Ohio State Wrestling Gets 2004-05 Season Underway – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | General, Wrestling
Nov. 10, 2004
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State wrestling team kicks off the 2004-05 season at the Oklahoma Gold Classic in Brockport, N.Y. Saturday. The tournament is set to begin at 10 a.m.
The Buckeyes have placed second at the event the last two seasons.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Now in its sixth season, the Oklahoma Gold Classic at SUNY-Brockport welcomes teams from across the country to compete in early-season action. Included in the field in 2004 is the host Oklahoma Sooners, who placed ninth in the 2004 NCAA tournament.
The 2004 Oklahoma Gold Classic:
Saturday, Nov. 13, 2004
10 a.m. – Preliminary Rounds
6 p.m. – Finals
Teams: Bloomsburg, Cleveland State, Kent State, Ohio State, Rutgers, Buffalo, U. S. Military Academy, Oklahoma, Penn, Wagner
Complete tournament information may be accessed at http://www.brockport.edu/~athletics/wrestling/releases0405/goldinfo.htm.
BERGMAN TO WRESTLE IN 2004 NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC
Sophomore returning All-American J.D. Bergman, who is ranked No. 3 in several wrestling publications at 197 pounds, was selected to compete in the 2004 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The event begins at 8 p.m. at SIU-E’s Vadalabene Center.
Bergman, who took third nationally at 197 last season, is pitted against John Trenge of Lehigh, who is rated No. 1 at 197 coming into the 2004- 05 season after taking a redshirt last year to train for the 2004 Olympic Trials. Trenge was NCAA runner-up at 184 pounds as a sophomore in 2003.
Bergman, who finished 2003-04 with an overall record of 32-15, is the ninth Buckeye to wrestle in the event. In the last four seasons, Tommy Rowlands wrestled in the event three times, sitting out once with an injury, while John Clark and Keaton Anderson competed in the 2003 event.
2004 NWCA All-Star Match Up:
197 – #1 Jon Trenge, Lehigh vs. #3 J.D. Bergman, Ohio State
Live results to the 2004 NWCA All-Star Classic may be accessed at www.nwcaonline.com.
A GLANCE AT 2004-05 SEASON
The Ohio State wrestling program reached new heights at the 2004 NCAA Championships. The Buckeyes traveled five qualifiers to the national meet and 18th-year head coach Russ Hellickson mentored each to All-American status as the Buckeyes posted their best national finish in program history, scoring a tie for third-place with 77.5 team points.
The 2004-05 Buckeyes said goodbye to four of those All-Americans as seniors John Clark, Blake Kapland, Jeff Ratliff and two-time NCAA HWT champion Tommy Rowlands all competed their Ohio State careers.
This season, Hellickson ushers in a youthful group led by Ohio State’s fifth All-American in 2004, J.D. Bergman. Now a sophomore, Bergman carries the brunt as a team leader on a roster that highlights 27 underclassmen.
The Buckeyes will feature youth at nearly every weight class, but also add some key veterans in the mix.
Anthony Magistrelli spent the majority of the season at 174 pounds and shared time with Alex Picazo. Both have reached double-digit wins in injury-shortened seasons in their careers.
In the mid-weights, Ryan Rhodes shared time at 157 pounds and will make the hike to challenge for a starting nod at 165 this season. At 125, Nathan Costello has seen time as a starter.
HELLICKSON COVERS 2004 OLYMPIC WRESTLING FOR NBC
Ohio State wrestling head coach Russ Hellickson served as play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the 2004 Olympic Games Aug. 13-29 in Athens, Greece. Hellickson, who was a part of his sixth Olympic broadcast team, teamed with Jeff Blatnick for both Greco and Freestyle wrestling.
Hellickson previously covered wrestling at the 1984, ’88, ’92, ’96 and 2000 Olympic games in the role of analyst at the 1984 Los Angeles games and as play-by-play from 1988 in Seoul, Korea through 2000 in Sydney, Australia. As a wrestler, he was an Olympic silver medallist at the 1976 games in Montreal and a member of the 1980 U.S. team that boycotted Olympics in Moscow.
2003 OKLAHOMA GOLD CLASSIC
The Buckeyes were led at the 2003 Oklahoma Gold by title-winning performances from seniors Tommy Rowlands (HWT), John Clark (165), Blake Kaplan (184) and Jeff Ratliff (149).
Rowlands would pin Aaron Ferrance of Bloomsburg in the quarterfinals before obtaining a 9-5 victory by decision over Jake Hager of Oklahoma in the semifinals. Rowlands finished with a close, 3-2 win in the final over Oklahoma’s Leonce Crump.
At 165, Clark used a major decision and a technical fall to advance to the final round and claim the title with a 10-5 victory.
At 184-pound, Kaplan managed a decision in the quarterfinals and a pin in the semifinals to advance to the final, finishing with an impressive 8-1 count over Arizona’s Luke Calvert. Ratliff breezed through the first four rounds at 149, winning by a pin in each match. In the final, Ratliff posted a 9-2 decision en route to the 149 title.
Others who scored points for the Buckeyes as placers were 174 Alex Picazo with in fourth place tally and James King, who finished sixth at the 157 class.
ADDITIONS TO THE SQUAD
The Ohio State wrestling team signed five recruits to join the squad in 2004, adding yet another stellar incoming freshmen class to the Russ Hellickson era. The Buckeyes, whose 2003-04 recruiting class ranked among the Top 5 in the country, inked a quintet of nationally ranked student-athletes to wrestle at Ohio State in the 2004-05 season. The group of Charlie Clark (Canton, N.Y./ Canton), Jeffrey “J” Jaggers (Bedford, Ohio/ St. Peter Chanel), Jason Johnstone (Massillon, Ohio/ Massillon Perry), Blake Maurer (Evansville, Ind./ Mater Dei) and Keegan Mueller (Dallas, Texas/ Highland Park) bring a collective resume that helped the Buckeyes earn a No. 3 ranking by Intermat for the 2004 recruit classes.
Both W.I.N. Magazine and Amateur Wrestling News rate each of the five as high as No. 3 in their respective weight classes, while going no lower than No. 6 nationally. The 2003-04 class also features T.J. Enright at 125/133 and John Vogel and Ryan Needle, who will see time at the mid-weights.
2003-04 REVISITED: THIRD-PLACE FINISH HIGHEST IN BUCKEYE HISTORY
The tie with Lehigh for third place at the 2004 NCAA’s served as Ohio State’s best in its history, topping the fourth-place standing in 1991.
The third-place finish is the fourth Top 5 standing for Ohio State in the Russ Hellickson era and the 18th-year head coaches’ sixth finish among the Top 6 teams in the country.
The 77.5 team points accumulated ranks as the most by Ohio State at a national meet, topping the 64.5 team points amassed in 1992 when the Buckeyes placed fifth.
2003-04 REVISITED: FIVE ALL-AMERICANS A BUCKEYE FIRST
The five Buckeyes who wrestled their way into the Parade of All-Americans at the 2004 NCAA Championships marked the most All-America honors won by an Ohio State team at any national meet.
Ohio State previously scored four All-Americans at the national meet in 1991, 1992 and 1993. The Buckeyes had placed three individuals in the parade each of the last two seasons.
ROWLANDS NOT FINISHED WITH BUCKEYES YET
Tommy Rowlands, who’s national crown at the HWT class in 2004 touts him as the only four-time All-American in program history and just the second Buckeye to win two NCAA titles, will remain with Ohio State in 2004 as an assistant coach.
Rowlands will assume the volunteer position and offer the expertise that allowed him to conclude his career as the most decorated wrestler in Ohio State history. Rowlands, who narrowly missed a spot on the U.S. Olympic team at 211 pounds in May, is the all-time leader at Ohio State in career wins (164), career team points (702.0) and career takedowns (705). His career record of 164-14 (.921) ranks fourth all-time in winning percentage at OSU, while his 44 wins in 2004 and 43 triumphs in 2001 rank fourth and fifth all-time in a single season.
Mitch Clark ADDED TO FULL-TIME COACHING STAFF
Following six seasons as a volunteer coach at Ohio State, Mitch Clark joins the Buckeye staff in a full-time capacity in 2004-05.
In his term as a volunteer assistant, Clark helped the Buckeyes to a pair of Top 6 finishes in the nation, including a tie for third place at the 2004 NCAA championships last March. The former two-time All-American and 1998 national champion at 177 pounds also helped his brother John Clark to his second All-American at the 2004 NCAA’s.
M. Clark capped his wrestling career at Ohio State with a 39-1 record and the national crown his senior season, which followed a national runner-up finish his junior campaign. A two-time Big Ten champion, M. Clark ranks 10th in career wins at Ohio State, being passed by John last season.
CLARK CONNECTION
After sending brothers John (2000-2004) and Mitch Clark (1994-98) to glory at the NCAA championships as each earned multiple All-America honors with Mitch winning the 1998 national championship, Russ Hellickson welcomes a third Clark brother, Charlie Clark.
As a senior last season, C. Clark helped Blair Academy to a New Jersey state championship after earning national high school All-American status. Clark will wrestle at 165 in 2004-05.
HELLICKSON ALL-AMERICA COUNT NOW AT 40
With the record number of five All-America honorees at the 2004 NCAA championships, Ohio State head coach Russ Hellickson scored his 36th, 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th All-Americans in his 18 years at the OSU wrestling helm.
Since 1990, Hellickson has helped direct 40 individuals to All-American status, which ranks among the Top 10 in the county in that span.
UP NEXT
Ohio State will compete next at the Michigan State open in East Lansing, Mich. Saturday and Sunday. The Buckeyes have walked away with multiple open champions in each of the last three MSU Opens.
