OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Navy wrestling team (0-1) started its season with a 28-9 loss to second-ranked Ohio State (1-0) on Saturday night at the McDonogh School.
 
Joshua Roetman (Jr., Kotzebue, Alaska) and Jacob Allen (Fr., Poway, Calif.) earned the two wins for the Midshipmen in the dual. Roetman posted his third career victory via fall, while Allen started his collegiate career with a decision victory.
 
With the dual starting at 157 pounds, Connor Prince (Jr., Safety Harbor, Fla.) got off to a strong start for Navy and scored an early takedown against No. 8-ranked Ke-Shawn Hayes. However, Hayes escaped in just 21 seconds to limit the riding time for Prince. Hayes flipped the riding time in the second period and held a minute advantage in ride time, but Prince led 3-1 heading into the third period. Hayes rallied in the third period and grabbed a 7-5 victory. 
 
Tanner Skidgel (So., Tulsa, Okla.) continued the trend of early scoring for Navy after he was awarded a point following a hands to the face call against Kaleb Romero for the Buckeyes. In a close bout, Skidgel was leading 2-1 late in the third period, but Romero scored the only takedown of the match in the final 10 seconds of the bout to the flip the score in his favor, 3-2, and push Ohio State ahead, 6-0. 
 
"We had real opportunities to stay aggressive and finish the matches at 157 and 165 pounds," head coach Joel Sharratt said. Connor battled his way into the starting lineup and raised the bar for himself and the program. Tanner is a very talented competitor, but was just unable to closeout his match tonight."
 
At 174 pounds, Spencer Carey (Jr., Ringwood, N.J.) and No. 11 Te'Shan Campbell were scoreless through the first period. However, Campbell rode out Carey for the entire second period and racked up six near fall points to take a 6-0 lead into the final stanza. Campbell extended his lead to 7-0 before a late flurry from Carey resulted in five points. Carey looked for a late pin, but time ran out and Campbell escaped with an 8-5 decision.
 
With a 9-0 lead for the Buckeyes, No. 1 ranked Myles Martin – who graduated from McDonogh School – controlled the match at 184 pounds against Anthony Cable (Sr., Hughesville, Md.). Martin recorded five takedowns in the first period en route to a 21-6 technical fall in the third period. 
 
Navy found itself down 14-0 heading into the 197-pound bout and Kevin Snyder was the recipient of a hands to the face bonus point late in the first period to jump ahead of Roetman heading into the second period. Roetman evened the match with an escape and quickly turned the tables on Snyder with a pin at the 3:39 mark in the match to give the Midshipmen their first points of the night.
 
"Big win for Josh tonight against a strong Ohio State team," Sharratt exclaimed. "Josh competed very well tonight and did a great job as a competitor."
 
Andrew Piehl (Jr., Rogers, Minn.) and Gary Traub wrestled to a narrow 3-1 decision in the 285-pound match as Traub got the Buckeyes back on the board. Both grapplers traded escapes to start the second and third periods to keep the match tied. Traub scored the lone takedown in the match with 40 seconds left in the third period. Piehl notched a late escape, but was unable to complete the comeback in a 3-2 defeat to Traub.
 
Another scoreless first period was featured at 125 pounds, but Allen started the scoring in the match with an escape. After Mead scored a takedown, Allen squared the match with his second escape of the night. At the start of the third period with Allen on top, Mead hedged ahead by two points after a reversal. Following a reset from a stalemate, Allen escaped to cut his deficit to one and then scored a takedown to earn a 5-4 victory and cut the Navy deficit to 17-9.
 
"Jacob has been an incredibly strong performer for us. He has battled his way into the starting lineup as a freshman and is now producing impressive results as a Navy wrestler," Sharratt said.
 
Ohio State closed the dual with three-straight top-five wrestlers at 133, 141 and 149 pounds.
 
In the 133-pound match, No. 4 Luke Pletcher scored two quick takedowns to grab a 4-1 lead in the first period. Casey Cobb (So., Nampa, Idaho) fought back with three-straight points to tie the score at four. However, as time expired in the first period, Pletcher was credited with an escape to grab a 5-4 advantage. Over the final two periods, Pletcher was only able to score one escape and was award the riding time bonus point to earn the 7-4 decision over Cobb.
 
Nicholas Gil (Sr., Crystal Lake, Ill.) started fast against No. 2 Joey McKenna with a quick takedown. McKenna – who just beat No. 5 Kaid Brock from Oklahoma State on Friday night – escaped in 25 seconds to limit Gil's riding time. McKenna tied the match with an escape to start the second period and neither individual scored for the remainder of the period. McKenna rode out Gil for the entire third period to earn the riding time bonus points and the 3-2 decision to push Ohio State's lead to 23-9.
 
"Our team captain Nick Gil showed that he is in the mix with the top-tier athletes in the country," Sharratt said. "Going into the third period tied 2-2, if we make some adjustments on the mat he could have been ahead 3-2 against a top-two ranked wrestler."
 
Rounding out the night at 149 pounds, No. 3 Micah Jordan controlled the match against No. 17 Jared Prince (Jr., Safety Harbor, Fla.) in the lone head-to-head match featuring two ranked wrestlers. Jordan recorded the second tech fall of the night for the Buckeyes in a 16-1 win against Jared Prince to seal the 28-9 victory for Ohio State. 
 
"Jared made a mistake on a defense and it cost him," Sharratt stated. "He is a leader on this team alongside Nick and they both know we have a group of talented competitors that have a lot of upside heading into the rest of the season.
 
"It is exciting to be in season and testing these guys weekly as we work towards our team goals," Sharratt concluded.
 
The Midshipmen are back in action next Saturday as they travel to Vestal, N.Y. for the Binghamton Open. 
 
Ohio State 28, Navy 9
157 | #8 Ke-Shawn Hayes (OSU) dec. Connor Prince (Navy), 7-5
165 | Kaleb Romero (OSU) dec. Tanner Skidgel (Navy), 3-2
174 | #11 Te'Shan Campbell (OSU) dec. Spencer Carey (Navy), 8-5
184 | #1 Myles Martin (OSU) tech fall Anthony Cable (Navy), 21-6
197 | Joshua Roetman (Navy) fall Kevin Snyder (OSU), 3:39
285 | Gary Traub (OSU) dec. Andrew Piehl (Navy), 3-2
125 | Jacob Allen (Navy) dec. Brakan Mead (OSU), 5-4
133 | #4 Luke Pletcher (OSU) dec. Casey Cobb (Navy), 7-4
141 | #2 Joey McKenna (OSU) dec. Nicholas Gil (Navy), 3-2
149 | #3 Micah Jordan (OSU) tech fall Jared Prince (Navy), 16-1