Thu Feb 25 2021 | Ella Brockway | College
PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER
Ohio State left its Feb. 14 loss to Northwestern knowing it had played far from its best.
The Buckeyes were held scoreless until the second half of their eventual 23-7 loss, and even though they were facing one of the best opponents in the country, they knew they were better than what transpired on the field in Evanston.
They spent the next week of practice even though it was still only the second week of the season in reset mode. They went back to the drawing board, drilling through 50-50 competition scenarios and making the necessary adjustments to avoid a repeat performance in its next game. Another top-10 opponent was next up on the slate: That Team Up North, No. 9 Michigan.
For the first time versus Ohio State since 2007, Michigan wrestling fans could hail the victors valiant on their home mat. The No. 2 Wolverines split five of 10 matches with the No. 8 Buckeyes Friday night in the Crisler Center, with Mason Parris tech fall over heavyweight Tate Orndorff the deciding factor. Parris bonus-point victory came just before intermission, but the meet came down to the very last minute of the meet, when 157-pounder WIll Lewan was awarded the victory and the dual by dint of having more riding time after all six sudden victory and tiebreaker periods. Lewan held off Elijah Cleary, who set the pace early but wasn t able to finish on a pair of first-period takedown attempts, to give his team the 18-16 victory.