With a 59% majority vote from the NCAA Wrestling Twitter poll, Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State has been named NCAA Wrestler of the Week. The 125-pound redshirt senior rightly claimed this award after his dominant win over No. 4 Ethan Lizak of Minnesota. Tomasello’s victory over a top-five opponent lead the Buckeyes to a conference win in their matchup against Minnesota.
Time to vote for the NCAA Wrestler of the Week! #NCAAWrestling
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) January 17, 2018
Last Friday, both wrestlers looked to revamp their play, with this being Tomasello’s second match of the year and Lizak not wrestling the previous week. The two hadn’t met since February of Lizak’s true freshman year, which ended with an impressive performance for Tomasello. In their most recent battle, however, it looked as if either wrestler could take the win as they remained scoreless two minutes into the first period.
After being warned for stalling on the edge, Lizak took his first shot of the match. After a reset, Tomasello cleared the arm and ran through a double, taking a 2-0 lead. In the second, the points poured in by the masses for Tomasello. After getting a quick go behind, followed by a quick tilt, Tomasello blew the match open, widening the gap to 8-0. Headed into the third, Lizak trailed 13-2. With patience and precision, Tomasello ended the dual by an 18-3 technical fall for his first top-25 win of the season.
Nathan Tomasello previews the weekend.
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) January 18, 2018
https://t.co/Q1JAgfmGtW#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/sBrUi7lpAK
RELATED: Latest Top 25 | Updated award standings
An Ohio native, Tomasello grew up controlling the mat. At Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy school, he’s known for holdings records for most career victories, most victories in a season and winning more than 160 consecutive matches. With an amassed 178-5 record, Tomasello became a four-time Ohio High School Athletic Association champion. In his redshirt at Ohio State, Tomasello proved his experience with an 18-0 record in open tournaments, included nine major decisions.
Tomasello is the third Buckeye to be named B1G Wrestler of the Week this season.#GoBucks https://t.co/iaC5Q1N1xb
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) January 16, 2018
For his redshirt freshman season, Tomasello led the team in wins (33), and advanced to the NCAA championships where he defeated the top seeded and previously unbeaten Alan Waters of Missouri in the semifinals and Zeke Moisey of West Virginia in the finals. After go.ing 27-1 in his sophomore season, Tomasello finished in third at the NCAA championships. For his junior year, Tomasello set his name in stone by becoming a three-time Big Ten Champion; a feat only two others at Ohio State have accomplished in school history. And just before Tomasello’s senior year began, he made his first United States National Team with a 3-1 showing at the World Team Trials in summer of 2017. With his impressive victory over a top-five opponent in last week’s matchup, Tomasello’s current record stands at 2-0.
