Four individual champs lift Ohio State to Big Ten title

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The March magic that Ohio State captured Saturday night carried over into Sunday, as the Buckeyes crowned four champions and won the fourth Big Ten wrestling team title in school history as Indiana's Assembly Hall.

THE SHORT STORY

The Buckeyes got two dramatic title match victories at 133 and 174 pounds, respectively, and added wins at 197 and 285 pounds by Kollin Moore and Kyle Snyder to distance itself from second-place Penn State. Along the way, Nathan Tomasello became just the third three-time Big Ten champion with his 5-4 decision over Cory Clark, and Bo Jordan scored an overtime takedown to defeat Mark Hall of the Nittany Lions.

In the team race, Ohio State finished ahead of top-ranked Penn State by 9.5 points, 139.5-130.0. Iowa was third with 112.5 points.

Look what's coming home with us. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/3p45GUZqEJ

— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) March 5, 2017

TOMASELLO MAKES HISTORY

The championship round started with Tomasello scoring a buzzer-beating escape against Cory Clark after Clark tied the match at 4-4 with a takedown on the edge of the mat. A redshirt junior, Tomasello previously two titles at 125 pounds before making the move to 133 lbs. this year. Trailing 1-0 entering the final period, the match was tied of a locked hands call against Clark and then Tomasello went ahead 2-1 with an escape. He scored a takedown with 34 seconds left, only to have Clark counter with a takedown of his own.

What a finish at 133!@NATO_133 escaped in the closing seconds to bring a B1G title to @wrestlingbucks: https://t.co/Ds5uHmkRrr

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 5, 2017

JORDAN TOPS HALL, BUCKEYES INCH CLOSER TO TITLE

After Penn State creeped to within two points in the team score following Zain Retherford's win over Micah Jordan in the 149 lb. final, Bo Jordan finished on a takedown in sudden victory against second-seeded Mark Hall to secure a 6-4 victory. The title, Jordan's first, comes after two previous trips to the finals at 165 lbs. It also was an eight-point swing in the team race, giving Ohio State much-needed breathing room.

time!

This time, it's @wrestlingbucks' Bo Jordan. https://t.co/wckcbxy6z8

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) March 5, 2017

MOORE WINS BIG AT 197

Moore took the remaining drama out of the team race when he scored an impressive 15-11 win over top-seeded Brett Pfarr of Minnesota. Moore scored 11 first-period points, highlight by a takedown a four-point near fall, to give him all the distance he'd need on the scoreboard. Moore was also named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year.

Congratulations, @moore_of_kollin!@wrestlingbucks is your @B1GWrestling champion: https://t.co/DE0TUGFXog

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) March 5, 2017

SNYDER FINISHES IT OFF

Snyder added yet another line to his résumé in the 285 final, topping second-seeded and second-ranked Connor Medbery of Wisconsin 8-5 behind two first-period takedowns and another in the third. Snyder is now a three-time Big Ten finalist and two-time champion.

Olympic #B1G title x
NCAA champ @wrestlingbucks' @Snyder_man45 adds to his trophy case. https://t.co/mslZ4j6Gcm

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 5, 2017

A HISTORICAL CONTEXT

• Ohio State's team title is the fourth in school history and first outright championship since 1951.
• The Buckeyes put six wrestlers into the finals - a program record - and the four champions are the most in school history. Ohio State also set a record with 139.0 team points.
• Head coach Tom Ryan earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors for the second time in the last three seasons.
• For the second time in the last four years, a pair of brothers wrestled for the Scarlet and Gray in the finals. In 2013, both Logan and Hunter Stieber did it; Sunday, it was Micah and Bo Jordan.

NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFERS

Eight Buckeyes earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 16-18 in St. Louis. Earlier in the day, Jose Rodriguez punched his ticket with a pin of Purdue's Ben Thornton in the seventh-place match at 125 lbs. True freshman Luke Pletcher also won a consolation semifinal match in the morning session and finished fourth at 141 lbs.

125 lbs. No. 8 seed Jose Rodriguez (15-10)
Seventh-Place Match: Rodriguez fall of Ben Thornton (Purdue) 3:53
Rodriguez finishes seventh; earns NCAA automatic bid

133 lbs. No. 1 seed Nathan Tomasello (19-0)
Championship Finals: Tomasello decision over No. 2 Cory Clark 5-4
Tomasello wins 133 lb. Big Ten title; earns NCAA automatic bid

141 lbs. No. 5 seed Luke Pletcher (26-6)
Consolation Semifinals: Pletcher decision over Ryan Diehl (Maryland) 5-2
Pletcher finishes fourth; earns NCAA automatic bid

149 lbs. No. 3 seed Micah Jordan (28-3)
Championship Final: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) technical fall over Jordan 16-1
Jordan finishes second; earns NCAA automatic bid

157 lbs. No. 11 seed Jake Ryan (12-10)
Ninth Place Match: No. 8 Jake Danishek (Indiana) decision over Ryan 3-1 SV-1
Ryan finishes 10th

165 lbs. Cody Burcher (17-15)
Seventh-Place Match: Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) decision over Burcher 2-1
Burcher finishes eighth

174 lbs. No. 1 seed Bo Jordan (14-1)
Championship Final: Jordan decision over No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State) 6-4 SV-1
Jordan wins 174 lb. Big Ten title; earns NCAA automatic bid

184 lbs. No. 4 seed Myles Martin (26-7)
Championship Final: No. 2 Sammy Brooks major decision over Martin 12-2
Martin finishes second; earns NCAA automatic bid 

197 lbs. No. 2 seed Kollin Moore (28-3)
Championship Final: Moore decision over No. 1 Brett Pfarr 15-11
Moore wins 197 lb. Big Ten title; earns NCAA automatic bid

285 lbs. No. 1 seed Kyle Snyder (12-0)
Snyder decision over No. 2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) 8-5
Snyder wins 285 lb. Big Ten title; earns NCAA automatic NCAA bid

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Ohio State - 139.5
2. Penn State - 130.0
3. Iowa - 112.5
4. Nebraska - 102.5
5. Minnesota - 93.0
6. Illinois - 88.5
7. Michigan - 83.0
8. Rutgers - 67.5
8. Wisconsin - 67.5
10. Michigan State - 38.5
11. Maryland - 32.0
12. Purdue - 26.0
13. Indiana - 24.5
14. Northwestern - 18.0