Buckeye Wrestlers Travel To Midlands Tournament – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | General, Wrestling
Dec. 21, 1999
Columbus, Ohio– The Buckeyes come back from a Christmas break and are scheduled to travel to Evanston, Ill. for the Midlands Tournament Dec. 29-30. Head coach Russ Hellickson announced today that due to injuries the team might not participate. Hellickson said his team is pretty banged up and he won’t know if he will send any wrestlers for another week.
“It might be to our benefit to stay home, lift and get healthy with the Buckeye Duals coming up in January,” Hellickson said. “The competition at Midlands is going to be tough.”
The tournament is open to anyone out of high school and Hellickson said it is a good way for his wrestlers to measure themselves against some of the best wrestlers in the world.
BEST OF THE BEST AT MIDLANDS
In his second year as an assistant coach Mitch Clark will compete unattached at the Midlands Tournament as a heavyweight. The Ohio State two-time All-American won an individual national championship in 1998 after compiling an overall record of 39-1. He was a national runner-up his junior year and finished his career with a pair of Big Ten titles.
BUCKEYES FINISH 11TH AT RENO
At the Reno Individual Tournament Dec. 19, Freshman Keaton Anderson finished fourth at 141-pounds and with the most wins in the tournament for the Buckeyes. He lost his first match, 16-10, to Central Michigan’s Chris Marshall before winning four wrestlebacks. Anderson won, 13-9, 8-5, 11-1 and by injury forfeit.
Anderson withdrew from the remaining matches due to a pulled hamstring.
QUARTERFINALS
Ohio state wrestlers, Joel Walker and Nick Preston won their first matches to move on to the quarterfinals at Reno. Walker, at 157-pounds, pinned Oregon’s Matt Lee in 6:56. He lost in the quarterfinals, 8-6, to Ian Nelms from Cal-Bakersfield. Walker added another win in the wrestlebacks with a 15-8 decision over Casey Eager from Boise State. After the Reno Tournament, Walker is 12-6 overall, and is tied for the most wins on the team.
Preston won his first round match, 11-3, over Central Michigan’s Brett Faustman at 197-pounds. Preston lost, 5-1, in the quarterfinals to Boise State’s Rusty Cook and in the wrestlebacks, 5-3, to Eric Gladish from Arizona State.
SPEAKING OF ANDERSON
Anderson, 10-4 overall, leads the squad in team points with 27, is tied for the most dual meet wins with one and is tied for third place on the team for most wins with 10. He is also tied for third in falls with two, tied for second in major decisions with two and is third in back points with 29. Anderson is ranked No. 20 in the Dec. 15 Intermat poll.
BUCKEYES FALL TO CYCLONES
Before the Reno Tournament the Buckeyes competed in their second dual meet of the season at Iowa State losing 30-6. The No. 1 Cyclones limited the Buckeyes to two wins.
Jesse Leng and Nick Stepanovich won their weight classes. Leng defeated Kentral Galloway at 133-pounds, 12-8, and Stepanovich beat Chad Ziesman at 174-pounds, 4-3.
PRESTON KEEPS ON TRACK
After a loss at Iowa State, sophomore Nick Preston got back on track with a win at Reno.
He is tied for third on the team with 17 matches and is tied for first with one dual meet win. He is ranked 15th at 184-pounds by Intermat.
THROWING THER WEIGHT AROUND
After a miscommunication between Ohio State and Iowa State, the Buckeyes learned they had to wrestle the Cyclones not only a day before expected but in four hours time. Ohio State’s schedule listed the meet Dec. 14 and Iowa State’s listed it as Dec. 13. All Ohio State wrestlers made their weights.
BUCKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
Three Ohio State wrestlers are in the latest Top 20 rankings by Intermat. The wrestlers ranked as of Dec. 15 are:
Wt. Name Rank 141 Keaton Anderson 20 165 Peter Rogers 16 184 Nick Preston 15
TWO BUCKEYES IN AWN RANKINGS
Ohio State wrestlers Robert Sessley Jr. and Peter Rogers are ranked in the Amateur Wrestling News poll. Sessley is 10th at 133-pounds and Rogers is 17th at 165-pounds in the Dec. 8 poll.
OHIO STATE IN POLLS
Ohio State received two votes in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Dec. 15 poll, unofficially ranking them 32nd. In the Dec. 15 Intermat Dual Team Rankings Ohio State received an Honorable Mention.
TRUE SETS CAREER HIGH
After starting the season off with a bang, Donovan True has dropped his last four matches. Despite this slump, True is having a career season. His 10th win of the season at Las Vegas was a new personal best for career wins.
The senior from Oshkosh, Wisc., leads the Buckeyes in falls with a career-high seven, more than any OSU wrestler picked up a year ago. His 13 takedowns and 19 team points are also career highs.
SESSLEY AND JAMES INJURED
Junior All-American Robert Sessley Jr. tore his anterior cruciate ligament in practice about a month ago. He underwent successful surgery Dec. 16. Trainer John Carollo said everything went as expected and Sessley has already started his rehabilitation. He won’t see any time on the mat until June or July.
Junior Bo James suffered three concussions in practice and is finished for the season. Wrestling trainer John Carollo said it is standard procedure to stop competition after three concussions because it becomes easier for the athlete to suffer additional concussions.
FOUR BUCKEYES WITH 10+ WINS
Four wrestlers have posted over 10 wins in four meets. Brian Roskovich and Joel Walker lead the team with 12 wins and Donavan True and Keaton Anderson are tied with 10 wins.
15 BUCKEYES OVER 500
After four meets 15 Buckeyes have records of 500 or better. Eleven Buckeyes are below 500 and four have not seen action this season.
