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| • Schedules/Results • Roster • Coaches • Recruiting • | ||||
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| November 4, 2007
NDC loses match, wins respect SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Ohio State Buckeyes came to town Sunday afternoon for a dual meet with the Wrestling Falcons, who featured the David-and-Goliath match-up as their season opener. And when the Buckeyes left Cleveland, they took home a 36-6 win and likely a healthy dose of respect for Ohio collegiate wrestling’s new kid on the block. The Falcons were able to score a pair of wins against No. 8 (NCAA-I) Ohio State (1-0). NDC also was able to get several newcomers onto the mat, nearly all of whom acquitted themselves well against an opponent expected to challenge for a National Championship at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division-I level.“This was a big day for us,” said NDC Head Coach Frank Romano, who wrestled for Ohio State from 1966-70. “It was also a good day for wrestling in Northeast Ohio. There’s a lot of interest in our sport in Cleveland, and wrestlers for both schools were in front of their hometown fans.” Notre Dame’s (0-1) Tyler Savage (Fr/Lima, OH) lost a well-wrestled bout to OSU’s Nikko Triggas (Fr/Campolindo, CA) to start the match. Triggas won the battle between the two well-regarded freshman grapplers by a 5-2 score. NDC’s Dante Rini (Fr/Massillon, OH) lost by decision, 8-3, at 133. After that, the Buckeyes took control of the match. Brett Freeman (So/Burton, OH) lost by fall against OSU’s nationally-ranked J Jaggers (Jr/Northfield, OH). The Buckeyes’ Lance Palmer (So/Lakewood, OH) then defeated Nate Spencer (So/Mayfield, OH), 18-1, to give Ohio State a 17-0 advantage. Notre Dame got on the board at 165, when Mike Mahon (Fr/Cincinnati, OH) defeated Robel Campbell (Fr/Dayton, OH) in a bout featuring two freshmen from southwest Ohio. Mahon, a product of Cincinnat Moeller High School wrestling in his first collegiate bout, earned a 6-4 victory. The Falcons scored a second bout win in the final match-up of the day, a feature bout in the 157-pound weight class. The victory came courtesy of Victer Crenshaw (Jr/Cincinnati, OH), who earned an 8-7 decision over the Buckeyes’ Jason Johnstone (Jr/Massillon, OH). The victory was the first for Crenshaw in his NDC career, after transferring from Cleveland State, and it finished the match at 36-6. “Our four All-Americans dominated like we expected them to," said OSU Head Coach Tom Ryan. “But I give credit to Frank Romano for approaching our program and asking us to compete. Notre Dame College will win some titles in the NAIA if they keep grabbing some of the top (wrestlers) in the state of Ohio.” Notre Dame, which instituted its wrestling program in 2006 and is ranked pre-season No. 17 in the nation, is scheduled to continue its second season Saturday, Nov. 10, when the Wrestling Falcons compete in the National Catholic Championships, held in Erie, Penn.
#8 (NCAA-I) Ohio State 36, #17 Notre Dame 6 125 Nikko Triggas (OSU) by dec. over Tyler Savage (NDC), 5-2 OSU 3, NDC 0 Notes from the Nest… Wrestle-mania: Sunday’s NDC-OSU dual meet was attended by 773 wrestling fans from across Northeast Ohio. The event was held at Maple Heights’ Wylie Athletic Center to accommodate the large crowd, which was the largest in the history of NDC Athletics. “This was a good event,” Tom Ryan said. “The crowd was great and it is proof why Northeast Ohio has some of the greatest wrestling in the country." Pulling rank: 23 of Ohio State’s 36 match points on Sunday were scored by four ranked Buckeyes who made the trip to Cleveland. No. 6 J Jaggers (141), No. 3 Lance Palmer (149), No. 4 Mike Pucillo (184), and No. 4 JD Bergman (HWT) all posted convincing wins. Overall, the Buckeyes have five grapplers ranked in the pre-season USA Today/NWCA Poll. Frankly scarlet: NDC Head Coach Frank Romano wrestled for OSU from 1966-70. Romano was a three-time National Qualifier at OSU and was the Buckeyes’ team captain in 69-70. The future bench boss for Notre Dame became the first Buckeye chosen to the US East All-Star team, when he was selected in 1970.
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