Ohio State unseats West Virginia, 21-14

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Pat Kindig (Ohio State Sports Information)
01/09/2003


Morgantown, W.V. - The 7th-ranked Ohio State wrestling team (3-1, 0-0) knocked off 6th-ranked West Virginia (1-1, 0-0) 21-14 on Thursday night in the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. The match featured ranked battles in each of the 165, HWT, and 141 classes and three overtime matches as the Buckeyes clinched the victory with a Josh Daugherty (Sr., Huber Heights, Ohio) six-point victory via pin fall in the dual finale at 149 pounds.     Ohio State No. 2 Keaton Anderson (Sr., Pickerington, Ohio) kicked off the evening's events with a 6-1 decision over Matt Levy in the 157-pound match as he tallied three team points for the Buckeyes and improved his 2002-03 record to 18-1.     The ensuing 165 match between No. 5 John Clark (Jr., Canton, N.Y.) of Ohio State and No. 9 Tom McMath of WVU lived-up to its billing as the two battled to a tight 11-7 decision in favor of Clark as the Buckeyes pushed their lead to 6-0. Clark's victory is his 21st of the season as he moved to 5-0 on the season in dual matches.     Following losses in the 174 and 184 matches, including a major decision loss by Anthony Magistrelli (So., Maple Heights, Ohio) to reigning national champion and top-ranked Greg Jones in the 174-pound class and a 2-1 overtime decision that went in favor of West Virginia's No. 15 Ryan Wilman over OSU's Casey Kaputska (Centerville, Ohio), Ohio State rebounded from the 7-6 deficit as 197 Anton Talamantes (Sr., ranked 8th in all three polls, tallied a tight 3-1 decision over Adrian Thompson in a rematch dating back to the Las Vegas Invitational in early December, also a Talamantes victory. Talamantes moves to 18-3 and claims his first dual win of 2003 as the Buckeyes pulled to a 9-7 lead.     Ohio State HWT Tommy Rowlands (Jr., Hilliard, Ohio) stepped in against West Virginia's No. 12 Brent Miller in the HWT match and emerged with a 3-1 decision over Miller as he claimed his 22nd win of the season and improved his career duals record to 51-1. The Rowlands victory helped the Buckeyes boost their lead to five at 12-7.     OSU dropped a major decision in the 125 match as the Mountaineers closed to within 12-11, but 133 Jesse Leng (Jr., Hinckley, Ohio) scored an upset over No. 11 Brandon Lauer in overtime to give the Buckeyes a 15-11 edge heading into the marquee match up of the night between Buckeye 141 Jeff Ratliff (Jr., Marion, Ohio) ranked 13th in the Amateur Wrestling News, who met No. 11 Shane Cunanan in a rematch of a Las Vegas Invite bout, which went in favor of Ratliff via decision 7-2.     Ratliff and Cunanan grappled to overtime for the third time on the evening, before Cunanan scored with a takedown for a 3-1 sudden victory as the Mountaineers climbed within one at 15-14.     The final and deciding match at the 149-pound class between Ohio State's Josh Daugherty and West Virginia's No. 6 Billy Smith did not last long as Daugherty pinned the nationally ranked Smith just 53 seconds into the first period to clinch the OSU victory. The pin is Daugherty's fourth of the season.     Ohio State returns home to serve as host to the 2003 NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals, which features 16 of the top teams from Division I, II and III over the two-day event held on Jan. 18 and 19 at St. John Arena and French Field House.