COLUMBUS, Ohio – Redshirt freshman Shane Griffith earned a fall to score the lone points for No. 25 Stanford in its 29-6 loss at No. 3 Ohio State, Sunday, in the first wrestling competition in the brand new Covelli Center.
Ohio State (1-0) won nine of the 10 bouts over Stanford (0-1) in the season opening dual for both programs.
Griffith led 14th-ranked Ethan Smith 5-2 late in the third period. Ranked eighth nationally at 165 pounds, Griffith turned Smith and picked up the fall in 6:15 in his first collegiate dual. He is now 5-0 to start the season.
#8 Shane Griffith quiets the Covelli Center after taking out #20 Ethan Smith and giving Stanford their first points of the night.
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) November 11, 2019
The highly-anticipated bout between Stanford's Real Woods, who is ranked No. 14 at 141 pounds, and top-ranked Luke Pletcher of Ohio State lived up to its billing.
There was no score in the opening period Woods and Pletcher. Each wrestler earned an escape to knot the score at 1-1 after regulation. In sudden victory, Woods was in on a shot, but during the ensuing scramble Pletcher found his way on top and was awarded the takedown with less than 25 seconds remaining.
Ohio State's Luke Pletcher holds on to his No. 1 ranking at 141 pounds after taking down Stanford's Real Woods 3-1 in sudden victory ?? #GoBuckspic.twitter.com/hkUXTAOZvC
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) November 11, 2019
Redshirt junior Requir van der Merwe, who is ranked 15th at 149 pounds, had a strong showing against eighth-ranked Sammy Sasso. Sasso scored a takedown in the opening period and led 3-0 after two. van der Merwe earned the escape to start the third, but was unable to force overtime in the 3-1 setback.
Redshirt freshman Tyler Eischens jumped out to an early 4-2 lead over Elijah Cleary at 157 pounds, but a high-scoring third period ended regulation at 8-8. In sudden victory, Cleary completed the comeback with a takedown at the 31-second mark to seal the decision.
At 197 pounds, redshirt junior Nathan Traxler, who is ranked ninth, was overpowered in a 19-8 major decision loss to No. 1 Kollin Moore.
True freshman Nick Addison made his collegiate debut for the Cardinal at 184 pounds. He fell behind 6-2 early to Zach Steiner. There was no score in the second period when Steiner chose to start neutral. Addison tallied the escape to begin the third to cut the score to 6-3. However, another takedown by Steiner would put the match out of reach despite an escape and a late takedown from Addison.
Stanford returns to The Farm next week for its home opener against No. 17 North Carolina. Action begins on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion.
No. 3 Ohio State 29, No. 25 Stanford 6
| Weight | Matchup | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 125 | Malik Heinselman (OSU) dec. Jackson DiSario (STAN) | 6-3 |
| 133 | #18 Quinn Kinner (OSU) dec. Brandon Kier (STAN) | 7-1 |
| 141 | #1 Luke Pletcher (OSU) dec. #14 Real Woods (STAN) | 3-1 (SV) |
| 149 | #8 Sammy Sasso (OSU) dec. #15 Requir van der Merwe (STAN) | 3-1 |
| 157 | Elijah Cleary (OSU) dec. Tyler Eischens (STAN) | 10-8 (SV) |
| 165 | #8 Shane Griffith (STAN) fall #14 Ethan Smith (OSU) | F6:15 |
| 174 | Kaleb Romero (OSU) maj. dec. Foster Karmon (STAN) | 16-7 |
| 184 | Zach Steiner (OSU) dec. Nick Addison (STAN) | 9-6 |
| 197 | #1 Kollin Moore (OSU) maj. dec. #9 Nathan Traxler (STAN) | 19-8 |
| 285 | Gary Traub (OSU) dec. David Showunmi (STAN) | 4-3 |