Jan. 24, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Ohio Wrestling (9-3, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) ran into a tough American University squad on Sunday, falling by a final score of 27-18 in the nation’s capital. Germane Lindsey (Cincinnati, Ohio), Kevin Christensen, Erik Schuth (Spencerport, N.Y.) and Andy Hartshorn (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) all won their bouts during the dual meet, with Christensen (Fairborn, Ohio) and Schuth taking their victories by pin.

“We just didn’t wrestle with the same fire that we’ve had,” said head coach Joel Greenlee. “We gave away penalty points in close matches, which you can’t do and expect to win.”

The Eagles (4-6, 0-1 EIWA) got off to a fast start Sunday, taking the first two bouts by decision. No. 18 Jasen Borshoff took a 4-1 decision over Gabe Ramos (Hopatcong, N.J.) to give the hosts an early 3-0 lead. This bout was followed by a very close 5-4 decision which saw Thomas Williams victorious over Bobcat Quentin Keyes (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio).

No. 13 Lindsey then won for Ohio at 141 pounds, taking a close 3-2 decision over Jordan Lipp to cut the Eagles’ lead in half at 6-3.

American came out very strong in the next two weight classes, as No. 12 Kyle Borshoff and No. 3 Steve Fittery each pinned a Bobcat in the 149 and 157-pound classes. After these two bouts, the Eagles held a commanding 18-3 lead.

Christensen came back in a big way in the 165-pound class, pinning American’s Tanner Shaffer in 6:13. The pin was Christensen’s second of the season, with the other one coming against conference foe Northern Illinois on January 14.

“He and Schuth wrestled great,” said Greenlee. “Both went out there and got falls for us today.”

The Eagles did a good job of stopping any potential Bobcat comeback by earning nine points in the next two bouts, as Phillip Barreiro took a 4-2 decision over Steve Wilson (Marion, Ohio) and No. 4 Mike Cannon pinned Brian Driscoll (Avon Lake, Ohio) in 1:46.

No. 13 Schuth and Hartshorn competed valiantly at the end, as Schuth pinned American’s 197-pound wrestler in under 90 seconds for his fifth pinâ€"and 20th victoryâ€"of the season. Hartshorn wrestled well at heavyweight, taking a 9-4 decision over Eagle Blake Herrin. Full results of Sunday’s action below (with rankings courtesy of InterMatWrestle.com):

American 27, Ohio 18
125 - #18 Jasen Borshoff (AU) dec. Gabe Ramos (OU), 4-1, 3-0
133 - Thomas Williams (AU) dec. Quentin Keyes, (OU), 5-4, 6-0
141 - #13 Germane Lindsey (OU) dec. Jordan Lipp (AU), 3-2, 6-3
149 - #12 Kyle Borshoff (AU) fall Josh Speelman (OU), 6:59, 12-3
157 - #3 Steve Fittery (AU) fall Clay Tucker (OU), 4:04, 18-3
165 - Kevin Christensen (OU) fall Tanner Shaffer (AU), 6:13, 18-9
174 - Phillip Barreiro (AU) dec. Steve Wilson (OU), 4-2, 21-9
184 - #4 Mike Cannon (AU) fall Brian Driscoll (OU), 1:46, 27-9
197 - #13 Erik Schuth (OU) fall Kenneth Clessas (AU), 1:21, 27-15
HWT - Andy Hartshorn (OU) dec. Blake Herrin (AU), 9-4, 27-18

Ohio will next be in action when it travels to Buffalo on January 30.