Buckeye Wrestlers Head To NCAA Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | General, Wrestling
March 19, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 4 Ohio State wrestling team (20-4, 5-3 Big Ten) closes out its 2001-02 campaign with the 2002 NCAA Championships March 21-23 at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y. Nine Ohio State wrestlers will make the trip east to try and become All-Americans by finishing in the Top 8 of the national event. Robert Sessley (two-times), Nick Preston and Tommy Rowlands will look to join an elite list of Buckeyes that have gone on to claim multiple All-America honors.
TWENTY SOMETHING
The Buckeyes ended their season with a 20-4 record and tied the 1989-90 and 1991-92 teams that also broke the 20-win plateau for the most wins in a season. The first record was set in 1989-90 when Russ Hellickson guided the team to a 20-5 finish. Two years later, Ohio State concluded its campaign with a 20-4 record.
BIG TEN HONORS
Ohio State went to the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago and captured fourth place behind the conference championship at heavyweight for Tommy Rowlands and runner-up spots for Jeff Ratliff, John Clark and Nick Preston. For the success the Buckeyes have had in 2001-02, Russ Hellickson, OSU head coach, was selected by the Big Ten coaches as the co-coach of the year in the conference. He shares the title with Minnesota’s J Robinson. This is the second time the members of the conference have selected Hellickson as its top coach. He also received the honor in 1991.
REWRITING RECORDS
Several of the Ohio State record books have been rewritten this year because of the stellar seasons of a few of the members of the team. Nick Preston, Tommy Rowlands, Josh Janson, Robert Sessley, Keaton Anderson and John Clark each have etched their names into the records ledger. Preston is No. 4 all-time in career takedowns with 388 and is followed by No. 9 Rowlands (305), No. 10 Janson (298) and No. 12 Sessley (238). Rowlands is the only non-senior to make the list. For the year, Rowlands’ 143 are the seventh-most in the history of the program for a year and Clark, also a sophomore, is No. 16 with his 123.
Rowlands and Preston also have made their ways towards to the top of the list for career and season team points accumulated. Preston is No. 8 all-time with 333 team points and Rowlands ninth with 304.5. In a season, Rowlands occupies two positions in the Top 5. He is No. 5 with his 142.5 this year and No. 3 with 162 a year ago.
Anderson is No. 10 in career back points with 215 and Rowlands’ 118 is No. 17. Janson also will close out his career in Columbus with 23 wins by pinfall, the ninth-most in OSU annals.
THE DRAW
The NCAA released the championship bracket for each of the 10 weight classes and seven Ohio State wrestlers have received seedings in the national event, led by No. 1 Tommy Rowlands. Rowlands is joined by No. 4 Nick Preston (197), No. 7 Jeff Ratliff (133), No. 8 John Clark (165), No. 9 Keaton Anderson (149), No. 11 Robert Sessley (141) and No. 12 Josh Janson (157). Jesse Leng (125) and Blake Kaplan (184) were not seeded. Here is the first round match for each of the Buckeyes in Albany, N.Y., this weekend:
125
Jesse Leng vs. #9 Jason Powell (Nebraska)
133
#7 Jeff Ratliff vs. Mark Manchio (No. Iowa)
141
#11 Robert Sessley vs. Nick Boucher (Cleveland State)
149
#9 Keaton Anderson vs. Ty Morgan (C. Mich.)
157
#12 Josh Janson vs. Levi Prevost (Wyoming)
165
#8 John Clark vs. Craig Johnson (Chattanooga)
184
Blake Kaplan vs. #8 Rob Rohn (Lehigh)
197
#4 Nick Preston vs. David Schenk (Cal Poly)
285
#1 Tommy Rowlands vs. Mark Knauer (Iowa St.)
PRESTON NEARING THE MARK
Nick Preston has won 121 matches in his Ohio State career moving him into a tie for fifth all-time with current Buckeye assistant coach Ken Ramsey. Here is the list of OSU’s all-time win leaders:
1. Ed Potokar 1980-83 151 2. Adam DiSabato 1989-93 138 3. Jude Skove 1982-86 131 4. Mike Schyck 1990-93 127 5. Nick Preston 1999-02 121 Ken Ramsey 1987-92 121 7. Mark Marinelli 1987-91 120 8. Mitch Clark 1993-98 119 9. Eric Smith 1991-96 118 10. Kevin Randleman 1991-93 108
AND CLOSING FAST
Nick Preston has climbed numerous record ledgers and moved into the Top 10 in wins at Ohio State making him one of the more successful Buckeyes in the history of the program. Tommy Rowlands, though only a sophomore, is making a charge of his own into the record books. With the NCAA Championships remaining, Rowlands could add to his 76 career wins and make a run to surpass Preston as early as next year on the career wins list.
BREAKOUT
John Clark has had a breakout year this year. He is 29-7 with a 20-4 mark in duals after a 22-15 campaign as a freshman. He finished third at the Missouri Open and fourth at the Midlands and went on a eight-match winning streak in which he scored two technical fall and two fall decisions to help the Buckeyes open conference action 3-1. Clark is second on the team with 118 takedowns and went 7-1 in Big Ten duals this year.
FILLING IN
Blake Kaplan got the news just three days before the Big Ten Championships that he would replace an injured Anton Talamantes in the 184 division at the conference meet for a chance to go to nationals. Kaplan used his opportunity to post a 2-2 record in his first conference tournament. After a tough 13-1 major decision loss to No. 1 Andy Hrovat of Michigan in the second round, the No. 8 seeded Kaplan won one and lost in the consolation bracket to set up a battle with No. 6 Ralph Denisco of Wisconsin for a chance to go to the NCAA meet. Kaplan was up to the test and defeated the Badger, 8-6, to make to nationals field.
SLOWLY BUT SURELY
After a 7-5 start with competition in the Midlands and Missouri Open, as well as several duals, Robert Sessley has reestablished himself as a force to be reckoned with. Starting with the Buckeye Duals and a calendar change to 2002, Sessley has gone 16-5 and was the No. 2 seed at the Big Ten Championships where he finished fifth. He will now try to become only the third three-time All-American at Ohio State.
HELLICKSON BEGINS 16TH YEAR AT OSU
Russ Hellickson enters his 16th year of head coaching duties with the Scarlet and Gray and his 20th overall. Hellickson stands 310-150-6 overall and 239-128-6 with the Buckeyes. Under Hellickson’s guidance, OSU has produced at least one All-American 12 years in a row and four wrestlers have captured a total of five national championships. He began his coaching duties in the 1982-83 season with his alma mater Wisconsin and coached the Badgers to a 71-22-0 record in four seasons prior to arriving in Columbus.
300 AND COUNTING
Russ Hellickson recorded the 300th win of his career Jan. 5 following a 41-3 defeat of Eastern Illinois and a 4-0 record in the Buckeye Duals.
SCOUTING REPORT: NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The creme of the crop makes it way to the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y., for three days of double-elimination bracket play to determine 10 individual national champions and one team champion.
Minnesota is favored to repeat as the top team in the nation with Michigan, Iowa, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State looking to spoil the party.
The weight to watch this year will be 197 where No. 1 Cael Sanderson of Iowa State, after moving up in weight from 184 a year ago, will look to remain undefeated in his collegiate career and become the first undefeated four-time NCAA champion. Ohio State’s No. 4 Nick Preston could meet the Cyclone in the semifinals.
Other weight classes to keep an eye on will be the talent-loaded heavyweight division. No. 1 Tommy Rowlands and No. 2 Steve Mocco of Iowa could meet in the final in a rematch of the Big Ten championship match that Rowlands won, 2-1.
Last year, all 10 starters qualified for OSU with Rowlands and Robert Sessley earning All-America honors. Rowlands took second as a freshman and Sessley earned All-America accolades for the second time in his career with a seventh-place finish.
REVIEW: 2002 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Buckeyes captured fourth place on the strength of Tommy Rowlands’ heavyweight crown and three Buckeyes taking runner-up spots. Jeff Ratliff (133), John Clark (165) and Nick Preston (197) each took second in their respective weights.
2001-02 IN REVIEW
Ohio State had one of the best campaigns in recent years with a 20-4 record and a 5-3 mark in the Big Ten. What really set the season apart from many others was the 2002 National Duals held in Columbus. As the No. 7 seed in the event, the Buckeyes knocked off No. 10 Lock Haven (29-4) before turning the collective heads of the wrestling world with two stunning upsets. The Buckeyes defeated No. 2 Oklahoma State, 19-13 to set up probably one of the biggest wins in OSU history against No. 3 Oklahoma. Down four points heading into the heavyweight match, Tommy Rowlands needed to win by major decision over Leonce Crump to tie the dual and hope the criteria would declare OSU the winner. The match was tied at eight and went to overtime when the unthinkable happened. Rowlands, with 30 seconds off the overtime clock, took down Crump and then pinned the Sooner big man to give the Buckeyes a 19-17 win and a shot at No. 1 Minnesota in the finals. OSU lost to UM, 28-6, and gain its highest national ranking ever the following week at No. 2.
In Big Ten action, the Buckeyes lost duals with No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Iowa to finish 5-3 for the second year in a row.
ALL-CENTURY TEAM
The Touchdown Club of Columbus held Ohio State Century Night at the Jerome Schottenstein Center Jan. 23 to honor the top athletes of the century from all of OSU’s 35 varsity sports. Five Buckeye greats made the list of wrestlers including Kevin Randleman (1991-93), Mark Coleman (1987-88), Rex Holman (1992-93), Mitch Clark (1994-98) and Adam DiSabato (1989-93).
Randleman also was named the top wrestler of the century at OSU after winning national championships in 1992 and 1993.
Coleman (1988), Holman (1993) and Clark (1998) also won national titles with DiSabato making the team as a three-time All-American.
HISTORIC ST. JOHN ARENA
St. John Arena, the former home of men’s and women’s basketball, houses Buckeye wrestling, men’s and women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s gymnastics. Constructed in 1956, the 13,276 capacity venue has hosted three men’s NCAA championship basketball games and was the home of the NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals for Division I and the placing matches for Division II and III in January.
