Connect with us

More Sports

Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling Falls To No. 7 Ohio State in Big Ten Season Opener

The Wisconsin Badgers wrestling program fell short against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the conference opener.

Published

4 months ago

on

Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling
Photo: Courtesy of BadgerNotes Staff Writer Ryan Eilers

The No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling program opened the Big Ten regular season Sunday against the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes at the UW Field House. Wisconsin just couldn’t close those matches and fell 27–15 to the Buckeyes.

Wisconsin Badgers Lose ‘Closer Than the Score Says’ Dual

Following the match, Wisconsin Head Coach Chris Bono spoke with the media to address the dual and was asked what the boys could take away from this performance.

“There is a ton to take away – our horses did what their supposed to do but we need to get some of these other guys firing a little bit, little more aggressive, and a little more believing in themselves. The effort was there – the fight was there.”

With a road dual Friday at Michigan State before returning home to host No. 6 Nebraska on Sunday, Coach Bono was asked what improvements he wants to see from his guys.

“There are a ton of improvements. Our attack rate needs to get higher and we gotta go out there and let it fly, you know, guys are losing 2–3 point matches without letting their offense go, so we just gotta go back and understand that you got to go create your own offense, its not just going to come to you.”

Eric Barnett continues to impress and Coach Bono was asked if he thinks the wrestling world is sleeping on No. 4 ranked wrestler who is currently 16–2 on the season.

“Let them keep sleeping, man – let’s fly under the radar. He’s National Championship material and when he does everything the right way he can beat anyone in the country.”

Let’s take a look at each weight class and see how the Badgers performed vs. Ohio State.

125 pounds

No. 4 Eric Barnett vs. No. 24 Brendan McCrone.

Wisconsin’s Barnett only needed :32 seconds to finish off the Buckeyes challenger. Barnett, now 16–2 says he is not worried about the rankings.

“It’ll figure itself out, right, the cliché is that they don’t matter and for me, three days in March is what is most important. You can rank me whatever you want, at the end of the day I am going to come try and rip heads off and beat some dudes and impose my will on them.

At the end of the day I don’t know what they mean, there is no college playoff or nothing like that for wrestling, you have to figure it your conference tournament and throughout the season, so at the end of the day you can rank me No. 1, No. 5 , No. 30, but you’re going to get the same me no matter what.”

He’s a absolute DAWG on the mat and you love to see it!

Barnett won this match by fall.

133 pounds 

Nicolar Rivera vs. No. 12 Nic Bouzakis

Wisconsin’s Rivera fell behind early but he kept battling with the ranked wrestler.  After finding offense late, Rivera just couldn’t make up the ground on the scoreboard.

Rivera lost this match 19–11 (major decision).

141 pounds

Felix Lettini vs. No. 3 Jesse Mendez

This was a tough match for Lettini and he fought tough but ultimately fell to the N0. 3 ranked wrestler from Ohio State.

Lettini lost this match 21–5 (technical fall).

149 pounds

No.22 Joseph Zargo vs. No. 9 Dylan D’Emilio

This match was closer than the score says due to some late takedown attempts from Wisconsin’s Zargo.  In the end, Ohio State’s D’Emilio was just too much for Zargo on the day.

Zargo lost this match 12–4 (major decision).

157 pounds

Luke Mechler vs. No. 33 Isaac Wilcox

Wisconsin Badgers Mechler was in a back and forth battle and had multiple blood timeouts. He kept battling but lost a close battle after some questionable stall calls – and lack thereof.

Mechler lost the match by a 4–2 decision.

165 pounds

No. 5 Dean Hamiti vs. No. 22 Bryce Hepner

Wisconsin’s Hamiti continues to impress. Finding himself in some awkward scrambles – DJ still found a way to secure back points from some unusual positions.

Another bonus point victory for Dean Hamiti as he rolls through the 165 weight class.

Hamiti won this match 18–3 (technical fall).

174 pounds

No. 11 Max Maylor vs. No. 30 Rocco Welsch

In what many would see as a surprise, Maylor was upset by the Buckeyes 174 pounder. It’s not the loss itself that is surprising because this is the Big Ten and even the best of wrestlers can be humbled quickly.

It is surprising because of the performances Max has put on display in his short time in Madison. He will bounce back from this and will get back in the lab right away to prepare and dominate the mat again really soon.

Maylor lost this match by a 7–3 decision.

184 pounds

No. 16 Shane Liegel vs. No. 32 Seth Shumate

In an exciting match, Wisconsin’s Liegel trailed 3–0 before a quick reversal and 4-point near fall. After that 6-point barrage, Liegel never looked back and cruised to a major decision.

Liegel won this match 14–3 (major decision).

197 pounds

Josh Otto vs. No. 22 Luke Geog

Wisconsin’s Otto continues to be that utility wrestler for Coach Bono.  Bumping up two weight classes and taking on a ranked wrestler isn’t for the faint of heart.  Otto battled but couldn’t finish.

Otto lost this match by a 8–2 decision.

285 pounds

Gannon Rosenfeld vs. No. 17 Nick Feldman

Wisconsin’s young heavyweight had more than he could handle on Sunday with Ohio State’s Feldman. Rosenfeld threw all he could at that mutant (respectfully) and just couldn’t score the points.

I try to not put over over the opponent in a Wisconsin wrestling recap but Feldman did not seem human.  He did not, smile, breathe heavy, show emotion, or remotely look fatigued.

Most human wrestlers won’t fair well when they are wrestling an X-Men.

Rosenfeld lost this match 19–3 (technical fall).

What’s Next for Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling?

Wisconsin heads to East Lansing, MI to square off with Michigan State on Friday 1/26 before returning home to host No. 6 Nebraska at 1PM at the UW Field House.

Stay tuned to Badger Notes for coverage of the Wisconsin Badgers wrestling program and their upcoming competitions!

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. For more Wisconsin Badgers Athletics and Big Ten content, follow us on Twitter & Facebook. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also follow Ryan Eilers on Twitter: @ryanbeilers

Also, be sure to check out our shop, subscribe to our newsletter, and the BadgerNotes After Dark podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. Because of your support, we have become one of the fastest-growing independent media outlets focused on giving a voice to the fans!

Related Topics:

Ryan Eilers covers the Wisconsin Badgers football and wrestling programs for BadgerNotes.com and has had his work published on Bleacher Report. He also makes up 1/4 of the BadgerNotes After Dark podcast crew.

Trending