No. 12 Ohio State Wrestles at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | General, Wrestling
Dec. 3, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 12-ranked Ohio State wrestling team (0-0, 0-0) makes the trip to Las Vegas, Nev. Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6 for the Las Vegas Invitational held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
A pair of Buckeye seniors – 184 Blake Kaplan and HWT Tommy Rowlands – look to claim their third tournament crowns this season as Ohio State seeks to better its impressive third-place standing at the 2002 event.
THE LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL
The 2003 version of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational features 43 teams spanning across the nation, including 2002 team champion Minnesota and fellow Big Ten foes Illinois and Michigan.
Matches at the event begin Friday at 9 a.m. (PST) and conclude with the placing rounds Saturday evening at 5 p.m. (PST).
Friday Round I, II and Consolation 9 a.m. Quarterfinals and Consolation 7 p.m.
Saturday Consolation 9 a.m. Semifinals 10 a.m. Finals 5 p.m.
Further tournament information may be found at http://www.cklvwrestle.com/, the official website of the 2003 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
LAST TIME OUT: FOUR SENIORS CLAIM TITLES AT OKLAHOMA CLASSIC
The Ohio State wrestling team competed at the Oklahoma Gold Classic in Brockport, N.Y. Nov. 15. The Buckeyes claimed second place with 143 team points, falling 35.5 points shy of No. 15 Oklahoma in the overall team standings
Ohio State was led by title-winning performances from seniors Tommy Rowlands at HWT, John Clark in the 165 class, Blake Kaplan at 184, while Jeff Ratliff moved to 149 from 141 and claimed his first tournament crown at the heavier weight class.
The titles for Rowlands and Kaplan were their second of the season, while Clark and Ratliff added their first. Additionally, Rowlands and Clark notched their second Oklahoma Gold title in the last two seasons.
Others who earned places at the event were redshirt freshman Jermaine Jones, who scored fourth at 125, and true freshmen James King, who also earned a fourth place standing at 174. Fellow freshman James King took sixth at 157.
TOMMY 500
With his first round victory via fall in the Oklahoma Gold Classic, senior HWT Tommy Rowlands became the first Buckeye to eclipse the 500-team point plateau in program history. Rowlands, who entered the season as the all-time leader at OSU with 498.5 team points, now stands at 521.5 for his career.
Rowlands also collected 12 takedowns at the Oklahoma tournament which boosted his career takedown total above 500 as well. Rowlands currently stands second in Buckeye annals with 509 career takedowns.
ROWLANDS NAMED BIG TEN WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Ohio State senior HWT Tommy Rowlands, a three-time All-American and 2002 NCAA champion, was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week Wednesday, Nov. 19 after claiming first place and Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Oklahoma Gold Classic. The tournament title was Rowlands’ second this season and second at the Oklahoma Gold Classic in the last two seasons.
BUCKEYE LINEUP SET FOR VEGAS
The Ohio State wresting team established its lineup for the 2003 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Friday, Nov. 21 as the team conducted wrestle-offs at the 125, 149 and 184-pound classes in the Steelwood Training Facility.
Redshirt freshman Jermaine Jones downed sophomore Nathan Costello at 125 by a 12-4 count, while sophomore Ryan Derr edged junior Nick Harpster 7-3 at the 149 class to earn a starting nod.
Senior Blake Kaplan, who has won two tournaments so far this season and is ranked among the Top 10 in all individual polls, competed in a round-robin competition with fellow 184-pounders sophomore Brent Billet and freshman Nick Luckens. Kaplan bested both as he solidified his jump from 174 in 2002-03 to 184 this season with an 11-5 decision over Billet and a 17-1 technical fall against Luckens.
The Ohio State starting line up for the 2003
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational:
125: Jermaine Jones (Fr., West Chester, Pa.)
133: Jesse Leng (Sr., Hinckley, Ohio)
141: Jeff Ratliff (Sr., Marion, Ohio)
149: Ryan Derr (So., Oregon, Ohio)
157: James King (Fr., Rockwell, Texas)
165: John Clark (Sr., Canton, N.Y.)
174: Alex Picazo (Fr., Columbus, Ohio)
184: Blake Kaplan (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio)
197: J.D. Bergman (Fr., Oak Harbor, Ohio)
HWT: Tommy Rowlands (Sr., Hilliard, Ohio)
2002 LAS VEGAS INVITE RECAP
Last season, The 5th-ranked Ohio State wrestling team, which finished the first day of competition atop the team leader board in the 2002 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, concluded its third straight stellar tournament performance as the Buckeyes claimed a third-place finish, falling just 12.5 points behind first-place Minnesota (131.0) and 5.0 points shy of second-place Illinois (123.5).
Ohio State’s strong showing was the result of several outstanding individual efforts in the tournament as seniors Anton Talamantes captured his second tournament title of the season at 197, while Keaton Anderson fell just three points short of capturing his third straight crown in the 157-pound class.
A quartet of Buckeye juniors fell in tight matches in the semifinals, three of which extended into overtime. Rowlands dropped a double-overtime decision in the round of four to No. 7 Arizona State’s Kellan Fluckiger. Rowlands rebounded to claim third place in the tournament with a 5-3 win over Rushton Boe of Boise State.
Other Buckeyes who fell in the semis via extra sessions were 141 Jeff Ratliff and 174 Blake Kaplan. Ratliff, who dropped his first round match, qualified for the semifinals where he lost 7-5 in overtime. Ratliff defeated 3rd-ranked Shane Cunanan of West Virginia by a 7-2 count to contribute a fifth-place finish.
Kaplan pushed eventual tournament champ and consensus No. 1 Greg Jones of West Virginia to overtime as he fell by a count of 8-6 in the semifinals. Kaplan would carry on to claim third place in the tournament with a 2-1 win over John McClay of Minnesota.
Ohio State 165, John Clark, entered the Las Vegas Invite in search of his third straight tournament title, but fell two points short to Minnesota’s Jacob Vollkman, 7-5, in the round of four. Clark bounced back to claim an 8-5 victory in the fifth-place match over Arizona State’s Nick Frost.
ROWLANDS NAMED TOP WRESTLER AT OKLAHOMA GOLD CLASSIC
Tommy Rowlands, who recorded two falls and two decisions en route to his second straight Oklahoma Gold Classic, was deemed most outstanding wrestler for the event for his performance at the HWT class.
Rowlands completed the title run with a 3-2 decision over No. 2-seed Leonce Crump of Oklahoma in the final.
BUCKEYES CONTINUE TO EXCEL IN EARLY SEASON TOURNAMENTS
With the championships won by Tommy Rowlands and Blake Kaplan at the 2003 Michigan State Open along with the four titles won by Rowlands, Kaplan, John Clark and Jeff Ratliff at the 2003 Oklahoma Gold Classic, the Buckeyes now have earned 16 individual tournament titles spanning the last seven tournament competitions during the last two seasons.
In addition, J.D. Bergman’s runner-up and John Clark’s third place at the MSU Open and the fourth-place finishes by Jermaine Jones and Alex Picazo at the Oklahoma Gold boost Ohio State’s place total to 25 during the same stretch.
Last season, a quartet of Buckeyes claimed multiple titles as Keaton Anderson (157), Clark (165) and Rowlands (HWT) took titles at both the Michigan State Open and the Oklahoma Gold Classic, while Anton Talamantes (197) recorded championships at the Michigan State Open as well and combined that with a title-winning performance at the Las Vegas Invitational. Anderson added a third title as he claimed the 157-pound championship at the Midlands.
OHIO STATE RANKED AMONG NATIONAL TOP 15
The Ohio State wrestling team, which completed the 2002-03 season with a 12-7 overall dual mark and a Top 15 finish at the NCAA championships, once again has been recognized among the Top 15 in the nation by numerous amateur wrestling publications as the team competes through the early tournament session of its season.
Overall, the Buckeyes are slotted as high as the No. 12 position by the WrestlingMall, while placing 13th and 14th by W.I.N. Magazine and the NWCA coaches poll, respectively.
FOUR BUCKEYES RANKED INDIVIDUALLY IN NATIONAL TOP 10
Four separate Buckeyes rank within the Top 10 of their weight class in at least one of the major polls. Highlighting the Ohio State lineup is 2002 heavyweight champion and three-time All-American senior Tommy Rowlands , who tops the Amateur Wrestling News rankings, while placing second in the Intermat and Wrestling Mall polls.
Blake Kaplan , who wrestled at 174 in 2002-03, has jumped a weight class and climbed as high as No. 2 in the latest wrestlingmall.com polls after winning two tournaments in the early going this season. Kaplan finds himself ranked as the No. 4 wrestler at 184 by A.W.N. and at No. 8 by Intermat.
Two other seniors fall into the Top 10 in 141 Jeff Ratliff and All-American 165 John Clark. Ratliff, who is approaching the 100-win plateau, is ranked No. 7 by TWM and Intermat, while posting 11th in AWN. Clark, who is wrestling at 165 pounds for the fourth season, is slotted as high as No. 5 (Intermat), while holding at No. 6 in the AWN and eighth in the TWM rankings.
Two other Buckeyes have received recognition as ranked wrestlers in 2003 as senior Jesse Leng was ranked 17 by A.W.N. earlier this season, while freshman 197 J.D. Bergman was slotted at No. 14 by A.W.N. in its rankings earlier this season.
John Clark RECORDS WIN No. 100 AT MICHIGAN STATE OPEN
Ohio State senior 165 John Clark became the fifth Buckeye wrestler to record his 100th win in the last three season under head coach Russ Hellickson.
Clark, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the MSU open with a major decision and a fall in the first two rounds, scored a 5-2 decision in his third match of the day to reach the 100-win plateau.
RATLIFF AIMS AT No. 100
Tommy Rowlands notched his 100th win early in the dual season last year, while departed senior Keaton Anderson hit the century mark during the Big Ten championships. John Clark recently eclipsed the 100-win mark at the MSU Open.
Senior Jeff Ratliff enters this season with the 100-win plateau within his grasp as he headed into his senior campaign with 77 career wins. Ratliff aims for his third-straight 30-plus win season that would assure him the century mark, making him the sixth Buckeye in the last three seasons to accomplish the feat.
NUMEROUS BUCKEYES RECORD CAREER FIRSTS AT MSU OPEN
A dozen Buckeyes earned their first career victory at the Michigan State Open last week, led by 197-pound freshman J.D. Bergman, who claimed second place, while recording a team-best two falls and his first-career major decision.
157 James King, also a freshman, scored his first career fall in the opening round over OSU teammate Videl Smith. Junior transfer HWT Chris Burtscher also tallied a fall in he first round of the consolation bracket at the 5:05 mark of the match.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Rhodes and true freshman Ryan Needle scored their first victories via major decision. Freshman 174 Alex Picazo notched a pair of major decisions en route to a 4-2 mark in the event.
Other Buckeyes posting their first career wins were freshman Jermaine Jones, T.J. Enright, Steve Muldrow and sophomores Ryan Derr and Nick Harpster, while junior transfer Nathaniel Augustson recorded his first win as a Buckeye at 174 pounds.
MILESTONES SET TO FALL IN 2003
2002-03 saw numerous milestones set by Ohio State coaches and athletes as Russ Hellickson claimed his 250th win as Buckeye head coach, while Tommy Rowlands eclipsed the 100-victory plateau and also assumed the top spot in OSU career team points. Rowlands already set a standard at Ohio State in 2003 as he recorded his 500th career team point at the Oklahoma Gold Classic.
Rowlands also will seek to claim the No. 1 slot in career takedowns in 2003-04. He currently stands 137 shy of Adam DiSabato (1989-1993). Additionally, another 30-plus win campaign will lead Rowlands to the No. 1 position in career wins as he could pass No. 2 Disabato and No. 1 Ed Potokar near the end of the season.
John Clark and Jeff Ratliff also will be in pursuit of high marks in the Ohio State all-time charts in takedowns and team points, while Clark will seek to improve upon his 163 takedowns in 2003-04, the fourth-highest season total in OSU history. In fact, each member of the trio of Clark, Ratliff and Rowlands could possibly reach a Top 5 spot in season takedowns by the end of the 2003-04 campaign.
UP NEXT
Ohio State competes in its first dual matches of the season as the Buckeyes head to the Clarion Duals in Clarion, Pa. The event features Ohio State, Drexel, Lock Haven and the host Golden Eagles of Clarion University.
