Top 5 Matchup Set for Saturday in Iowa City

Tom Ryan, Ohio State Head Coach

No. 4 Ohio State at No. 2 Iowa
Time: 2 p.m.
Date: Saturday Jan. 25
Venue: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Tickets: Purchase Here (Ohio State)/at Iowa
Watch: BTN/btn.com
Live Results: X/@wrestlingbucks
Rosters: Ohio State | Iowa
Match Notes: Ohio State | Iowa

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 4 Ohio State (11-0, 3-0) returns to the alma mater of head coach Tom Ryan when the Buckeyes face No. 2 Iowa (8-0, 2-0) Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Ryan was an All-American at Iowa in 1990-91 and 1991-92 and a Big Ten champion at 158 in 1991 and 1992. In 1990-91, Ryan earned 41 wins for the Hawkeyes, good for the No. 8 spot (t) in Iowa all-time history.

Behind seven bonus-point victories, including three by fall, No. 4 Ohio State defeated No. 25 Purdue 24-10 last Sunday in Columbus. The Buckeyes improved to 11-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten.
The Buckeyes opened the 2025 Big Ten dual season with wins over No. 10 Illinois (24-9) in Champaign and then 17-15 over No. 17 Rutgers in Columbus. Against the Illini, freshman e'Than Birden upset No. 10 Braeden Scoles by decision, 9-4, while redshirt sophomore Seth Shumate earned an 11-9 decision victory over No. 11 Zac Braunagel at 197. Both upsets helped the Buckeyes secure the road win.
Against the Scarlet Knights, Ohio State secured the win, 17-15, in the final match of the dual with a late takedown by heavyweight Nick Feldman over No. 8 Yaraslau Slavikouski, 4-1. The Buckeyes trailed 15-14 before Feldman's win for the deciding three team points. Six of the matches were decided by one point with two going to overtime.
Ohio State ended the non-conference dual season and started the 2025 portion of the schedule this year with a 40-3 win over visiting Oregon State last Sunday in Columbus. The Buckeyes won the final nine matches of the dual, seven with bonus points.
Graduate Sammy Sasso (165) earned win No. 100 during the dual with the Beavers by defeating Steele Starren in a 1-0 decision. Sasso is 100-15 over his career at Ohio State, which includes a 51-4 record in dual competitions.
Freshmen Ben Davino (133) and e'Than Birden (165) each finished with a trip to the podium at the 2024 Midlands Championships before the calendar switched to 2025. Davino claimed third with a 5-1 record while Birden took seventh at 5-2 at the event.
Ohio State's list of Black Shirts grew by two after Nic Bouzakis and Brendan McCrone earned the distinction Dec. 19, 2024. The duo became the 19th and 20th Black Shirts in program history. There are nine current Buckeyes who have earned Black Shirt status. For more on the honor see the final two pages of these notes.
The Buckeyes went 3-0 at the 2024 Collegiate Duals in Nashville Dec. 21 with wins over No. 21 North Carolina, Lock Haven and No. 14 Iowa State.
Graduate Carson Kharchla returned to action after a year away with injury. He won all three of his bouts at 174 at the 2024 Collegiate Duals.
After trailing 14-0 at Pittsburgh, the Buckeyes won five of the final six bouts to win 20-17. Brendan McCrone started the rally with an 8-0 major decision victory before wins by Nic Bouzakis (133), Jesse Mendez (141), Dylan D'Emilio (149) and Paddy Gallagher (157) brought Ohio State from down 0-14 to up 20-14.
Jesse Mendez claimed the title at 141 Dec. 7 at the 2024 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. Mendez went 3-0 with wins over No. 8 Joshua Koderhandt of Navy and No. 17 Latona Alabaster of Virgina Tech for the title.
Rocco Welsh (184), wrestling unattached, and Brandon Cannon (157) each won titles with 5-0 records at the 2024 Cleveland State Open Dec. 7.
Sammy Sasso returned to the mat after missing the 2023-24 season while recovering from wounds sustained during a robbery attempt in August of 2023. Sasso had last wrestled in the 2023 NCAA Championships, where he finished second with a 4-1 record. The four-time All-American owns a pair of Big Ten Titles at 149 (2021, 2023).
He opened the 2024-25 season with a 12-6 win at 165 in the UT at Chattanooga home dual followed by a 13-9 victory in a dual at Edinboro. The Buckeyes defeated UTC 36-6 and Edinboro, 40-4.
Sasso got his 50th win in dual competition when the faced Kyle Mosher of Hofstra (W, 14-4). Sasso is 52-5 all-time in duals and has an overall record of 106-17. He is 34-0 in Big Ten duals over his career.

Lineups vs. the Hawkeyes
125-No. 16 Brendan McCrone (R-So.) vs. Joey Cruz (So.)
133-No. 10 Nic Bouzakis (R-So.) or Ben Davino (Fr.) vs. No. 3 Dru Ayala (Fr.)
141-No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Jr.) vs. Ryder Block (R-Fr.) or Jace Rhodes (So.)/Cullen Schriever (Sr.)
149-No. 9 Dylan D'Emilio (Gr.) vs. No. 2 Kyle Parco (Sr.)
157-No. 17 Sammy Sasso (Gr.) or Brandon Cannon vs. No. 1 Jacori Teemer (Gr.)/Miguel Estrada (Fr.)
165-No. 9 Paddy Gallagher (R-Jr.) vs. No. 2 Michael Caliendo (Jr.)
174-No. 6 Carson Kharchla (Gr.) vs. No. 5 Patrick Kennedy (Sr.)
184-No. 19 Ryder Rogotzke (So.) vs. No. 5 Gabe Arnold (R-Fr.)
197-No. 17 Seth Shumate (R-So.) vs. No. 1 Stephen Buchanan (Gr.)
HWT-No. 6 Nick Feldman (R-So.) vs. No. 11 Ben Kueter (R-Fr.)

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