Ohio State leads Iowa by a narrow margin heading into Sunday's final day of competition.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Four Ohio State wrestlers advanced to Sunday's final round of the Big Ten Championships taking place this weekend at St. John Arena. The Buckeyes' finalists are redshirt senior Logan Stieber (141 lbs.), redshirt freshman Nathan Tomasello (125 lbs.), redshirt freshman Bo Jordan (165 lbs.) and true freshman Kyle Snyder (197 lbs.).
Ohio State currently sits in first place in the team standings at 102.5 points, 1.5 points ahead of second-place Iowa. The Buckeyes are seeking their first conference title since 1951.
Stieber's road to Sunday's final included a 9-0 major decision against Nick Lawrence in the quarterfinals and a 5-1 triumph against Rutgers' Anthony Ashnault. He will face Josh Dziewa of Iowa in Sunday's final. Earlier in the year, Stieber (24-0) defeated Dziewa 15-0 by technical fall.
Logan's brother, Hunter, had the crowd on its feet during his quarterfinal match, as he defeated Penn State's Zack Beitz 5-4 on a last second reversal in the third period. With the win, Stieber assured himself of a trip to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis on March 19-21. In the semifinals, Stieber medically defaulted to Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis.
The Buckeye crowed also had plenty to cheer about in the 125 pound semifinals, as Tomasello scored a takedown and escape in the third period and then held on for a 3-2 decision against No. 2 seed and two-time NCAA champion Jesse Delgado of Illinois. Tomasello now has a team-high 28 wins on the year and will face off against Thomas Gilman of Iowa, the top seed, in the finals.
At 165 pounds, the much-anticipated Jordan-Jordan final will take place Sunday, as Bo Jordan remained undefeated on the year and advanced to face his cousin Issac of Wisconsin thanks to an 8-1 decision against Pierce Harger of Northwestern. Jordan, who received a first round bye, edged Austin Wilson of Nebraska 4-1 in the quarterfinals.
Snyder was able to avenge one of his losses this season by edging Nathan Burak 3-2, setting up a finals date with Morgan McIntosh of Penn State. Snyder defeated McIntosh earlier this year 6-2, clinching a dual meet victory against the Nittany Lions.
Ohio State was particularly successful in the consolation round of Saturday night, going 7-1 in matches that included a victory by Johnni DiJulius against Rossi Bruno of Michigan, Josh Demas against Anthony Perotti of Rutgers and a pair of wins from Mark Martin at 174 lbs. (against Josh Snook of Maryland and Frank Cousins of Wisconsin).
