Ohio State Claims Big Ten Wrestling Title
Buckeyes pick up second-straight Big Ten wrestling title and fifth overall
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Ohio State won the 2018 Big Ten Wrestling Championships title on Sunday with a team score of 164.5. The Buckeyes earned their second-straight Big Ten Championship and fifth overall. Ohio State claimed four individual titles from Nathan Tomasello (125), Joey McKenna (141), Kollin Moore (197) and Kyle Snyder (285).
Penn State finished in second place with 148 points, followed by third-place Michigan with 118. Iowa finished in fourth place with 90.5 points and Nebraska rounded out the top five with 72.5 team points.
Penn State’s Zain Retherford was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, while Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez earned Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships honors. Ohio State’s Thomas Ryan was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and the Iowa’s Spencer Lee was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Ohio State’s Nathan Tomasello claimed the 125-pound title after defeating Minnesota’s No. 4 Ethan Lizak by a 10-7 decision. The Buckeye made history with his conference crown, becoming the 15th wrestler in the 106-year history of the Big Ten Championships to win four individual titles. At 133 pounds, Stevan Micic of Michigan posted a 7-4 decision over Luke Pletcher of Ohio State to win the 123rd individual title in Wolverines’ history.
Ohio State’s Joey McKenna earned a Big Ten title after defeating No. 3 seeded Michael Carr of Illinois with a 13-0 major decision to claim the 141-pound title. The 149-pound crown went to Zain Retherford of Penn State, who earned a 2-0 decision over Iowa’s Brandon Sorensen. At 157 pounds, Alec Pantaleo of Michigan claimed the win over Micah Jordan of Ohio State with an 3-1 decision.
Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez, the top-seeded 165-pound wrestler, posted a 4-1 decision over Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State to win his fourth-consecutive conference title. Martinez became the 16th wrestler in Big Ten history and the second wrestler of the day to win the fourth individual title of his career, joining his head coach Jim Heffernan in that elite club.
Mark Hall of Penn State picked up a Big Ten title, winning the 174-pound championship with an 4-3 decision over Myles Amine of Michigan. At 184 pounds, Penn State’s Bo Nickal, a No. 1 seed, claimed a 7-4 decision over No. 2 Miles Martin of Ohio State, earning his second-straight Big Ten title.
Top-seeded Moore of Ohio State successfully defended his 197-pound title, earning an 8-4 decision over Penn State’s Shakur Rasheed. Rounding out the group of individual Big Ten Champions was No. 2 Kyle Snyder of Ohio State, who claimed a 4-2 sudden victory over Adam Coon of Michigan for his third conference title.
The complete list of Big Ten individual awards and All-Big Ten honorees can be found below, while the full results are attached.
BIG TEN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Wrestler of the Year: Zain Retherford, Penn State
Freshman of the Year: Spencer Lee, Iowa
Coach of the Year: Thomas Ryan, Ohio State
Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships: Isaiah Martinez, Illinois
2018 ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
Isaiah Martinez, Illinois
Stevan Micic, Michigan
Alec Pantaleo, Michigan
Joey McKenna, Ohio State
Kollin Moore, Ohio State
Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State
Kyle Snyder, Ohio State
Mark Hall, Penn State
Bo Nickal, Penn State
Zain Retherford, Penn State