By james art 
Ohio State (1-0) recorded an emphatic victory over Wisconsin (0-1) in the season opener, winning 25-14. Although the game was tied early on at 14-14, the Bobcats’ back end wrestlers secured a dominant victory.
Ohio fell into a hole early. At 125, Wisconsin redshirt freshman Nicolar Rivera defeated Ohio sophomore Ryan Meek. This was due to a fall 4 minutes and 19 seconds into their duel, giving Wisconsin 6 points after one game. The Badgers would add to their post-match lead in the 133 lb. weight class when redshirt freshman Zan Fugitt pinned freshman Kolten Barker by technical fall 16-1.
The Bobcats then took control and the next three games would end with the Badgers wearing green. That turnaround started with redshirt freshman Kaden Jett fueling a comeback with a 5-2 decision win over Brock Bobzien. Next, redshirt sophomore Derek Reike improved his record by defeating redshirt freshman Royce Nilo in another 16-1 technical fall.
Redshirt junior Peyton Kellar took the mat next for Ohio and started his season the right way after defeating redshirt junior Luke Mehler in a close game. Keller won by an 8-7 decision.
In the next two matches, both teams split by referee’s decision. Badger redshirt junior Cale Anderson won against redshirt sophomore Jack Ledo with an 8-2 decision at 165. The Bobcats would respond with redshirt freshman Max Ray scoring eight points in the win, tying the game with 14 points for everyone.
Ohio would take over after that as the final three games fell the Bobcat’s way. Ohio redshirt junior Garrett Thompson would break the tie after defeating redshirt freshman Lucas Condon by a low score 4-2 decision. After that performance, redshirt sophomore Austin Starr would shine in a 15-1 major decision, defeating Wisconsin sophomore Niccolo Colucci.
Closing out the contest, Bobcat Jordan Greer blanked Gannon Rosenfeld with another 13-4 majority decision, capping off an outstanding performance from Ohio. The night would end with The Bobcats scoring 11 unanswered points and winning 25-14.
It’s Ohio State’s first win against a Big Ten opponent in nearly 10 years. The last Big Ten win was in 2015 when Ohio beat Indiana 22-13. The Bobcats will look to build on that momentum as they head to East Lansing to compete in the Michigan State Open on Nov. 9.