University of Minnesota Athletics
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Gophers Fall 22-13 to Buckeyes
1/26/2020 10:11:00 PM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Wrestling program fell 22-13 to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday night in Dinkytown.Â
The Gophers got their hand raised in four bouts on the evening, including a pair of times against ranked opponents.Â
Ryan Thomas got the Gophers on the board to start the dual at 157-pounds in his Maturi Pavilion debut. Thomas needed only one takedown of Ohio State's Elijah Cleary to get Minnesota on the board with an early three team points.Â
In a battle of ranked wrestlers No.18 Owen Webster took care of No.23 Rocky Jordan by 5-4 decision. Webster got on the board first with a takedown and turn for the early 4-0 lead. The Shakopee natives escape to begin the second period proved to be the difference as he earned team points for the Gophers.Â
Heavyweight Gable Steveson got the Gophers going straight out of the intermission with a dominant 13-2 major decision victory over No.23 Gary Traub. Steveson got a takedown less than ten seconds into the dual before pouring it on with takedowns and turns towards a bonus point victory.Â
Pat McKee followed Steveson's victory with another of his own as he defeated Malik Heinselman 5-1 to give the Gophers their first lead since Thomas' bout.Â
In the penultimate match of the night, No.1 Luke Pletcher and No.5 Mitch McKee put on a show for the fans. While McKee got the first takedown of the night, Pletcher stormed back with five more to confirm his top-ranking.Â
Of McKee's three losses this season, two have come to Pletcher.
The final match of the evening featured No.4 Brayton Lee and No.6 Sammy Sasso meeting for the sixth time in the calendar year. With a late takedown, Sasso snapped Lee's three-bout winning streak against him and took home the 4-2 victory.Â
Minnesota hits the road next weekend to the Hoosier state where they will take on Purdue before preparing for a dual against the Indiana Hoosiers.Â
The Maroon and Gold return home for a February 9 dual against the Penn State Nittany Lions.Â
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Full Results (Numbers listed are FloWrestling rankings)
157: No.21 Ryan Thomas dec. (3-2) over Elijah Cleary (Minnesota leads 3-0)
165: No.12 Ethan Smith major dec. (12-4) over Bailee O'Reilly (Ohio State leads 4-3)
174: No.8 Kaleb Romero dec. (2-1) over No.7 Devin Skatzka (Ohio State leads 7-3)
184: No.18 Owen Webster dec. (5-4) over No.23 Rocky Jordan (Ohio State leads 7-6)
197: No.1 Kollin Moore tech. fall (19-3) Hunter Ritter (Ohio State leads 12-6)
285: No.1 Gable Steveson major dec. (13-2) over No.23 Gary Traub (Ohio State leads 12-10)
125: No.13 Pat McKee dec. (5-1) over Malik Heinselman (Minnesota leads 13-12)
133: No.20 Jordan Decatur major dec. (16-6) over Jake Gliva (Ohio State leads 16-13)
141: No.1 Luke Pletcher dec. (12-6) over No.5 Mitch McKee (Ohio State leads 19-13)
149: No.6 Sammy Sasso dec. (4-2) No.4 Brayton Lee (Ohio State wins 22-13)