Ohio State defeats Nebraska

COLUMBUS, Ohio. -- The sixth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers gave the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes all they could handle on Sunday afternoon at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. NU won four of the six bouts as OSU battled their way to a 21-12 win. The Buckeyes have been the national runner-up at the last two NCAA Championships and return several key contributors from last years team.

Zeke Moisey (125), Tyler Berger (157), Isaiah White (165) and Mikey Labriola (174) all earned victories by decision for the Huskers. Two of Ohio State's six wins came courtesy of bonus points as No. 6 Luke Pletcher (major decision) and No. 3 Micah Jordan (tech. fall) added points at the 133 and 149-pound matches, respectively.

No. 18 Zeke Moisey started the dual off strong for NU as he held off OSU freshman No. 16 Malik Heinselman with an 8-5 decision. Moisey went to his offense immediately in the first period, notching a takedown and a four-point nearfall to take an early 6-0 lead. He was able to grind out an 8-5 win as Heinselman landed a takedown in each of the final two periods.

OSU took two of the next three matches by bonus points to build a 12-3 lead over the Huskers. No. 6 Luke Pletcher earned a 13-4 major decision over NU's Jevon Parrish to get the Buckeyes on the board. No. 20 Chad Red Jr. fell in a 7-1 decision to No. 3 Joey McKenna and Jordan Shearer lost by tech. fall to No. 3 Micah Jordan.

Huskers senior Tyler Berger won his 109th career match on Sunday afternoon, putting him in a tie for 15th all-time in career victories at Nebraska. He trailed 2-0 early in the match before responding with two first period takedowns of his own to take the lead for good. His 10-5 decision cut the Buckeyes' lead to 12-6 at the halfway point of the dual.

After intermission, No. 6 Isaiah White won his 14th match in his last 16 bouts as he rode a first period takedown to a 4-2 win over OSU's No. 12 Te'Shan Campbell.

Redshirt freshman No. 9 Mikey Labriola tied up the match for his team with an impressive 9-5 decision against OSU's No. 18 Ethan Smith. Leading 4-2 heading into the third period, an escape and a quick takedown for Labriola put the match out of reach as he was able to grab his 20th win of the season.

With the two top-10 teams tied at 12 with three matches to go, OSU wrapped up the dual with victories at 184, 197 and 285 pounds. No. 1 Myles Martin outlasted NU's No. 6 Taylor Venz in a 12-5 decision. Martin is a three-time All-American and a three-time NCAA finalist.

Redshirt sophomore Eric Schultz (197) nearly pulled off the best win of his career over the Buckeyes' No. 2 Kollin Moore. Trailing 5-3 in the third period, Schultz landed a takedown with one second left on the clock to tie the bout up at five. The two grapplers went to an overtime period, but Moore earned a takedown to grind out a 7-5 win in sudden victory.

Mobridge, S.D., native No. 10 David Jensen fell in a 7-5 decision to No. 19 Chase Singletary to end the dual.

With the loss, the Huskers fall to 11-5 (5-4 Big Ten) on the season and Ohio State moves to 10-2 (6-2 Big Ten).

Results:
125: No. 18 Zeke Moisey (NEB) dec. No. 16 Malik Heinselman (OSU), 8-5 (NEB 3, OSU 0)
133: No. 6 Luke Pletcher (OSU) major dec. Jevon Parrish (NEB), 13-4 (OSU 4, NEB 3)
141: No. 3 Joey McKenna (OSU) dec. No. 20 Chad Red Jr. (NEB), 7-1 (OSU 7, NEB 3)
149: No. 3 Micah Jordan (OSU) tech. fall Jordan Shearer (NEB), 22-7 (OSU 12, NEB 3)
157: No. 2 Tyler Berger (NEB) dec. No. 6 Ke-Shawn Hayes (OSU), 10-5 (OSU 12, NEB 6)
165: No. 6 Isaiah White (NEB) dec. No. 12 Te'Shan Campbell (OSU), 4-2 (OSU 12, NEB 9)
174: No. 9 Mikey Labriola (NEB) dec. No. 18 Ethan Smith (OSU), 9-5 (OSU 12, NEB 12)
184: No. 1 Myles Martin (OSU) dec. No. 6 Taylor Venz (NEB), 12-5 (OSU 15, NEB 12)
197: No. 2 Kollin Moore (OSU) SV-1 No. 13 Eric Schultz (NEB), 7-5 (OSU 18, NEB 12)
285: No. 19 Chase Singletary (OSU) dec. No. 10 David Jensen (NEB), 7-5 (OSU 21, NEB 12)

Up Next:
The Huskers will close out the regular season with one last home dual against the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. NU will honor its five seniors in a ceremony prior to the first match. The first 500 fans will in attendance will get a free Huskers wrestling t-shirt.