Jan. 18, 2015
Ypsilanti, Mich. â€" The Ohio wrestling team (5-4, 1-3 MAC) earned their first Mid-American Conference win against Eastern Michigan on Sunday afternoon at the EMU Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Ohio opened the contest with back-to-back major decisions, with
No. 19 Harrison Hightower (Strongsville, Ohio) earning a 10-1 major-decision agianst Devan Marry at the 165-class and No. 10 Cody Walters posting a 17-4 win at the 174-class. This is Hightower’s fifth major decision and improves his record to 18-7 overall and 3-1 in MAC competition. Walter’s major decision marks his 16th consecutive triumph, improving his team-high overall record to 22-1.
A pair of Bobcat decisions followed as redshirt junior Andrew Romanchik (Independence, Ohio) earned a 3-0 decision at the 184-class and redshirt junior Phil Wellington (Euclid, Ohio) recorded a 6-2 decision at 197. This is Wellington’s fourth-consecutive win, adding onto his undefeated 4-0 MAC record.
Eastern Michigan earned their first points at the heavyweight class, with Gage Hutchinson pinning Ohio freshmen Zach Parker (Felton, DE).
Following an Ohio win at the 125-class, Eastern Michigan responded with triumphs at 133 and 141, closing in on the Ohio lead.
Redshirt junior No. 10 Tywan Claxton (South Euclid, Ohio) picked up a 2-1 decision over Nick Barber at the 149-class, improving his MAC record to 2-2 and overall record to 21-2.
The Eagles claimed the final bout of the afternoon, but Ohio’s lead held as the Bobcats won, 20-15.
Up Next for the Bobcats
Ohio will travel to DeKalb, Ill. to take on Northern Illinois on Friday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. The Bobcats will return to Athens, Ohio on Sunday, Jan. 25 for their third home meet of the season, set to begin at 1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan vs. Ohio (Ohio 20, EMU 15)
165: No. 19 Harrison Hightower (Ohio) major dec. over Devan Marry (EMU), 10-1 (Ohio 4, EMU 0)
174: No. 10 Cody Walters (Ohio) major dec. over Austin Geerlings (EMU), 17-4 (Ohio 8, EMU 0)
184: Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) dec. over Michael Curby (EMU), 4-0 (Ohio 11, EMU 0)
197: No. 17 Phil Wellington (Ohio) dec. over Anthony Abro (EMU), 6-2 (Ohio 14, EMU 0)
HWT: Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan) pinned Zackery Parker (Ohio), 0:31 (Ohio 14, EMU 6)
125: Zak Hassan (Ohio) dec. over Blake Caudill (Eastern Michigan), 10-7 (Ohio 17, EMU 6)
133: Vincent Pizzuto (EMU) dec. over Joshua Parrett (Ohio), 4-1 (Ohio 17, EMU 9)
141: Michael Shaw (EMU) dec. over Joel Shump (Ohio), 6-0 (Ohio 17, EMU 12)
149: No. 10 Tywan Claxton (Ohio) dec. over Nick Barber (EMU), 2-1 (Ohio 20, EMU 12)
157: Brandon Zeerip (EMU) dec. over Spartak Chino (Ohio), 3-1 (Ohio 20, EMU 15)
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