ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio wrestling team (3-6) will continue the home slate of the 2018 schedule when the Bobcats host Gardner-Webb (1-8) on Sunday, Feb. 4. Action is set to begin at 1 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bobcats earned an exciting 34-6 victory over Mid-American Conference foe Nothern Illinois to close out a weekend of MAC Competition in the Convocation Center on Sunday (Jan. 21).
Highlights of the match included pins by Ohio redshirt juniors Austin Reese and Arsen Ashughyan and a technical fall by junior Cameron Kelly.
Cameron Kelly (Bellbrook, Ohio) dominated the 133-class match with Northern Illinois' Alijah Jeffery, taking an 18-0 technical fall victory for Ohio's first win. Kelly started the match with a takedown to lead 2-0 early on in the first period followed by a two-point near fall to increase his lead to 4-0 before the second period. Kelly then quickly escaped starting the second period followed by another takedown to lead 7-0 going into the last period. Kelly then landed a takedown to start the third period to lead 9-0 before hitting a four-point near fall to lead by 13-0. Jeffery could not score throughout the match, allowing Kelly to hit a four-point near fall to lead 17-0 with an added point for riding time to take an 18-0 technical fall win for the Bobcats.
Austin Reese (Urbana, Ohio) made quick work of Quinton Rosser from NIU at 174-pounds. Reese went in for a single leg takedown, finished it and turned the scramble into a quick pin at the 1:15 mark of the opening frame. Arsen Ashughyan (Vandazor, Armenia) added another win by pin for the Bobcats with a quick pin over NIU's Bryce Gorman. Wrestling up a weight class at 184-pounds, Ashughyan started the match with an escape before hitting a two-point near fall. he pinned Gorman in just 45 seconds for back-to-back pins by the Bobcats.
SCOUTING THE RUNNIN BULLDOGS
Gardner-Webb is currently 1-8 overall and 1-3 in the Big South Conference. Gardner-Webb's single win this season was on the road against VMI where the Runnin' Bulldogs defeated VMI 26-16. Gardner-Webb's most recent loss came at the hands of Duke in a 37-3 loss.
Leading the way for Gardner-Webb is Tyler Marinelli. Marinelli is currently 15-2 in the 157-class with one pin on the season and three technical falls. At 141, Denton Spencer currently has a 16-5 overall record with six pins this season.
The two squads last met in 2017 in Boiling Springs, N.C. Gardner-Webb recorded a 24-12 win at home. Cameron Kelly recorded a big 22-3 technical fall win for the Bobcats.
Ohio fans can expect to see a familiar face on the Gardner-Webb coaching staff in Cody Walters. Walters, a 2016 Ohio graduate, recorded 115 wins during his four-year career as a Bobcat. Walters also earned All-American honors with an eighth-place finish as a freshman in 2013 and became a two-time All-American when he finished seventh at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
OHIO IN THE MAC
The Ohio wrestling team was ranked in sixth place in the second MAC January rankings while also landing three wrestlers in the top-4 of their class.
Junior Cameron Kelly, junior Austin Reese and junior Zack Parker each represented Ohio in the top-5 of their weight class for the third month in a row.
UP NEXT
The Bobcats will return home next week hosting Old Dominion (Feb. 11) in the Convocation Center. Action is set to begin at 1 p.m. in Athens, Ohio.
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