NCAA Wrestling Championships Preview
3/19/2019 11:29:18 AM | General, Wrestling
The 2018-19 collegiate wrestling season comes to a crescendo at the NCAA Championships held in Pittsburgh, Pa., March 21-23. Ohio State enters the final competition ranked second nationally and with a full complement of 10 qualifiers.
 MATCH NOTES
BRACKETS
BUCKEYE LINEUP (NCAA Championships seed listed)
125 lbs | No. 25 Malik Heinselman (23-9, Fr.)
133 lbs | No. 5 Luke Pletcher (23-5, r-Jr.)
141 lbs | No. 2 Joey McKenna (20-2, Sr.)
149 lbs | No. 2 Micah Jordan (25-2, r-Sr.)
157 lbs | No. 11 Ke-Shawn Hayes (20-9, r-Jr.)
165 lbs | No. 21 Te’Shan Campbell (20-7, Sr.)
174 lbs | No. 19 Ethan Smith (18-11, r-Fr.)
184 lbs | No. 1 Myles Martin (20-0, Sr.)
197 lbs | No. 2 Kollin Moore (19-2, r-Jr.)
285 lbs | No. 16 Chase Singletary (19-7, r-Fr.)
Buckeyes are rolling into Pittsburgh 10-deep. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/a7gQ4KU1kI
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) March 19, 2019
ESPN will provide unprecedented coverage of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, with the annual event’s three prime-time sessions airing on ESPN, its early sessions on ESPNU and every one of the 640 matches available on ESPN3 via the ESPN App or WatchESPN.com. This year, ESPN3 will add a postgame show to its previously existing pregame show and complementary Championship night coverage, serving fans with even more content on the sport’s pinnacle night.
DIRECT LINKS FOR ESPN(U) COVERAGE?
SESSION I (Thursday, Noon ET) | First Round | ESPNU
SESSION II (Thursday, 7 p.m. ET) | Second Round | ESPN
SESSION III (Friday, 11 a.m. ET) | Quarterfinals | ESPNU
SESSION IV (Friday, 8 p.m. ET) | Semifinals | ESPN
SESSION V (Saturday, 11 a.m. ET) | Medal Rounds | ESPNU
SESSION VI (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET) | Finals | ESPN
*Photo above from @NCAAWrestling
AT FULL STRENGTH
For the second straight season, Ohio State will be represented at all 10 weight classes during the NCAA Championships. A year ago Lehigh stood alongside the Buckeyes as the only two teams to qualify all 10 wrestlers, and in 2019 Ohio State stands alone.
CHASING TROPHIES
Ohio State has brought home hardware in each of the last four NCAA Championships, including the 2015 team title. In three years since, the Buckeyes have placed third, second and second while capturing three Big Ten crowns en route to the nationals. Head coach Tom Ryan has guided the Scarlet & Gray to top-10 finishes in 10 of 12 seasons since arriving in Columbus. In addition to the recent stretch of top-3 placements (2016-18), Ohio State also claimed runner-up honors in both 2008 and 2009.
From an individual standpoint, at least one Buckeye has climbed to the top of the podium as an NCAA Champion in seven straight seasons. Four-time champion Logan Stieber began the title-clinching streak as the 2012 champion at 133 pounds.
BOOKENDING CAREER
In 2016 Myles Martin became just the 15th true freshman to ever win an NCAA title when he defeated fellow freshman Bo Nickal (Penn State) in the 174-pound finals. Three years later and Martin is now seeking to bookend his career with national championships. He is one of eight competitors to carry an NCAA crown into the 2019 event. Additional former champions include: Spencer Lee (Iowa), Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell), Jason Nolf (Penn State), Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State), Zahid Valencia (Arizona State), Mark Hall (Penn State) and Bo Nickal (Penn State).
MICAH ON A MISSION
Micah Jordan’s 25-2 season mark is accompanied by 19 bonus-point wins (7 MD, 6 TF, 6 PIN) and that dominance has been in overdrive since Jan. 11. In 12 wins since that date, Jordan has recorded four major decisions, three tech falls and four pins.
A DOZEN REMAIN UNDEFEATED
Myles Martin is one of only 12 wrestlers nationally to own a flawless season record entering the NCAA Championships. Martin is 20-0 with 10 of those wins coming over top-20 opponents.
Nine of 10 weight classes (none at heavyweight) have at least one unbeaten record with two at 125, 184 and 197 pounds.
MCKENNA DOMINATES IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
Joey McKenna has never dropped a bout at his conference championships. After back-to-back Pac-12 titles while competing for Stanford as an underclassmen, he walked into the Big Ten Championships and snagged two more league crowns. McKenna blanked his competition in the ‘18 event, surrendering zero points en route to the top of the podium. In eight career matches at the Big Ten Championships in 2018 and 2019, he outscored his competition 45-6 and tallied two pins.
B1G SUCCESS IN MINNEAPOLIS
Two champions, five finalists and nine tickets to the NCAAs were punched in Minneapolis at the Big Ten Championships. All that resulted in a second place finish for the Buckeyes. Joey McKenna and Myles Martin won individual titles while Luke Pletcher, Micah Jordan and Kollin Moore joined them in the finals of their respective weight classes. Two days later, Chase Singletary filled the complete lineup heading to Pittsburgh when selected as at-large bid recipient at heavyweight.
SENIOR CLASS 2019
Ohio State’s four-man senior class of Te’Shan Campbell, Micah Jordan, Myles Martin and Joey McKenna has accumulated impressive numbers in their careers and combined for:
-Seven All-America honors
-403-83 (.829) career record
-305-61 (.832) record as Buckeyes
-250 bonus-point wins (96 major decisions, 83 tech falls, 71 pins)
-75-20 (.789) Big Ten dual mark
This group is also 16-for-16 in qualifying for the NCAA Championships in their careers.
POUND-FOR-POUND
FloWrestling maintains a `pound-for-pound’ Top-20 and Ohio State represents 20-percent of the group. The Buckeyes included are No. 5 Myles Martin, No. 13 Joey McKenna, No. 14 Kollin Moore and No. 16 Micah Jordan.
RECORD BOOK WRECKERS
Four current Buckeyes — Joey McKenna, Kollin Moore, Myles Martin and Micah Jordan — are slotted top-15 in Ohio State history for career winning percentage (see complete top-15 on page two of the match notes).
In addition, Micah Jordan’s 27 pins are one shy of cracking the school’s top-10 all-time and Myles Martin is one win away from top-15 standing in Buckeye lore.
