No. 7 Wrestling Set for a Showdown at No. 6 West Virginia – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | General, Wrestling
Jan. 7, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The seventh-ranked Ohio State wrestling team, which kicked off the 2003 dual season with a 3-1 mark in the Buckeye Duals over the weekend, travels to Morgantown, W. Va. seeking consecutive wins over ranked opponents as the Buckeyes are set for a bout with 6th-ranked West Virginia on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
SUMMING UP THE BUCKEYE DUALS
Ohio State (3-1, 0-0) bounced back from a first session setback to Northern Illinois, which was declared the winner via criteria, in the 2003 Buckeye Duals to win three straight matches including a 22-14 victory over No. 24 Cleveland State in the event finale
The Buckeyes, behind major decision wins by 149 Jason Barnett and 141 Jeff Ratliff combined with a technical fall by 165 John Clark carried a slight 19-14 edge into the final match of the day pitting Rowlands and the Vikings’ No. 17 HWT Russ Davie. Rowlands would triumph by a 7-4 mark ensuring an OSU win to complete a very impressive day on the mat.
Ohio State proved to be undaunted by the first session loss as it rebounded to top Chattanooga 32-8 behind Rowlands, who pinned Matt Seaburg at the 1:10 mark of the HWT match as he claimed his 100th career victory.
In the third stanza, the Buckeyes notched a second consecutive impressive win over Drexel by a 34-3 figure. Ratliff led the way with a victory via fall at the 6:38 mark of the match over Drexel’s Bill Heverly. Fellow juniors Jesse Leng (133), Clark (165) and Rowlands each took victories in the match, as Rowlands scored a 7-2 win over Mike Carroll.
ROWLANDS NOTCHES 100TH CAREER VICTORY, NAMED BIG TEN WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Ohio State junior HWT Tommy Rowlands recorded his 100th career win when he pinned Matt Seaburg of Chattanooga at the 1:10 mark of the HWT match. Rowlands is the third Buckeye to tally 100 career wins in the last three seasons under Ohio State head coach Russ Hellickson and joins assistant coaches and former Buckeyes Ken Ramsey (121 wins) and Mitch Clark (119 wins) on the distinguished list.
Rowlands registered his 50th career dual win with a decision over Cleveland State’s Russ Davie in the finale of the Buckeye Duals.
A GLANCE AT THE MOUNTAINEERS
West Virginia enters the 2002-03 season as the reigning Big East champs behind 24th-year head coach Craig Turnbull and defending 2002 NCAA Champion at the 174-pound class Greg Jones.
BUCKEYES SHINE IN EARLY TOURNAMENTS
OSU has kicked off the 2002-03 season in impressive fashion as the squad boasts 10 tournament titles and four runners-up performances contributing to a combined total of 23 placers coming in the Michigan State Open, Oklahoma Gold Classic, Las Vegas Invitational and Midlands Championships.
A quartet of Buckeyes have claimed multiple titles as Keaton Anderson (157), John Clark (165) and Tommy Rowlands (HWT) took titles at both the Michigan State Open and the Oklahoma Gold Classic, while Anton Talamantes (197) has recorded championships in the Michigan State Open as well and combined that with a title-winning performance at the Las Vegas Invitational. Anderson added a third title over the holidays as he claimed the 157-pound championship at the Midlands.
The foursome, along with fellow Michigan State Open champ Blake Kaplan (174), have amassed an impressive 89-11 combined mark to start the year contributing to a team total of 534 takedowns, which bests the OSU opponent takedown total of 246 by an astounding 292 takedowns.
Ohio State is dominating in other statistical departments as the Buckeyes currently hold 414-98 advantage over their opponents in back points and a decisive 21-2 edge in technical falls.
NATIONALLY-RANKED BUCKEYES
As a team Ohio State dropped a couple notches in the national polls after suffering a defeat to Northern Illinois. Ohio State currently stands at No 7/9.
Individually, Keaton Anderson heads the 157 weight class for the Buckeyes. He is ranked in the Top 5 in all three polls, listed respectively at No. 2 in the Amateur Wrestling News rankings, No. 3 in the Wrestling Mall and fifth in the Intermat.com poll.
Tommy Rowlands remained at the No. 2 position in the A.W.N.and TWM polls and No. 3 in the Intermat rankings following his second place finish at the Midlands.
John Clark is also ranked in all three polls in the 165 weight class. He is ranked fifth among his competitors in all three rankings.
Anton Talamantes, who competes in the 197-pound weight class, has a grasp on the sixth, eighth and 11th spots in each of the polls following his title at the Las Vegas Open.
Josh Daugherty (149), Jeff Ratliff (141), Blake Kaplan (174) and Casey Kapustka (184) have also received rankings in each of their weight classes this season.
TOP NOTCH SCHEDULE
The 2002-03 Ohio State schedule is nothing short of grueling as OSU faces 13 programs currently ranked in the Top 25 of the three major polls. West Virginia has elevated itself to the No. 6 spot in most polls.
ANDERSON NAMED BIG TEN WRESTLER OF THE WEEK AND TOP WRESTLER OF OKLAHOMA CLASSIC
Senior wrestler Keaton Anderson was selected as the Big Ten’s first wrestler of the week for the 2002-03 season (Nov.12) as he dominated the field on his way to claiming the 2002 Michigan State Open Championship at the 157-pound weight class.
Anderson was also recognized as the wrestler of the tournament for his efforts in the Oklahoma Gold Classic as he captured the 157-class with a 12-4 victory in the finals over George Carter of Bloomsburg.
Anderson, who is ranked among the Top 10 in all the major individual rankings, captured the title at the MSU Open in an unchallenged fashion as he won the six round event by a combined score of 68-5. Anderson defeated No. 17 Mike Tolar of Kent State in the finals of the open by a 9-1 count. The 157-pounder also recorded consecutive technical falls in each of the first two rounds.
TWENTY SOMETHING
The Buckeyes tied the all-time school mark for victories in a season during the 2001-02 campaign. OSU’s 20-4 record tied the 1989-90 and 1991-92 teams that also broke the 20-win plateau. 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.
HELLICKSON REAPS SECOND BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD IN 2002
OSU head coach Russ Hellickson was selected by the Big Ten coaches as the co-coach of the year in the conference for his team’s performance in 2001-02. Hellickson shared 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.
HELLICKSON ENTERS 17TH SEASON AT OSU
Hellickson commences his 17th year as head of the Scarlet and Gray and his 21st overall. Hellickson stands 313-151-6 overall and 242-129-6 with the Buckeyes. Under Hellickson’s guidance, OSU has produced at least one All-American in each of the last 13 seasons with five wrestlers capturing a total of six 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.
HELLICKSON APPROACHES 250th CAREER WIN AT OHIO STATE
Hellickson needs just 11 dual meet victories in the 2002-03 campaign to achieve 250 career wins at Ohio State. Hellickson has lead the Buckeyes to three 20-win campaigns in his career, including a 20-4 mark last season.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
Several of the Ohio State record charts have been restructured following the 2001-02 season and the early going in 2002-03. Tommy Rowlands, Keaton Anderson and John Clark are three active wrestlers who have etched their names into school annals.
Rowlands moved into the Top 10 with 339 career takedowns following last season and is the only non-senior to ever make the list. Rowlands has accumulated 81 takedowns thus far, which has elevated him to No. 4 all-time. For the 2001-02 season, Rowlands’155 were seventh-most in program history.
John Clark tallied 132 takedowns in his sophomore campaign which is good for 10th all-time in single season and is in good shape to best that mark as he has accumulated a team-high 94 so far in 2002-03.
Rowlands also has advanced his way toward the top of the list for career and season team points accumulated with 408 good for third all-time. His 165.0 team points in 2002 tied former Buckeye grappler and current OSU assistant coach Mitch Clark for second all-time in season points scored. Rowlands 162.0 team points in the 2000-01 campaign place him fourth in that category as well.
Anderson is now No. 7 in career back points with an even 300.
SIX NCAA QUALIFIERS RETURN IN 2002
Nine Buckeyes qualified for the 2002 NCAA tournament last season with seven wrestlers receiving seeds, led by No. 1 Tommy Rowlands, who was 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.
UP NEXT
Ohio State once again serves as the host to the 2003 Cliff Keen NWCA National Duals. The two-day competition will consist of 48 collegiate programs, 16 from each of Division I, II and III. The Division I field will include defending national champion and 2002 duals titleholder Minnesota and current No. 1 Oklahoma State.
