The Ohio State Buckeyes kicked off the college wrestling season with impressive showings at the Clarion Open and a pair of lopsided dual meet victories. 

After wins over Chattanooga and Edinboro by a combined 76-10 score, the Buckeyes have one more dual — Sunday at home against Hofstra — before they travel to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Invitational. 

Which wrestlers have impressed the Ohio State staff thus far? Ohio State coach Tom Ryan didn’t hesitate. 

“Brendan McCrone,” Ryan said. “He’s really continued to improve. Luke Geog has shown us things. We’ve wanted him to not settle on points already in hand and to continue building his leads and there’s been growth there. And Sammy (Sasso) has been remarkable. He’s not yet wrestling at a level that he’s used to and that’s very hard for him. Compared to where he was, there’s a sense, a realization for him of ‘Yeah. I’m really hurt.’ He’s not giving into it.”

Ryan is impressed with how Sasso, a four-time All-American has coped and worked in his return after missing last season with injuries sustained when he was shot in the abdomen in a carjacking. “With Sammy, there’s a realization of, ‘I’m hurt. I can’t do the things I used to be able to do and move the way I used to move.’ It’s really hard on him. But, he comes in every day with an amazing attitude and works every day. 

“Nerves heal at a certain rate each week, they regenerate at a certain rate, and so we’re looking at the long play. We’re looking at the NCAA tournament for Sammy with hope.”  

Two of the Buckeyes’ best — 141-pound national champion Jesse Mendez and All-American heavyweight Nick Feldman — competed Saturday at the NWCA All-Star Classic. 

Mendez notched a 4-1 victory against Penn State’s Beau Bartlett in a rematch of last year’s Big Ten and NCAA title bouts while Feldman dropped an 8-3 decision against Campbell’s Taye Ghadiali. 

“Nick’s a little dinged up, but that’s not an excuse,” Ryan said. “He wanted to wrestle. I think he thought it’d be a little easier than it was, and he learned that it’s never easy. Nothing is easy at this level. (Ghadiali) is a tough kid. Still, it was a surprising loss to us. It wasn’t the fact that he lost so much, but the way that the match occurred. Nick is way tougher than what he showed and I think he thought it’d be easy. It wasn’t, and he never rebounded. 

“We have all the confidence in the world in Nick. When you train the way he trains and live the way he lives, you have confidence. He has the discipline and the love you need to be successful. All the things you need to shake stuff like this off, he has. We have a saying, ‘Hard on self, not down on self.’ There’s a difference. You should be hard on yourself. What he showed that night isn’t Nick Feldman’s standard, but don’t get down about it. Do something about it.”

Mendez displayed his defensive stinginess and secured the bout’s only takedown against Bartlett. It was their fourth meeting in the last year and all of them have ended in a 4-1 score. Mendez has won three straight since since Bartlett won their meeting last February in the Ohio State-Penn State dual. 

“Obviously, Beau is one that can never be taken lightly,” Ryan said. “When you’re really fit, which Bartlett is, and you love to fight, you’re dangerous. It’s the whole, ‘Give me the man that’s not afraid to die’ thing. That’s the most dangerous man on the planet. Bartlett has that mindset, and that’s something we know. He’s gonna keep coming at you. 

“Right now, Jesse just has more skill. Bartlett is a great competitor and wrestler, but Jesse has that as well, and Jesse’s skill is better in more positions. Jesse’s a fitness freak and he’s a gladiator. Our advantage right now comes down to the skill level, and we think Jesse has that over Beau. I'm taking nothing away from him. The kid is a beast. Our advantage right now is just skill level. Jesse can score from a lot of positions, and he’s just hard to wrestle. He’s got good defense, he can go to the left leg, the other leg, he can slow you down. He’s just so tough in all positions.”

“Officially Unsettled” Weights

Ryan declared multiple weight classes in the Buckeye starting lineup as still up for grabs.

“At 125, 157, 165, 174 and 184, we’re still open,” he said. “They’re still officially unsettled. There are frontrunners at some of those weights, but they’re still open.”

Ryan mentioned injuries and performances against common opponents as one reason an official starting lineup hasn’t been determined yet. He specifically mentioned Brandon Cannon as one who could make 157 interesting.

“We’ve got guys dealing with injuries or coming back from them,” he said. “Just one example —  Paddy Gallagher. He’s our guy right now, but Brandon Cannon is going to get a shot. 

“Certain guys definitely have the edge, but nobody officially has won the spot in those weights.”