Big Ten Wrestling power rankings: Does Penn State climb to top?
By Chris Snyder
Last Week: 7
Rank: 14
Record: 5-4
Top 20 Wins: 2
Ranked Wrestlers: 6
125 No. 9 Malik Heinselman
149 No. 2 Sammy Sasso
165 No. 10 Ethan Smith
174 No. 3 Kaleb Romero
184 No. 20 Rocky Jordan
Hwt No. 18 Tate Orndorff
The Buckeyes were at home this past Friday evening (2/19), as they hosted the Nittany Lions for what appeared to be less than epic showdown. This was only partly false, because after the Buckeyes tied the meet 12-12 after six matches, the Nittany Lions rolled the next four matches en-route to a 28-12 victory.
The ranked Ohio State wrestlers went 3-3 on the night, with No. 9 Malik Heinselman, No. 2 Sammy Sasso, and No. 10 Ethan Smith picking up 2 decisions and a fall. No. 6 Kaleb Romero, No. 20 Rocky Jordan, and No. 18 Tate Orndorff were simply outclassed in their respective matches. Which is easy considering they were against Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, and Seth Nevills.
So, the Buckeyes lost a dual meet and still moved up to 6th place. Failing upwards isn’t easy, so congrats on your Kliff Klingsbury award!