Wrestling: Ohio State Eyes Big Ten Championship Glory in State College
The Big Ten Wrestling Championships will take place this Saturday and Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa., with Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan and the Buckeyes preparing to compete for the program’s first conference title since the 2017-18 season.
All 10 Ohio State wrestlers earned top-eight spots in the Big Ten pre-seedings, with Jesse Mendez claiming the Buckeyes’ only No. 1 seed at 141 pounds.
The other Ohio State preseeds include Ethan Stiles at No. 2 (149 pounds), Nic Bouzakis No. 3 (125), Ben Davino No. 3 (133), Nick Feldman No. 3 (heavyweight), Carson Kharchla No. 5 (174), Luke Geog No. 5 (197), Dylan Fishback No. 6 (184), Brandon Cannon No. 7 (157), and Paddy Gallagher No. 8 (165).
In a 141-pound weight class featuring Nebraska’s Brock Hardy (4th-ranked nationally according to InterMat, No. 2 seed at Big Ten Championships), Minnesota’s Vance VomBaur (8th, No. 3) and Iowa’s Nasir Bailey (13th, No. 4), Mendez is the heavy favorite to take home a second Big Ten title in three seasons. The two-time national champion has posted a flawless 19-0 record this year, winning 17 of those matches by bonus points and defeating each of the three wrestlers ranked directly behind him with extra-point victories.
Ryan said he expects Mendez to approach the tournament with the same focus and intensity that have defined his career, aiming not just to win, but to dominate every match.
“Jesse is an amazing example. I don’t think he set out his life goal to be this ‘everybody looked at me, I’m a great example,’ he just is. Leaders can’t help it, to some degree. He does all the right things,’ Ryan said. “He’s coming in here a bit angry. Last year, he took home fourth (at the Big Ten Championships) and won the national title. Two years ago, he won the Big Ten. So he wants to win this and set himself up to win his third national title. So he’s coming here pretty hungry. He’s not a fat cat, he’s fired up.”
At 133 pounds, redshirt freshman Ben Davino is taking on the conference and national tournaments for the first time in his career. After posting a team-best 23 wins to just one loss in the regular season, falling to Penn State freshman Marcus Blaze 3-2 in the second tiebreaker, Davino will have a significant uphill battle in one of the most competitive weight classes in the nation.
Leading the class is Blaze, who earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament following a 19-0 regular season an 84.2% bonus rate, Illinois’ No. 3 Lucas Byrd, the 2025 national champion at 133, and three other All-American wrestlers in Wisconsin’s No. 4 Zan Fugitt, Iowa’s No. 5 Drake Ayala and Nebraska’s No. 6 Jacob Van Dee.
Facing a tough first attempt at the conference title, Ryan told Davino to enjoy the process and trust his training.
“Trust your coaches, trust your training, trust yourself, trust your belief system,” Ryan said. “Just have fun No. 1, and trust all the things in your life that you’ve been able to build a successful wrestling career on up to this one.”
Kharchla will make his final push for a Big Ten Championship as a graduate after finishing fourth twice and third in 2024, though he will need to rebound from several regular-season losses to reach that stage.
The seventh-year Buckeye may have to avenge losses to Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy (3rd-ranked nationally according to InterMat, No. 3 seed at Big Ten Championships) and Nebraska’s Christopher Minto (4th, No. 1).
In a similar boat is the Ohio State heavyweight, Feldman. The redshirt junior, who finished 19-4 overall this season, dropped two bouts to the conference’s top-four-seeded wrestlers. Feldman fell to No. 1 seed Taye Ghadiali of Michigan (fourth nationally) and No. 2 seed Cole Mirasola of Penn State (fifth nationally), while he defeated No. 4 AJ Ferrari (third nationally) twice during the regular season.
Ryan said for veterans Feldman and Kharchla, the experience and skill are there, though their success will come down to whether they can be strong mentally.
“Just have a strong mind, No. 1, be unbelievably tough in your thoughts,” Ryan said. “You can’t let the enemy, whatever enemy that is, a human sometimes, just the enemy of ourselves, seep into you and take control of your thinking. You have to guard your mind from ridiculous thoughts that have no place in productivity. Those are the biggest things for our guys. They’re ready and their skills are good.”
Though he missed Ohio State’s last six duals with a knee injury, No. 7 seed Brandon Cannon will also look for redemption at the Big Ten Championships following a second-place finish in 2025.
After Cannon finished the dual season 13–0 and ranked No. 1 nationally, Ryan, who believed Cannon should have won the conference championship last season, said he still has confidence in the redshirt sophomore, even if he isn’t fully healthy.
“He was ranked No. 1 for a reason. He’s healing, but I don’t know if he’s 100% yet, but he’s got enough of a percent that he can continue to replicate what he did during the year,” Ryan said. “You’re the same person you were basically when you were ranked eighth at the (beginning of the season) or first. Put away the ranking and focus on your wrestling.”
Ryan said that during tournament time, he and the Ohio State coaching staff concentrate on the finer details that can determine the outcome of a match.
“There’s certainly some slight changes in your training,” Ryan said Thursday. “You’re kind of in a sharpening phase of training, so you shorten practices, you increase intensity, you focus heavily on just individual strengths and make sure that guys continue to do the things they’re really good at. Then you also focus on a few things that could be pivotal in close matches.
Despite the intensity and high stakes of tournament season, Ryan emphasized the importance of perspective and enjoying the process regardless of the end result.
“I’m also just reminding them, because I think there’s underlying stress just as the championship season comes, that we’re just grateful and to have fun. This is what we choose to do. We love it and we’re willing to accept any outcome.”
The Big Ten Championships begin on Saturday with the first round, quarterfinals, and wrestlebacks are set begin at 10 a.m. on the Big Ten Network. Consolation matches and additional wrestlebacks will air at 5 p.m. on B1G+. The semifinals are scheduled for 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
On Sunday, the consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches start at 12 p.m. on B1G+. The first, third, and fifth-place matches are set for 4:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
Image courtesy of Ohio State Athletics