Wrestling
Buckeyes End Second Day in Second Place
By Kevin Schlosser

The Ohio State wrestling team is making a statement at the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Tournament. After starting the day in eighth place they ended it in second place. In what appears to be a race for second, OSU trails Iowa and holds a narrow lead over Iowa State, Penn State, Central Michigan, and Michigan. Behind the Hawkeyes, the top ten teams are separated by fifteen points.

The Buckeyes advanced three wrestlers to the championship finals; J Jaggers, Mike Pucillo, and J.D. Bergman. Wrestling for seventh place, Lance Palmer will be the only Buckeye scoring team points in the morning session. All four Buckeyes wrestling on Saturday are returning All-Americans.

While they will not place this season three other wrestlers scored points for the Buckeyes. Nikko Triggas and Jason Johnstone each won a match in the consolations. Sophomore Reece Humphrey won three matches and fell one match short of earning All-American status. With only J.D. Bergman graduating, the future appears to be as bright as the present.

“We have some big matches tomorrow. It is exciting to have three guys in the finals but they are not satisfied by just getting there; they are focused on winning it,” stated OSU head coach Tom Ryan.

“All three of those guys believe they can win titles and will not be content with second place. Lance Palmer will bounce back and they will all be ready to go.”

The fifth session of the NCAA Tournament will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. ESPNU will broadcast the consolation semifinals, seventh, fifth, and third place matches. The sixth session of the tournament features only the championship final matches. The finals will be broadcast live at 8:30 on ESPN.

OSU Session Four Results

Championship Semifinals:

Ch.R4.550: 141: #6 J Jaggers (OSU) WBD 11-9 #2 Charles Griffin (Hofstra)

Ch.R4.570: 184: #2 Mike Pucillo (OSU) WBD 2-1 #6 Ray Jordan (Missouri)

Ch.R4.578: 285: #2 J.D. Bergman (OSU) WBD 5-4 #3 Ed Prendergast (Navy)

Consolation Rounds Four-Five:

Co.R2.506: 133: #7 Mike Grey (Cornell) WBD 9-6 Reece Humphrey (OSU)

Co.R4.515: 149: #9 Lance Palmer (OSU) WBMD 11-3 Brandon Carter (CMU)

Co.R5.556: 149: #5 Josh Churella WBD 6-2 #9 Lance Palmer (OSU)

Top Team Standings: Session Four:

1. Iowa (102 points; Championship: 3; Consolation 4)

2. Ohio State (71 pts; CH: 3; CO: 1)

3. Iowa State (68 pts; CH: 1; CO: 6)

4. Penn State (63 pts; CH: 2; CO: 2)

5. Central Michigan (61.5 pts; CH: 1; CO: 3)

6. Michigan (61 pts; CH: 2; CO: 2)

7. Nebraska (58 pts; CH: 0; CO: 5)

7. Oklahoma State (58 pts; CH: 1; CO: 3)

9. Cornell (57.5 pts; CH: 1; CO: 3)

10. Minnesota (56.5 pts; CH: 1; CO: 3)

Championship Semifinals Quotes:

Mike Pucillo: “I didn’t really want to go into overtime, no one wants to go there, but sometimes that is what you have to do to come out on top,” stated Pucillo after his semifinal match. “I have been working a lot on riding. If that comes up in a match, I need to be able to hold him for thirty seconds. We have been working on it in practice and it paid off.”

J. D. Bergman: “When he got the first takedown and he is choking me and it didn’t feel very good, for a split second you ask yourself if I want to win this match bad enough or just try to get some air. I remember matches where you kick yourself for what you could have done,” said Bergman . “You can’t quit, you have to stay focused before the match, during the match, and after match. It isn’t about losing or making a mistake it comes down to how you respond and finding a way to win.”

Ohio State Day Three Preview:

Last season OSU placed tenth as a team at the NCAA Tournament, but were as high as eighth in the team standing before the finals. They dropped because other schools had wrestlers that won national titles and the Buckeyes did not have a wrestler in the finals. This year the roles are reversed; the Buckeyes have three wrestlers in the finals and one wrestling for seventh. If the four remaining Buckeyes can end their season with wins, OSU will challenge for their best ever finish at nationals.

“It has been a great weekend for the program, but we still have a lot left to accomplish. We are a team on the rise; this year we have three finalists, next year we can have more. Ohio State is a place where the wrestlers and the team can win and compete for national titles,” commented OSU Head Coach Tom Ryan.

“The home crowds are growing and there are a lot of Buckeyes fans here in St. Louis. It means a lot to the wrestlers and to the program to have so much support. We want to send them home happy and are in a position to make that happen.”

OSU Session Five and Six Pairings

Championship Finals: (Wrestling for first)

J Jaggers, Mike Pucillo, and J.D. Bergman will be wrestling for their first national title. All three were All Americans last season and Bergman is a two time placer. Each wrestler will face the top seeded and number one ranked wrestler in their weight class.

Match.633: 141: #6 J Jaggers (OSU) vs. #1 Chad Mendes (Cal Poly)

At 141 pounds, junior J. Jaggers will face Cal-Poly senior Chad Mendez. Undefeated this season, Mendez beat the ninth and fourth ranked wrestler to advance to the finals while Jaggers defeated an unseeded returning All American as well as the second and third seeded wrestlers.

“Jaggers has continued to improve and get better all season,” stated Tom Ryan. “For him it is about believing, it is about confidence and he has had it all weekend. Jaggers came to wrestle and is ready to win a title”

Match.638: 184: #2 Mike Pucillo (OSU) vs. #6 Ray Jordan (Missouri)

At 184 pounds Mike Pucillo will wrestle undefeated and top ranked Jake Varner. In their first season as starters last year both were All Americans with Pucillo placing sixth and Varner taking second. They have not met in college but did wrestle in the finals of the 2005 NHSCA Senior Nationals. Pucillo won a 6-3 decision and a high school national title.

“Against Varner, I am just going to keep doing what I have been doing all along; stay on the attack and score as many points as I can,” commented Pucillo. “I haven’t wrestled him in three years so I am sure a lot has changed. He has gotten a lot better and I have gotten a lot better. It is going to be a good match and hopefully I have more points than him in the end.”

Match.640: 285: #2 J.D. Bergman (OSU) #3 Dustin Fox (Northwestern)

Heavyweight J.D. Bergman will leave Ohio State as a three time All American. He wants to leave a national champion and to do so he will have to beat Northwestern senior Dustin Fox. Bergman is 33-2 this season with two losses to Fox; 3-1 at the National Duals and 2-0 in the Big Ten finals.

“I have said that I could have been a national champ for awhile now. I have pretty much beaten everyone in my weight class. Believing it and doing it are two different things,” stated Bergman. “Getting to the finals is an accomplishment; you reach crucial times in a match where you have to ask yourself how bad you want it. I will be ready to go tomorrow.”

Consolation Rounds Four-Five: (Wrestling for seventh)

Match.612: 149: #9 Lance Palmer (OSU) vs. Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota)

Sophomore Lance Palmer will be facing a familiar opponent in his seventh place match, Minnesota junior Dustin Schlatter. Palmer won by fall in the only match between the two wrestlers this season. Schlatter defeated Palmer 1-0 last season to place third at the NCAA Tournament.

Watching Lance Palmer lose was tough but come back was important to him and the team,” said Ryan. “He is a leader and we are fortunate to have him on the team. There are unanswered prayers in life and he has two more years to win his titles.”

2008 NCAA Wrestling Tournament: Broadcast Schedule:

The ESPN network of channels will air two different broadcasts from the tournament on Saturday. The consolation semifinals and placement matches will air on ESPNU and the championship finals will be on ESPN in primetime.

Saturday: March 22, 2008

ESPNU: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Session Five (Live – Consolation Finals)

ESPN: 8:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Session Six (Live – Championship Finals)

Return to the-Ozone Columns and Features

Return to the-OZone Front Page