The No. 16-ranked University of Wisconsin wrestling team fell to No. 6 Ohio State 24-18 Sunday in their last dual meet of the season.
The result wasn’t one the Badgers were looking for on Senior Day as the meet was their last dual at the Field House this year and their last competition before the Big Ten Championships.
“They wrestled well,” Wisconsin head coach Barry Davis said of Ohio State. “They’re one of the top teams in the Big Ten.”
The dual started poorly for the Badgers as Ben Jordan was defeated 2-6 by the Buckeyes’? Jason Johnstone at 157 lbs.
The next match proved to be the most exciting of the dual as eighth-ranked UW freshman Andrew Howe upset No. 2-ranked Colt Sponseller, 3-2. The match was extremely tight as the two carefully planned each one of their moves, scoring sparingly. Howe gained a 2-1 advantage with a takedown, but Sponseller evened it at two by the end of the second period. In the third period, Howe gained a point with an escape and held off a hard-fighting Sponseller until the horn sounded. Howe improved his record to 22-4 overall and stayed undefeated in dual matches after his most recent upset.
The Buckeyes responded in the next two matches with wins at 174 lbs. as Dave Rella took down Travis Rutt, 3-5, and No. 2-ranked Mike Pucillo earned a major decision, easily defeating UW’s Eric Bugenhagen 4-14 at 184 lbs.
UW then gained the lead going into the intermission as No. 3-ranked Dallas Herbst and No. 18 Kyle Massey easily won their matches. Herbst pinned opponent Jason Cook in the first period in the 197 lbs. class, and heavyweight Kyle Massey handled Ohio State’s Corey Morrison 8-1.
Herbst was proud of his performance after the match.
“Last time wrestling here, and I wanted to go out with a bang,” Herbst said. “And I guess I got that accomplished. I’ve been struggling a little bit this year with my pins, and to get one for the last one here felt good.”
With the score 12-10 in the Badgers’ favor, the Buckeyes came out looking to take over, winning their next three matches. Ohio State’s Nikko Triggas pinned UW’s Drew Hammen in 2:22 in the 125 lbs. bout, and the 133 lbs. finished in similar fashion. UW’s Tom Kelliher fought off several pin attempts by No. 3-ranked Reece Humphrey, but Humphrey earned numerous takedowns and eventually a major decision, winning 13-3.
The Buckeye’s extended their lead to 24-12 and put the dual out of reach as J Jaggers won a major decision against Eric Senescu after dominating him for a 13-3 win at 141 lbs. This match was highlighted by the curious absence of UW’s top wrestler, Zach Tanelli, who is currently No. 1 in the nation. The Badgers may have had a chance to take the dual if Tanelli had been active, but Tanelli was cautious and stayed out this dual in preparation of the Big Ten Championships next week.
“It would have been a big difference if [Tanelli] had been in,” Herbst said of his teammate.
Davis said Tanelli’s performance is too vital to risk anything.
“We’re just trying to make sure he’s ready to go for the Big Ten’s,” Davis said. “That’s going to be the key factor down the road.”
UW junior and No. 5-ranked Kyle Ruschell finished strong for the Badgers, though, as he pinned his opponent, Owen Schaefer, at the 4:29 mark in the 149 lbs. match. Ohio State was missing their No. 4-ranked wrestler, Lance Palmer, though, and Ruschell improved to 23-5 overall against the weaker competition.
This dual marked the end of the regular season for both teams. Wisconsin fell to 9-8-0 overall and 3-5-0 in Big Ten play, and Ohio State improved to 17-2-0 overall and 7-1-0 in conference play.
The Badgers will be losing eight seniors this year as Mike Felling, Dallas Herbst, Kyle Massey, Zach Tanelli, Justin Peterson, Kyle Reeve, Dan Rivers and Erik Senescu will be moving on after this season.
“As a coach, it was hard to see those guys go, but we’re not done yet,” Davis said.
The Wisconsin grapplers are looking forward to the Big Ten and national championship, though, taking this loss as just another learning experience.
“It was a good dual meet; the dual meets are over with now, but now the war begins,” Davis said. “It’s another five days: two in the Big Ten’s and three in the NCAA’s.”
Herbst echoed his coach.
“The next two weeks, we’ll be working on [the Big Ten Championship],” Herbst said. “After that, we’re working on nationals — step by step.”
