Buckeyes Now

Sammy Sasso Shines in Ohio State's Victory Over UT Chattanooga

The Buckeyes won nine out of 10 matches in Thursday's dual against the Mocs.

Izabelle Cool

Wisconsin's Austin Gomez, left, wrestles Ohio State's Sammy Sasso at 149 pounds during the third session of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, Sunday, March 6, 2022, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. 220306 Big Ten Wr 023 Jpg
Wisconsin's Austin Gomez, left, wrestles Ohio State's Sammy Sasso at 149 pounds during the third session of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, Sunday, March 6, 2022, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. 220306 Big Ten Wr 023 Jpg / Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
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No. 6 Ohio State Wrestling began its dual season against the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga on Thursday, Nov. 14, at home. The Buckeyes defeated the Mocs 36-6.

Ohio had nine ranked wrestlers going into the dual, according to Intermat rankings.

Sammy Sasso returned for Ohio State Thursday night for a valiant comeback to the mat after he was shot in a carjacking incident in August 2023. Ryan praised the mental toughness it took for Sasso to return to the mat and the huge step in his road to recovery. Thursday was the first time since he won the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championship title that he was in an Ohio State singlet.

In his first match since March 18, 2023, Sasso secured the win over Jackson Hurst (UTC) 12-6, holding onto his lead with takedown after takedown.

Head coach Ryan had asked Sasso if he wanted to be at the debut match to start the night off, but he opted not to let No. 11 Brendan McCrone (125) shine.

"I knew the crowd would be involved, and I tried to make it about the wrestling and keep my mind focused. I knew there would be a lot of emotions involved, so I tried to do my best to focus on wrestling."

- Sammy Sasso in post-dual interview

McCrone came out for Ohio to start the road to victory with an exciting match against Ty Tice (UTC). McCrone finished the match with a four-point near fall against Tice to secure the first technical fall for the Buckeyes.

At 133 pounds, the first ranked match-up of the night was between No. 18 Nic Bouzakis (OSU) and No. 24 Blake Boarman (UTC). Bouzakis won by decision 12-7 over Boarman in a neck-and-neck match. Both wrestlers continued to go back and forth with points until Bouzakis got a massive 3-point takedown to secure his lead and avoid a sudden victory.

At 141 pounds, reigning national champion No. 2 Jesse Mendez (OSU) faced No. 20 Isaiah Powe (UTC). Mendez knows how to use his hands to move his opponents around and out of the way and was able to against Powe. The two went point for point until Mendez got his third takedown for 3 points and got ahead of Powe. In total, Mendez had five takedowns followed by a near fall heading into the third period, where he took the match 23-7 by technical fall.

No. 11 Dylan D'Emilio (OSU) kept Bretli Reyna (UTC) on the back foot the entire match as he led the match to get a last-second takedown to finish 14-3 over Reyna.

To close out the first half, No. 10 Paddy Gallagher (OSU) wrestled Noah Castillo (UTC). Last season, Gallagher tore his ACL in his match at the Cornell dual last season. Head coach Tom Ryan said Gallagher returned fitter this season than when he left. Gallagher secured the three-point takedown in sudden victory for a 4-1 win.

"Last year, around January, he was injured and has been out 9 months in rehabilitation. I’m really happy to see him out there."

- Ohio State Head Coach Tom Ryan

At 174 pounds, Bryce Hepner (OSU) sustained an apparent leg injury and tried to continue his match against Sergio Desiante (UTC) until Desiante got a takedown for a 3-1 lead. After Desiante's takedown, Hepner injury defaulted.

In a push to continue Ohio's momentum, No. 17 Ryder Rogotzke (OSU) won the 19-12 decision over Kamdyn Munro (UTC). Rogotzke was close to scoring his 17th career pin but could not hold Munro down, and he got the four-point near fall to end the match.

No. 11 Luke Geog (OSU) had three takedowns in his first period against David Harper (UTC). Despite multiple stall calls on both wrestlers, Geog continued to get takedown over takedown to defeat Harper 20-5 in a technical fall.

To close out the dual for Ohio State, heavyweight No. 3 Nick Feldman (OSU) came out on the mat to secure the win over Ethan Vergara (UTC). Feldman got four takedowns in the first period and a minute and a half riding time. Into the second period, Feldman secured the technical fall for a 19-4 win.

Final Scores

  • 125 pounds - No. 11 Brendan McCrone over Ty Tice (UTC), 16-0
  • 133 pounds - No. 18 Nic Bouzakis over No. 24 Blake Boarman (UTC), 12-7 decision
  • 141 pounds - No. 2 Jesse Mendez (OSU) over No. 20 Isaiah Powe, 23-7 TF
  • 149 pounds - No. 11 Dylan D'Emilio (OSU) over Bretli Reyna , 14-3 MD
  • 157 pounds - No. 10 Paddy Gallagher (OSU) over Noah Castillo (UTC), 4-1 SV
  • 165 pounds - Sammy Sasso (OSU) over Jackson Hurst (UTC), 12-6
  • 174 pounds - Sergio Desiante (UTC) over Bryce Hepner (OSU), Injury forfeit
  • 184 pounds - Ryder Rogotzke (OSU) over Kamdyn Munro (UTC), 19-12 Decision
  • 197 pounds - No. 11 Luke Geog (OSU) over David Harper (UTC), 20-5 TF
  • 285 pounds - No. 3 Nick Feldman (OSU) over Ethan Vergara (UTC), 19-4 TF

Next

The Buckeyes will head out on the road to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024.

Ohio leads the series 3-0, with the last matchup in November of 2023 when they defeated Edinboro 53-0. The win was head coach Tom Ryan's 200th dual victory at Ohio State.

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Izabelle Cool
IZABELLE COOL

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