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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio wrestling team (7-3, 5-1 Mid-American Confrence) defeated Kent State (1-13, 0-6 MAC) 29-11 on senior night (Feb. 7) in the Convo. It was Ohio's fourth-straight victory in the Grudge Match.
"It's an exciting duel. It means something to our guys, it means something to their guys, it means something to our fans," head coach Joel Greenlee said. "That's the purpose of it, is to just create some excitement around wrestling. I think that's what happened."
The Bobcats got a strong start in the 125-pound weight class. Redshirt sophomore Malachi O'Leary (Wyoming, Ohio) took charge of his match and put the Golden Flashes into the mat. After the first period, O'Leary had six points and 2:06 ride time. After two more dominate periods, O'Leary finished his match an 11-5 decision with 2:25 ride time.
Using that momentum, redshirt senior TJ England (South Hampton, Pennsylvania) won the next bout in the 133-pound weight class in a 4-2 decision.
Redshirt sophomore Derek Raike (Point Pleasant, W. Va.) secured a technical fall in the 149-pound class for Ohio. By the end of the first period, Raike already had 16 points and two minutes of ride time. Takedown after takedown, Raike was able to gain 15 points over Kent State and ended the bout at 4:28.
"It was neat to see Malachi go out there and get a win. I think he wrestled pretty hard, and did some good things, so that was nice. We kind of got, got kicked off there, and TJ followed with another win. Things didn't quite go the way we wanted it at 141, but then Raike came right back with a dominating performance, and got us right back in it," Greenlee said. "He's kind of been a spark plug all year long."
In the 157-pound class, redshirt sophomore Logan Cravatas (Medina, Ohio) slowly took control and earned a takedown in the first period. After two more in the second and third period, Kent State tried to get in control, but couldn't overcome Cravatas, who took the 15-7 major decision.
Redshirt junior Garrett Thompson (Murrysville, Pa.) earned a shutout in the 174-pound weight class. Due to his great defense and then switch to offense in the third period, Thompson gained four points in one move, bringing the match to 16-0 at 7:01.
Redshirt freshman Jeremy Olszko (Northfield, Ohio) took control of his bout and stayed on top of Kent State the entire time. Multiple times, Kent State started underneath Olszko and gained zero escape points. The 184-pound weight class bout ended with a 3-0 decision in favor of Olszko.
Saving the 285-pound redshirt senior for last, Jordan Greer (Avon, Ohio) pinned his opponent within 2 minutes and 48 seconds. With a takedown and the crowd cheering him on, Greer pushed his opponent's shoulders onto the mat to win his bout.
"I was excited. I mean, who doesn't want to go out on a pin on senior day?" Greer said with a laugh. "It was my last match in The Convo, it's a little bittersweet."
The Bobcats will be back in action on Feb. 14 against SIUE in Edwardsville, Illinois. The match will be available to watch on ESPN+ and will begin at 7 p.m.
125 | Malachi O'Leary (Ohio) defeated Nico Calello (Kent) (Dec 11-5)
133 | TJ England (Ohio) defeated Adan Benavidez (Kent) (Dec 4-2)
141 | Jordan Decatur (Kent) defeated Prestyn Park (Ohio) (TF 21-6 5:11)
149 | Derek Raike (Ohio) defeated Cael Andrews (Kent) (TF 20-3 4:18)
157 | Logan Cravatas (Ohio) defeated Keegan Knapp (Kent) (MD 15-7)
165 | Carson Miller (Kent) defeated Jack Lledo (Ohio) (Dec 4-0)
174 | Garrett Thompson (Ohio) defeated Hunter Andel (Kent) (TF 16-0 7:01)
184 | Jeremy Olszko (Ohio) defeated Kyle Snider (Kent) (Dec 3-0)
197 | Blake Schaffer (Kent) defeated Austin Starr (Ohio) (Dec 10-8)
285 | Jordan Greer (Ohio) defeated Brentan Simmerman (Kent) (Fall 2:48)
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