Two years ago, after the retirement of their Hall of Fame head coach Russ Hellickson, Ohio State brought in a new coaching staff, headed by respected Hofstra coach Tom Ryan. He reached out and put together an all-star coaching staff, including Lou Rosselli, Tommy Rowlands, Joe Heskett and Ross Thatcher. 

In just their second year with this staff, the Buckeye program enters the final day of the NCAA Championships in second place, with three individuals in the gold-medal finals: J Jaggers (141), Mike Pucillo (HWT) and J.D. Bergman (HWT). A fourth Buckeye, Lance Palmer (149) has reached the seventh place match.

Iowa's coach Tom Brands isn't the only Tom getting rave reviews at the NCAA meet this year. Tom Ryan, who like Brands competed at Iowa under Dan Gable, has helped his program to excel quickly under his leadership.

"When we came in with this staff, last year, we were 9th in the Big Ten and 10th in the country. This year, we were 5th in the Big Ten, and if we control the situation, we will be second in the country," said Ryan.

The results are not unexpected to Ryan, but he is very aware of just how difficult it is to get a team in position to take home a trophy from the NCAA Championships.

"Thinking it and having it happen are two different things. Russ Hellickson had good guys in the room. We recruited the No. 1 class in the country. We knew it was possible. Credit goes to the athletes. They bought into our year-round training system. Many are Ohio guys who have tremendous pride in the state," said Ryan.

"Having Ohio State be No. 2 right now is incredible," said Bergman after winning his semifinal match Friday. "We believed we could contend for a national title this year. We have the men to do it. Getting there and doing it is just an awesome feeling. It is good to actually get it done."

Ohio State's top stars came to the NCAA Tournament well prepared, and all seem to be wrestling their best at the Big Show.

"I think people who watch us think we are passionate and gritty. We are all well conditioned. But the biggest thing is the passion. The time behind the closed doors shows up on the mat. We want Buckeye fans to be proud," said Ryan.

Ryan is especially pleased with the character of the athletes in his program and their desire for excellence.

"Their egos are under control. They are good people. They care. They feel like founding fathers of the new era here. That in no way disparages our past. Under Russ Hellickson, this team had numerous All-Americans and had national champions. We just want, year in and year out, to be fighting for national championships as a team. We want for Buckeye fans to know we will always fight for the national championship, just like our football team," said Ryan.

Ryan has been able to get his staff to work well together, something that is also showing by the performance of the wrestlers on the mat.

"We all have a strong faith and we are all family people," said Ryan of the staff. "We get together and do things, playing board games as a staff. We are good friends. We have an incredible amount of respect for each other. They all have an area which they are in charge of. This is not a dictatorship. There is a democracy, like a Board of Directors. They are all too good not to do it like that."

The athletes in the program also take pride in their coaching staff.

"Look at Tom Ryan, he is going to go down as one of the great coaches of all time. Look what he did for us. He took our program from 45th to 10th at the NCAAs his first year. And now where we are," said Jaggers after his semifinal win.

The Buckeyes are making big noise in St. Louis, but do not have a large media following at the event. Neither the hometown Columbus Dispatch, nor the respected Cleveland Plain Dealer have reporters here covering the NCAA Championships this year.

"They haven't yet," said Ryan about local coverage of his team. "There was a big article on J.D. Bergman there when we left town. Coming from Long Island, with Newsday there, we did OK but nothing incredible. In time, the Dispatch will have reasons to cover us."

The team has already started to attract a fan following. This year, Ohio State asked for 260 tickets and sold them all. Ryan believes in time, Buckeye fans will fill a number of sections at each NCAA Championships.

"There is deep rooted passion for wrestling in Ohio. There are 100,000 fans at the high school championships each year. It is the sixth largest event in Columbus every year. Wrestling is in the culture of this state. Outside of Iowa, we had the largest crowds at our big home events in the country," said Ryan.

Ohio State wrestlers will be busy year-round, not only training on campus but also entering the major USA Wrestling post-season tournaments.

"Our guys wrestle lots of freestyle. We will be at the University Nationals, the FILA Junior Nationals, at the training camps in Colorado Springs. We have guys with high freestyle goals. They believe they have the coaches that can help them. Lou Rosselli, a World Team Coach, gets so much credit in that area," said Ryan.

As the NCAA Championships winds down, Ryan is especially excited for his three finalists.

"Every coach loves their guys," said Ryan. "We get to coach great people. It is nice to see them in a position to get a lifelong dream."