Wisconsin Badgers
Ohio State
Wisconsin battles Ohio State to 27-15 decision
January 21, 2024 | Wrestling
Barnett leads Badgers with 32-second pin
MADISON, Wis. — The nation's toughest collegiate wrestling conference has begun dual action. Opening the Big Ten dual season at home inside the UW Field House, No. 17 Wisconsin battled No. 7 Ohio State, falling short 27-15.
Wisconsin won three of 10 bouts against the Buckeyes in the hard-fought competition, with victories at 125, 165 and 184 pounds.
Wisconsin senior No. 4 Eric Barnett started strong for the Badgers at 125, pinning his opponent No. 24 Brendan McCrone in just 32 seconds and giving the Badgers a 6-0 team lead. Barnett scored an opening takedown, then turned McCrone quickly for the fall to the delight of the large crowd on Sunday for Youth Team Day at the Field House.
At 165, No. 5 Dean Hamiti earned his 16th bonus-point victory of the season with a 18-3 tech fall of No. 22 Bryce Hepner in 6:21. Hamiti scored six takedowns against his Buckeye opponent in the win.
Notching Wisconsin's final win, Shane Liegel earned a commanding 14-3 major decision win over No. 32 Seth Shumate. Down 3-0, Liegel took control of the bout in the first period with a reversal and four-point near fall. Liegel later scored a takedown and two-point nearfall in the final period for the bonus points.
Despite losses, four Badgers made things difficult for the opposition and helped narrow the team scoring differential.
At 133, unranked Nicolar Rivera made 12th-ranked Nic Bouzakis work for his 19-11 major decision and kept OSU from earning the tech. Rivera scored two big takedowns late in the bout when Bouzakis seemed to think he had the victory sealed and also scored five escapes.
Unranked Luke Mechler narrowly lost a tight 4-2 decision to 33rd-ranked Isaac Wilcox at 157. Scoreless through the first period, Wilcox didn't get on the board until the second period with an escape and takedown. Mechler scored his own escape to end the second stanza, then a second escape in the third before time ran out.
Teammate Max Maylor, ranked 11th, also narrowly lost a 7-3 decision at 184 to No. 30 Rocco Welsh. Tied up 2-2 to end the second period, Welsh scored a late takedown and riding time to take the upset bout.
Wrestling up two weight classes, unranked Josh Otto continues to be the Badgers' iron man and kept things tight with No. 22 Luke Geog in a 8-2 decision loss.
Wisconsin splits Big Ten duals this week with a road match at Michigan State on Friday, Jan. 26 in East Lansing at 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET on B1G+ before returning home to wrestle Nebraska on Sunday, Jan. 28 at the UW Field House. The Badgers' dual against the Huskers will be televised nationally on Big Ten Network at 1 p.m. CT.
RESULTS
#17 Wisconsin 15, #7 Ohio State 27 - Jan. 21, 2024 - Madison, Wis. | WIS-OSU
125: #4 Eric Barnett (WIS) over #24 Brendan McCrone (OSU), Fall 0:32 | 6-0
133: #12 Nic Bouzakis (OSU) over Nicolar Rivera (WIS), Major Dec. 19-11 | 6-4
141: #3 Jesse Mendez (OSU) over Felix Lettini (WIS), Tech Fall 21-5 5:46 | 6-9
149: #9 Dylan D`Emilio (OSU) over #22 Joseph Zargo (WIS), Major Dec. 12-4 | 6-13
157:Â #33 Isaac Wilcox (OSU) over Luke Mechler (WIS), Dec. 4-2 | 6-16
165: #5 Dean Hamiti (WIS) over #22 Bryce Hepner (OSU), Tech Fall 18-3 6:21 | 11-16
174: #30 Rocco Welsh (OSU) over #11 Max Maylor (WIS), Dec. 7-3 | 11-19
184: #16 Shane Liegel (WIS) over #32 Seth Shumate (OSU), Major Dec. 14-3 | 15-19
197: #22 Luke Geog (OSU) over Josh Otto (WIS), Dec. 8-2 | 15-22
285: #17 Nick Feldman (OSU) over Gannon Rosenfeld (WIS), Tech Fall 19-3 3:08 | 15-27
All team and individual rankings are Intermat for Jan. 16, 2024
Attendance: 3,563
Players Mentioned
