No. 2 Ohio State is set to finish its Big Ten dual season with matches against No. 1 Penn State and Maryland this weekend. The Buckeyes, who are currently 17-0 overall and 6-0 in the conference, will face the Nittany Lions on Friday at the Bryce Jordan Center before traveling to College Park to take on Maryland on Sunday.
Ohio State recently secured victories over several ranked teams, including a win against No. 5 Iowa in their final home dual of the season at the Covelli Center. Earlier wins came against No. 25 Wisconsin (30-10) and No. 13 Michigan (26-16), followed by a victory over Iowa (24-9). These results contributed to Ohio State’s best start in program history, as well as an undefeated home record of 7-0 at the Covelli Center.
The Buckeyes have achieved a school-record 17 consecutive dual wins this season. Their performance includes a perfect record against top-ranked opponents: they are 4-0 versus Top 5 teams, 8-0 against Top 10, and 11-0 facing Top 25 competition.
Last Friday, Ohio State held a ceremony honoring its seniors and team managers. Those recognized included managers Noah Loris, Ava Marinell, Taylor Csanyi, Frank Saldana, Emma Schatzel; athletes Peyton Fenton, Carter Chase, Paddy Gallagher, Carson Kharchla, and Jesse Mendez.
Entering the match with Penn State at a perfect record marks Ohio State’s most dual wins since finishing with an 18-2 record during Tom Ryan’s tenure in the 2009–10 season. Now in his twentieth year as head coach, Ryan has led the Buckeyes to ten or more wins in fifteen seasons.
Redshirt freshman Ben Davino leads the nation with eleven technical falls this season and has recorded an aggregate time of fifty-five minutes and eight seconds for those victories.
Earlier this year, Ohio State earned road wins over No. 7 Minnesota (29-9) and No. 6 Nebraska (17-16). Against Nebraska, heavyweight Nick Feldman clinched the team victory with a sudden-victory win over AJ Ferrari.
The Buckeyes began their Big Ten schedule by shutting out No. 23 Indiana (45-0) in Columbus—marking their first shutout of Indiana in series history—and previously shut out Maryland last January (41-0).
At the Red Raider Open tournament earlier this season, freshmen Brogan Fielding (141 lbs.) and Maddox Shaw (149 lbs.) each won titles in their respective weight classes.
On their trip west to Oregon State early this year, Ohio State posted a dominant win (41-3), conceding only one takedown during that meet.
Historically against Penn State, Ohio State last won in State College in 2009 by a score of 33-7; Penn State leads the all-time series between these programs at twenty-seven wins to twelve for Ohio State. The Buckeyes hold an all-time unbeaten record versus Maryland at nine wins without defeat—including four victories when wrestling in College Park.