The Front Row

Awesome... going to dinner but i will be back to read..

They are very young with 7 freshmen, 2 sophs and a junior but very talented. Va. Tech will be a great early season test. The match is this Sunday (Nov 20) at 4pm in St Johns
Ryan's decision to bring the freshmen in June has really helped them make the adjustment to college wrestling. Having a post college regional training center in Columbus that can train with OSU wrestlers is also a development accelerator.

COLUMBUS, Ohio- The 10th ranked Ohio State wrestling team improved to 4-0 following a 21-12 victory vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon in St. John Arena. Five Buckeyes scored wins in Ohio State's season home opener.

After the Hokies cut the Buckeye lead to 12-6, a trio of wins by freshmen Logan Stieber (133), Hunter Stieber (141) and Cam Tessari (149) helped clinch the Ohio State win. Last second takedowns by both H. Stieber and Tessari proved to be a huge difference maker in a tightly contested match that featured zero bonus points.

"The matches we won late, we attacked," Tom Ryan, head coach, said. "The matches we lost late were because we didn't attack. You have to keep attacking to build your lead. This is an exciting group and they want to win."

Wrestling before a St. John Arena home crowd of 2,464, No. 15 H. Stieber (8-1 overall; 3-1 dual) trailed Zach Neibert, 4-2 and 4-3 after the first and second periods, respectively. An escape by Neibert at the 1:45 mark in the third left H. Stieber in a 5-3 deficit. However, the Buckeye from Monroeville, Ohio, countered with a takedown with 1:06 remaining in the match to tie the score. Twelve seconds later, Neibert answered with an escape to take a 6-5 lead, but H. Stieber continued to press and with just seven seconds left, scored a takedown for the 7-6 victory.

With the Buckeyes up 18-6, the 16th ranked Tessari (7-1 overall; 4-0 dual) won in dramatic fashion over Nick Brascetta. Also a native of Monroeville, Ohio, Tessari was down 3-2 early in the match before the score was even at 3 a piece entering the third. An escape by Brascetta with 1:41 left gave the Hokie a slim 4-3 lead, but with five seconds left on the clock, Tessari scored a takedown for the decisive 5-4 lead. After a Virginia Tech injury timeout, Tessari scored an escape to seal the individual and team win.

The match began at 174 pounds and 2011 Big Ten runner-up and fourth ranked Nick Heflin (8-0 overall; 4-0 dual) lifted the Scarlet and Gray to an early 3-0 lead when he beat Chris Moon 6-2. Heflin, a redshirt sophomore never trailed throughout the match, taking 2-1 and 5-2 leads, respectively, heading into the third period. There was no scoring in the final stanza, but Heflin, a native of Massillon, Ohio, did earn 3:31 of riding time.

An escape and a takedown in the final minute of his match against John Dickson at 184 pounds helped redshirt junior C.J. Magrum move to 4-0 in dual matches and 6-1 overall. Leading by a 8-6 margin, Magrum, who hails from Oak Harbor, Ohio, clinched the match with those three points, plus a riding time of 1:10.

Freshman Andrew Campolattano (7-2 overall; 3-1 dual) lost a close 4-3 decision to Nick Vetterlein in the 197-pound bout. A takedown by Vetterlein with two seconds left on the clock sealed the Hokie victory.

At this point, Ohio State owned only a 6-3 advantage, but jumped to a 12-3 lead after 17th ranked David Marone was forced to default his match to redshirt sophomore Peter Capone (6-2 overall; 4-0 dual) at the 1:41 mark in the second period because of an injury. Capone was up 5-0 prior to the default.

Moving on to the 125-pound class, freshman Johnni Dijulius suffered a 7-5 setback to Ty Mitch. Back-to-back stalling warnings on Dijulius tied the score between the pair of Aurora, Ohio, natives and forced the match into overtime. With four seconds left, Mitch scored a takedown for the win and cut the Ohio State lead to six (12-6).

However, fourth-ranked L. Stieber's (8-0 overall; 4-0 dual) 6-1 win at 133 pounds over No. 5 Devin Carter was the first of three consecutive to solidify the OSU victory.

Virginia Tech ended the afternoon with back-to-back wins at 157 and 165 pounds. In a matchup that pitted former Westerville North High School teammates against one another, No. 13 Josh Demas (7-1 overall; 3-1 dual) lost, 7-2, to No. 5 Jesse Dong. Hokie Pete Yates, ranked 14th in the nation, beat Buckeye freshman Derek Garcia (6-4 overall; 2-2 dual), 9-3.

Up next, Ohio State will travel to the 30th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which will take place Dec. 2-3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

No. 10 Ohio State (4-0) 21, No. 15 Virginia Tech (1-1) 12
Nov. 20, 2011
St. John Arena
Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 2,474
Match Started at 174

125: Ty Mitch DEC Johnni Dijulius, 7-5
133: No. 4 Logan Stieber DEC No. 5 Devin Carter, 6-1
141: No. 15 Hunter Stieber DEC Zach Neibert, 7-6
149: No. 16 Cam Tessari DEC Nick Brascetta, 6-4
157: No. 5 Jesse Dong DEC No. 13 Josh Demas, 7-2
165: No. 14 Pete Yates DEC Derek Garcia, 9-3
174: No. 4 Nick Heflin DEC Chris Moon, 6-2
184: C.J. Magrum DEC John Dickson, 12-6
197: Nick Vetterlein DEC No. 14 Andrew Campolattano, 4-3
HWT: Peter Capone wins by injury default No. 17 David Marone

Loving me some Logan Stieber... he has already abused 2 top 10 opponents. This whole team really excites me!!

Bucks in first place so far... Hunter Stieber setting the tone in this one...awesome!!!

COLUMBUS, Ohio– The sixth ranked Ohio State wrestling team currently is in first place with 69 points after the first day of the 2011 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. No. 9 Michigan is in second place with 63.5 points, while No. 3 Cornell rounds out the Top 3 with 61 points.

With five wrestlers set to compete in the semifinals, the Buckeyes will return to action at 12 p.m. ET Saturday with consolation action, while the semifinals will begin at 1 p.m. ET.

Freshman Hunter Stieber (141) arguably scored the biggest win of the tournament when he downed No. 1 Kellen Russell of Michigan, 6-5, thanks to a takedown in the waning seconds of the third period. Earlier in the day, Stieber, who hails from Monroeville, Ohio, recorded a major decision against Brown’s Zachary Tanenbaum, 10-1.

Johnni Dijulius (125) and Logan Stieber (133) were the first pair of Buckeyes to advance to the semifinals Friday night courtesy of bonus-point wins.

A true freshman, Dijulius wrapped up the day with a 15-6 major decision vs. Tyler Iwamur of Cal State Bakersfield. The Buckeye from Aurora, Ohio, began the day with an 11-8 victory against North Dakota State’s Trent Sprenkle.

Stieber won all three of his matches Friday via pins, including a 49-second pin in the second round against Shawn Jones of Boise State. Prior to that impressive outing, the Monroeville, Ohio, native pinned Brock Livorio (North Carolina) in 1:43. The redshirt freshman then ended the evening pinning Harvard’s Steven Keith near the 4:40 mark.

Redshirt-sophomore Nick Heflin (174) was the fourth Buckeye to advance to the semifinals after posting a 3-2 decision against Patrick Martinez of Wyoming. The Massillon, Ohio, native opened the tournament with a 5-1 victory vs. Lance Bryson of West Virginia before defeating Arizona State’s Jacob Graham, 11-3, in the second round.

Peter Capone, a redshirt sophomore from Johnson City, N.Y., secured his place in the semifinals courtesy of his 5-2 win over Michigan’s Ben Apland. Capone’s previous match was a hard-fought 2-1 tiebreaking win vs. Ernest James of Edinboro. That win was after an 11-2 victory in the first round vs. Leonard Romero of Menlo Calif.

Cam Tessari, a native of Monroeville, Ohio, dropped to the wrestleback bracket after suffering a 7-4 defeat to Air Force’s Cole VonOhlen. In the opening session, Tessari won back-to-back matches, both by decision. In his first bout, Tessari downed Jonathan Burns (North Carolina), 8-2, before beating Hofstra’s Justin Accordino, 8-3.

C.J. Magrum, a redshirt junior from Oak Harbor, Ohio, also will contend for third place after dropping a 16-1 decision to No. 2 seed Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming in the quarterfinals. Magrum started the day strong with a 2:49 pin over Stanford’s Spence Patrick. Magrum then decisioned Hofstra’s Ben Clymer in a 4-3 tiebreaking thriller.

Joining Tessari and Magrum in their attempts to finish in the Top 3 is freshman Andrew Campolattano. The Bound Brook, N.J., native lost a close 6-4 decision in sudden victory to Taylor Meeks of Oregon State after notching consecutive wins. Campolattano earned a 52-second pin over North Idaho College’s Justin Korthuis and followed with an 8-3 decision against Mac Mancuso.

At 157 pounds, redshirt freshman Josh Demas rebounded from a first-round 8-2 setback to win three consecutive matches in consolation action. A 4-3 decision over Victor DeJesus (Arizona State) began the run and that win was followed by a 5-4 triumph vs. Shawn Perry of Wisconsin. Demas concluded the day with a 3-1 win against Napoleon Aniciete of Utah Valley.

Freshman Derek Garcia was forced to bow out of the tournament because of an illness.

2011 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational
Friday, Saturday Dec. 2-3
Las Vegas Convention Center

Team Results
1. Ohio State 69
2. Michigan 63.5
3. Cornell 61
4. Wyoming 58
5. Oregon State 56.5
6. Edinboro 49
7. Nebraska 48.5
8. Hofstra 43.5
9. Kent 40.5
10. Cal Poly 39

125
Johnni Dijulius DEC Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota State), 11-8
Johnni Dijulius MAJ DEC Tyler Iwamur (Cal State Bakersfield), 15-6

133
No. 4 Logan Stieber PINNED Brock Livorio (North Carolina), 1:43
No. 4 Logan Stieber PINNED Shawn Jones (Boise State), :49
No. 4 Logan Stieber PINNED Steven Keith (Harvard), 4:40

141
No. 15 Hunter Stieber MAJ DEC Zachary Tanenbaum (Brown), 10-1
No. 15 Hunter Stieber DEC Kellen Russell (Michigan), 6-5

149
No. 15 Cam Tessari DEC Jonathan Burns (North Carolina), 8-2
No. 15 Cam Tessari DEC Justin Accordino (Hofstra), 8-3
Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) DEC No. 15 Cam Tessari, 7-4

157
Mallie Shuster (Kent State) DEC No. 14 Josh Demas, 8-2
No. 14 Josh Demas DEC Victor DeJesus (Arizona State), 4-3
No. 14 Josh Demas DEC Shawn Perry (Wisconsin), 5-4
No. 14 Josh Demas DEC Napoleon Aniciete (Utah Valley), 3-1

165
Derek Garcia DEC Coleman Gracey (Army), 6-5
Shane Onufer (Wyoming) wins on medical forfeit Derek Garcia
Ethan Smith (Utah Valley) wins on medical forfeit Derek Garcia

174
No. 4 Nick Heflin DEC Lance Bryson (West Virginia), 5-1
No. 4 Nick Heflin MAJ DEC Jacob Graham (Arizona State), 11-3
No. 4 Nick Heflin DEC Patrick Martinez (Wyoming), 3-2

184
C.J. Magrum PINNED Spence Patrick (Stanford), 2:49
C.J. Magrum DEC Ben Clymer (Hofstra), 4-3 tb
Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming) TECH FALL C.J. Magrum, 16-1

197
No. 17 Andrew Campolattano PINNED Justin Korthuis (North Idaho College), :52
No. 17 Andrew Campolattano DEC Mac Mancuso (West Virginia), 8-3
Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) DEC No. 17 Andrew Campolattano, 6-4 sv

HWT
Peter Capone MAJ DEC Leonard Romero (Menlo (Calif.)), 11-2
Peter Capone DEC Ernest James (Edinboro), 2-1tb
Peter Capone DEC Ben Apland (Michigan), 5-2

Wow, true freshman Hunter Stieber knocks off returning Ncaa champ and fifth year senior from Michigan. These Monoreville guys are wrestling their asses off!

Video of Hunter-Russell

http://www.flowrestling.org/coverage/240672-Cliff-Keen-Las-Vegas-Invitational-2011/video/523978-141-lbs-quarter-finals-Kellen-Russell-Michigan-vs-Hunter-Stieber-Ohio-State

Yeah but he has less than 8 minutes on the matt so far.. crushing it.. Cam Tessari wins his first consolation match 5-2

Campolattano loses to James Fox 8-7

Logan wins a major 14-6 with riding time into the Finals. His 3rd pounding of a top 10 wrestler this season

As some of you know, I am the President of THEE Ohio State University Alumni Club of Las Vegas. This year our club went through OSU compliance (we go by the rules) and received permission to take the team out to dinner tonight in anticipation of their performance this weekend.

We even got former UFC heavyweight Champion and Buckeye Wrestler, Kevin "The Monster" Randleman to join us.

I am headed down to the finals in a little bit!

Excited in Vegas! Go Bucks!

BB