcats won the final two matches for the 24-14 win.
In the 18-12 win over the Cavaliers, the score was tied at 12 heading into the final two matches but again senior Marcus Adelman (Alliance, Ohio) and sophomore Larry Reichard (New Albany, Ohio) gave the Bobcats wins in the final two matches.
"That's why Marcus is a captain and he is a senior," Greenlee said. "You have to count on those guys to do those kinds of things for you, and he did. I think both those guys have come a long way this year. Marcus had a little bit of a hiccup last week but wrestled well today. I know he's in a little bit of pain but he went out there and got a win for us."
Adelman and Reichard were two of five Bobcats to go undefeated on the day. Adelman defeated Ashland's Josh Ohl, ranked fifth in the country as a heavyweight in Division II, by a score of 7-2 and then earned a 5-1 win over Virginia's Scott Smith. He is now 17-8 on the season. Reichard topped Ashland's David Crowley 7-2 and Virginia's Kyle Narkiewicz 2-0 for his perfect day. The sophomore Bobcat is now 19-11 on the year.
"I just went out there and did what I always do," Reichard said. "I kept moving a little bit and took a few shots. I got my escape and rode (Narkiewicz) out on top. We're undefeated here this year and beating both schools that beat us last year was nice."
Bobcat sophomore Terry Jackson (Uhrichsville, Ohio) also had a perfect day that included a win over the 16th ranked wrestler in the nation in Virginia's Eric Albright. Jackson trailed Albright 4-2 heading in the second period but then scored five unanswered points and used a riding time advantage to earn a 9-5 win. Jackson defeated Ashland's Kyle Kanaga 3-0 earlier in the day. Jackson is 11-6 this season.
"I've had some tough matches the last couple weeks and I came up short," Jackson said. "It was good getting a win here today. I just wrestled my best. (Albright) came out there and got a quick takedown at the beginning of the match and I knew that I had to get to work. I did what I wanted to do."
Ison continued his dominant season with a perfect 2-0 record on the day and recorded the only pin in the triangular. Ison pinned Ashland's David Bowman in just 2:23 to start his day and then knocked off Virginia's Damian Johnson 11-5. Ison leads the Bobcats with 27 wins against just nine losses this season and has a team-best nine pins. He has yet to be pinned this season.
Sophomore Jake Frerichs (Uniontown, Ohio) was the fifth and final Bobcat to go perfect on the day. Frerichs earned an 8-6 win over Ashland's Tony Bradberry and then defeated Virginia's Mike Sewell 6-0. He is now 14-6 on the year.
Redshirt freshman Clay Tucker (Martins Ferry, Ohio) and freshman Seth Morton (Canal Winchester, Ohio) each recorded one win on the day. Tucker defeated Virginia's Drew DiPasquale 5-1 while Morton earned a victory via forfeit against Ashland. Morton battled Virginia's Ross Gitomer to a 5-5 tie after three periods but Gitomer had a riding time advantage of exactly one minute to edge Morton for the win.
The Bobcats have just three dual meets remaining on their 2006-07 season schedule. Next up is a trip to West Virginia to battle the Mountaineers at 7:00 p.m.
Ohio 24, Ashland 14
125: Seth Morton (Ohio) won by forfeit
133: Terry Jackson (Ohio) dec. Kyle Kanaga (Ashland), 4-0
141: Tony Iovine (Ashland) dec. Albert Madsen, (Ohio), 10-3
149: Marcus Gordon (Ashland) dec. Clay Tucker (Ohio), 5-3
157: Jake Frerichs (Ohio) dec. Tony Bradberry (Ashland), 8-6
165: Jacob Ison (Ohio) pinned David Bowman (Ashland), 2:23
174: Justin Ferguson (Ashland) maj. dec. Antione Love (Ohio), 12-4
184: Matt Allen (Ashland) maj. dec. Nick Terbay (Ohio), 10-2
197: Larry Reichard (Ohio) dec. David Crowley (Ashland), 6-0
HWT: Marcus Adelman (Ohio) dec. Josh Ohl (Ashland), 7-2
Virginia 38, Ashland 3
125: Ross Gitomer (UV) won by forfeit
133: #16 Eric Albright (UV) tech. fall Ray Arnold (Ashland), 15-0, 5:26
141: Kellon Balum (UV) maj. dec. Nic Albaugh (Ashland), 14-4
149: Drew DiPasquale (UV) dec. Jake Bartley (Ashland), 4-1
157: Tony Bradberry (Ashland) dec. Mike Sewell (UV), 6-5
165: Damian Johnson (UV) tech. fall Matt Snyder (Ashland), 17-0, 6:48
174: Mike Grogan (UV) dec. Jordan Job (Ashland), 5-3
184: #19 Rocco Caponi (UV) dec. Matt Allen (Ashland), 7-2
197: Kyle Narkiewicz (UV) dec. David Crowley (Ashland), 5-2
HWT: Scott Smith (UV) won by forfeit
Ohio 18, Virginia 12
125: Ross Gitomer (UV) dec. Seth Morton (Ohio), 6-5
133: Terry Jackson (Ohio) dec. #16 Eric Albright (UV), 9-5
141: Kellon Balum (UV) dec. Albert Madsen (Ohio), 6-2
149: Clay Tucker (Ohio) dec. Drew DiPasquale (UV), 5-1
157: Jake Frerichs (Ohio) dec. Mike Sewell (UV), 6-0
165: Jacob Ison (Ohio) dec. Damian Johnson (UV), 11-5
174: Mike Grogan (UV) dec. Ryan Knapp (Ohio), 5-2
184: #19 Rocco Caponi (UV) dec. Adam Faires (Ohio), 5-0
197: Larry Reichard (Ohio) dec. Kyle Narkiewicz (UV), 2-0
HWT: Marcus Adelman (Ohio) dec. Scott Smith (UV), 5-1
