The Covelli Center crowd erupted last week when Nick Feldman scored a last-minute takedown that lifted Ohio State to a victory against Cornell in a top-10 dual clash. 

“It was a wild match, but a good team win,” Ohio State coach Tom Ryan said. “Fortunately, we showed we were good enough to overcome some tough losses. When one of your best guys gets teched (157-pounder Paddy Gallagher by Meyer Shapiro) and another one of your leaders gets pinned (184-pounder Gavin Hoffman by Chris Foca) and you still win the dual, that’s pretty positive.”  

The Buckeyes and Big Red split the 10 matches. Ohio State picked up a pin from Nic Bouzakis at 133, a technical fall from Rocco Welsh at 174 and major decision from Jesse Mendez at 141. 

Perhaps the night’s biggest surprise, though, was the final score of the Gallagher-Shapiro match — a 15-0 technical fall victory for the Cornell freshman.

“Being elite in wrestling is about fitness, strength and skill,” Ryan said. “But, it’s also about tactics and knowing what positions your opponent is strong in. It doesn’t matter if you’re in great shape and you continually show great effort throughout a match but continually put yourself in positions that are your opponents’ areas of strength. Against Shapiro, we did that.

“Eventually you have to assess, ‘Why did I make those decisions?’ Once you address and figure that out, you move forward. 

“It’d be nice to say that we’re the best in the world at every position and that nobody can stop us, but that’s rarely the case. The reality is usually, ‘I’m better at these things, so I need to put myself in these positions where I know I’m better.’ Shapiro is a special wrestler, and we walked right into the lion’s den as far as putting ourselves in positions where he’s strong. And we paid the price.”

It was apparent in the opening seconds of the first period that Gallagher’s right knee was bothering him following a lightning-quick Shapiro low-level attack for a takedown.  

“Paddy got hurt,” Ryan said. “First 10 seconds. He could be out for a bit.”

Rocco Impressing

While true freshman Rocco Welsh emerges as a more-than-capable replacement for the injured Carson Kharchla, Ryan is running short on superlatives for his budding young star. 

“He’s just so fundamentally good at the little things,” Ryan said. “He’s so solid.”

Ryan pointed out Welsh’s latest performance against Cornell, a 20-4 technical fall victory over Benny Baker. 

“If Rocco wins that match by seven or less, we lose the dual,” Ryan said.

How dominant has Welsh been in his brief college career?

He’s 12-1 on the season and his sole “loss” was a result of medically forfeiting out of the finals of the Cleveland State Open. Of his 12 wins, six have been by technical fall and another by pin.

Welsh will face the biggest test yet this Friday, against #6 Edmund Ruth of Illinois.

“That will be his biggest challenge so far,” Ryan said. “It’s one of the matches Friday night that we’re really looking forward to.”

Remember The Headgear Kyle Snyder Threw Into The Stands In Cleveland?

Perhaps Ryan and his Buckeye staff had Welsh secured as a recruit all along. Perhaps, as songs and poets say, it was destiny.

When he was 13, Welsh was sitting with his older brother, Tony, at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland. Along with 21,000 other fans, they’d just witnessed four-time World and Olympic champ Kyle Snyder finish his college career by beating Michigan’s Adam Coon for his third NCAA title. 

Maybe it was celebratory. Maybe it was goodwill towards the lucky fan who would catch it. Whatever the case, Snyder tossed his headgear into the stands after walking off the mat.

Rocco’s older brother, Tony, caught the unexpected gift, then promptly handed it to his little brother.

“It was crazy,” Welsh said. “I was sitting right next to Tony; he caught it and handed it right to me.”

The wide-eyed, junior high wrestler was thrilled.

“On our way out to the car, I remember trying to put it on,” he said. “It was too big; Kyle’s head was just way too big for me to make it fit.”

Welsh laughed at the memory.

“I hope to get him to sign it someday,” he said. “I was at a camp this summer and Kyle was there, but I forgot to bring it. 

“I don’t even think he knows the story. He doesn’t know I have his headgear.” 

Ohio State’s (Grappler) M.D. 

Dr. Michael Baria is the head team physician for the Buckeyes’ wrestling team, and Ryan couldn’t feel luckier.

“When it comes to having a team doctor who ‘gets it,’ who understands what wrestlers endure throughout a season, nobody is more fortunate than we are,” Ryan said.

The Buckeyes' team doctor wrestled himself, earning a third-place finish at the 2001 Ohio High School State Wrestling Championships for Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller High School. Baria went on to wrestle — and become team captain — for Harvard University.

“Mike is such an incredible resource,” Ryan said. “Hearing or learning things by word of mouth is one thing, but when you have a guy who has actually gone through what our wrestlers go through, a guy who’s experienced many of the same wrestling-related aches and pains our wrestlers experience, it’s incredible.

“He’s experienced the sport at a very high level. He understands the landscape and all that our sport demands. He’s been a great ally and he’s become a friend.

“We’re very, very fortunate to have Mike in our corner.”