Wrestling: Jesse Mendez And Ben Davino Win Big Ten Championships As Ohio State Earns Runner-Up Team Finish

Ohio State’s redshirt freshman No. 3 Ben Davino and senior No. 1 Jesse Mendez claimed conference titles at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively, as the Buckeyes claimed second place at the Big Ten Championships in State College, Pa, over the weekend.

While Davino and Mendez claimed Big Ten Championships, four Buckeyes earned third place, one finished in fourth place and two Ohio State wrestlers finished in seventh place.

Ohio State finished second overall with 148.5 team points, the highest score for a second-place finisher since 2019. Penn State was crowned the Big Ten Champions, racking up a record-setting 184.0 team points over the weekend.

Davino faced off with Penn State’s No. 1 Marcus Blaze in a rematch of the Buckeye 133-pounder’s only loss of the season. After a scoreless first period, Davino escaped in the second for a 1-0 lead and Blaze escaped early in the third to tie the bout 1-1, sending the match to sudden victory with no score. In the tiebreakers, Blaze escaped first before Davino answered to tie it 2-2. Davino then clinched the Big Ten championship 3-2 on a riding time advantage.

In Mendez’ bout with No. 2 Brock Hardy of Nebraska immediately following Davino’s title, the Ohio State senior wrestler struck first with a first-period takedown and led 3-1 after Hardy escaped. Mendez then added an escape in the second and a Hardy escape in the third period decreased the Buckeyes’ advantage to two. However, Mendez secured a late takedown in the third period to seal the 7-2 decision and his second Big Ten title.

Both Davino and Mendez finished a perfect 4-0 over the weekend.

In the 149-pound championship, Ohio State’s No. 2 Ethan Stiles lost to Penn State’s No. 1 Shayne Van Ness by fall at 3:29 as the Buckeye finished in second place.

Four Buckeyes claimed third at the Big Ten Championships. At 125 pounds, Ohio State’s No. 2 Nic Bouzakis defeated Indiana’s No. 4 Jacob Moran via a 4-2 decision.

The Buckeyes’ No. 4 Carson Kharchla topped No. 3 Patrick Kennedy of Iowa at 174 pounds by a 7-3 decision, fueled by key takedowns in the first and third period.

In the 197-pound weight class, Ohio State’s No.5 Luke Geog earned a 7-5 decision over Indiana’s No. 8  Gabe Sollars on the heels of two takedowns in the first minute of action.

At heavyweight, the Buckeyes’ No. 3 Nick Feldman defeated the Hawkeyes’ No. 10 Ben Kueter by a 6-2 decision with two third-period takedowns in the final 1:15.

No. 3 Kannon Webster of Illinois earned a 9-2 victory by decision over No. 7 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State at 157 pounds to take third place, leaving the Buckeye in fourth.

Ohio State’s No. 8 Paddy Gallagher claimed seventh place via a medical forfeit from Illinois’ No. 6 Braeden Scoles. The Buckeyes’ Dylan Fishback also claimed seventh place by a medical forfeit from Iowa’s Angelo Ferrari.

All 10 Buckeyes secured spots in the 2026 NCAA Championships, set for March 19-21 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The NCAA selection show will air at 8 p.m. on Wednesday on NCAA.com.

_{Image courtesy of Ohio State Athletics}