Ohio State upsets second-ranked Iowa

Two more streaks have ended for the University of Iowa wrestling team.

Ohio State won seven of 10 matches, handling the second-ranked Hawkeyes, 21-9, Friday night at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Iowa's loss snaps a 50-dual unbeaten streak on the road and 39-dual winning streak against Big Ten opponents. It was the Hawkeyes' first loss since having their record 84-dual unbeaten streak snapped Jan. 7 against Oklahoma State.

Iowa (9-2, 4-1 Big Ten) rarely has been on the losing end of a lopsided result.

“That hasn't happened in a long time to this program,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said in a post-meet interview on KXIC 800 AM radio. “It's a low point.”

The seventh-ranked Buckeyes (9-2, 3-2) scored first in eight of 10 matches, winning five straight matches after Iowa's 125-pounder Matt McDonough opened the dual with a 5-2 victory over Johnni Dijulius. Ohio State held a 53-42 match-point advantage with a shocking 15-8 edge in takedowns.

Brands told KXIC's Steven Grace and Mark Ironside the Hawkeyes were ambushed and failed to adjust, getting beat up in various positions.

“We let them wrestle perfect matches,” Brands said. “There's no excuse there except we let them dictate pretty much everything. That would be a pretty good summation of what happened.”

Ethen Lofthouse (174) and heavyweight Blake Rasing, who received the nod over previous starter Bobby Telford, were the only Hawkeyes to score first. Lofthouse beat Joe Grandominico, 7-1. Rasing, the defending Big Ten champion who has been a reserve, beat 15th-ranked Peter Capone, 6-2, after the dual had been decided.

The Buckeyes pulled off a few strong upsets. Logan Stieber, ranked fourth, blanked Iowa's No. 2 Tony Ramos, 7-0, at 133, scoring three nearfall points in the second and a takedown in the third. Stieber's brother, Hunter, followed with a 4-2 decision over the Hawkeyes' third-ranked Montell Marion at 141.

Derek St. John returned to competition for the first time since injuring his right knee during a dual against University of Northern Iowa on Dec. 10. He re-aggravated the knee injury early and gave up three takedowns, losing 7-3 to Josh Demas at 157.

Ohio State had not beaten Iowa since 1966 and claimed its third win ever against the Hawkeyes.

“My mouth is dry,” Brands said. “I tell you what they really gave it to us. As an Iowa Hawkeye competitor … you never want to be here again.”

Iowa returns to action Sunday, traveling to State College, Pa., for a dual against third-ranked Penn State (7-1, 3-1).

 125 pounds - Matt McDonough (I) dec. Johnni Dijulius, 5-2 (1,0); 133 - Logan Stieber (OSU) dec. Tony Ramos, 7-0 (1, 0); 141 - Hunter Stieber (OSU) dec. Montell Marion, 4-2 (1, 0); 149 - Cam Tesari (OSU) dec. Mike Kelly, 9-4 (2, 1); 157 - Josh Demas (OSU) dec. Derek St. John, 7-3 (3, 1); 165 - Derek Garcia (OSU) dec. Mike Evans, 6-5 (3, 0); 174 - Ethen Lofthouse (I) dec. Joe Grandominico, 7-1 (2, 0); 184 - Nick Heflin (OSU) dec. Vinnie Wagner, 7-4 (3, 0); 197 - Andrew Campolattano (OSU) dec. Grant Gambrall, 8-6 (2, 1); Hwt. - Blake Rasing (I) dec. Peter Capone, 6-2 (2, 0).

Takedowns: Iowa 8, OSU 15; Reversals: Iowa 2, OSU 2; Escapes: Iowa 18, OSU 11; Nearfall points: Iowa 0, OSU 5; Penalty points (awarded): Iowa 1, OSU 2. Riding time points: Iowa 3, OSU 2. Total match points: Iowa 42, OSU 53.

Attendance: 5,684.