Ohio State's Stieber brothers power No. 6 Buckeyes into lead at Cliff Keen Invitational
<< Back to Articles
Craig Sesker (USA Wrestling)
12/02/2011
Ohio State’s Hunter Stieber (right) battles Michigan’s Kellen Russell on Friday in Las Vegas. John Sachs photo.
LAS VEGAS – Ohio State’s Logan Stieber is considered by many to be the top freshman in the country.
And rightfully so.
Stieber won a Junior World silver medal this past summer and has already excelled on the Senior level in freestyle wrestling.
But Ohio State has another freshman named Stieber who already is making a huge impact of his own.
True freshman Hunter Stieber delivered the biggest win on the first day of the Cliff Keen Invitational when he knocked off returning NCAA champion and top-ranked senior Kellen Russell of Michigan.
The eighth-seeded Stieber shot in to score a pair of late takedowns to upset Russell 6-5 in the quarterfinals at 141 pounds on Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“I wrestle with some of the best guys in the World in practice every day,†Hunter Stieber said. “We train really hard and we push each other. We are getting better every day. I have (past World Team members) Reece Humphrey and Shawn Bunch, and my brother to train with. It’s awesome having those guys in the room. I love it – it’s awesome.â€
The two-day tournament resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday. The finals are scheduled for 3 p.m. The U.S. Men's Freestyle Olympic Trials Qualifier will be held alongside the Cliff Keen event on Saturday. The freestyle finals also are set for 3 p.m.
Top-seeded Logan Stieber, a redshirt freshman, pinned Harvard’s Steven Keith in the quarterfinals at 133.
“It was a big night for us,†Logan Stieber said. “I went out and got a pin, and Hunter followed it up with a big win. He knew Kellen Russell was a national champion and a real tough kid. Hunter just went out there with nothing to lose and wrestled hard. It was a huge win for him to boost his confidence. Hopefully, we both can carry it into tomorrow.â€
The talented, young Ohio State team also saw true freshman Johnni DiJulius reach the semifinals at 125. Buckeyes Nick Heflin (174) and Peter Capone (285) also reached the semis.
Sixth-ranked Ohio State grabbed the lead in the team race with 69 points. Ninth-ranked Michigan is second with 63.5, followed by third-ranked Cornell (61), No. 15 Wyoming (58) and No. 18 Oregon State (56.5).
Another top freshman, Edinboro’s David Habat, pulled off an upset of his own at 149. The ninth-seeded Habat downed top seed Tyler Nauman of Pittsburgh 5-2 in the quarters.
Unseeded Zach Zehner of Wyoming reached the semis at 141 after knocking off No. 2 seed Ryan Mango of Stanford and No. 7 seed Ridge Kiley of Nebraska.
Two-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake, a junior, rolled into the semifinals at 157.
SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS
125 POUNDS
Nic Bedelyon (Kent State) vs. Steve Bonnano (Hofstra)
Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) vs. Frank Perrelli (Cornell)
133 POUNDS
Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs. Zach Stevens (Michigan)
Aaron Schopp (Edinboro) vs. Zach Zehner (Wyoming)
141 POUNDS
Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) vs. Tyler Small (Kent State)
Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) vs. Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly)
149 POUNDS
David Habat (Edinboro) vs. Eric Grajales (Michigan)
Josh Wilson (Utah Valley State) vs. Cole Von Ohlen (Air Force)
157 POUNDS
Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. Steven Monk (North Dakota State)
James Green (Nebraska) vs. T.J. Hepburn (Nebraska-Kearney)
165 POUNDS
Shane Onufer (Wyoming) vs. Joe Booth (Drexel)
Stephen Burak (Northern Colorado) vs. Paul Gillespie (Hofstra)
174 POUNDS
Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) vs. Justin Zeerip (Michigan)
Ryan DesRoches (Cal Poly) vs. Nick Heflin (Ohio State)
184 POUNDS
Steve Bosak (Cornell) vs. Jacob Swartz (Boise State)
Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) vs. Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming)
197 POUNDS
Chris Honeycutt (Edinboro) vs. Taylor Meeks (Oregon State)
Matthew Wilps (Pittsburgh) vs. Matt Powless (Indiana)
285 POUNDS
Levi Cooper (Arizona State) vs. Peter Capone (Ohio State)
Atticus Disney (Cal Poly) vs. Clayton Jack (Oregon State)