Tom Ryan calls Ohio State wrestling's win over Michigan 'uplifting'

Ohio State wrestling coach Tom Ryan saw a classic rivalry against Michigan come down to the final bout. Faced with a higher ranked opponent, redshirt freshman heavyweight Nick Feldman got it done for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State won 20-19 after trailing 19-9 with three bouts to go. Safe to say, it didn’t look good for the Buckeyes late in the dual.

That wasn’t until Ryder Rogotzke, Luke Geog and Feldman ripped off three straight wins, including a tech fall from Rogotzke over Jaden Bullock to get the win.

“That stage and this opportunity is something that God has given me,” Feldman said. “He’s given me such a great environment, such great people to wrestle for. I think there’s no better place in the world than the Covelli Center, than Ohio State. So it’d be a shame if I didn’t go out there and show the world what I can do.”

Feldman, ranked No. 16 at heavyweight, took down No. 4 Lucas Davison 4-3 with a decisive takedown as the difference.

“There’s so many things I could talk about,” an exuberant Ryan said after the win.

As Ryan put it, beating your rival is the icing on the cake when it comes to a dual win in epic fashion.

“I think I’m most happy for my team, but I’m happy just for the fans,” Ryan said. “When you come to an event like this, doesn’t matter how long the wait is getting out. If the wait is five hours getting out (of the venue), who cares? Everyone just had a great night, they were uplifted. And uplifting stuff is what we need in the world.”

What really turned the match was Rogotzke’s tech fall win over Bullock. The latter was ranked No. 15 for the Wolverines coming into Friday night’s dual.

“The way we scored points and the fight that that true freshman showed – Rogotzke had 193 pins in high school,” Ryan said. “He is a dangerous wrestler and he wrestles freely. We all see it. He got us going.”

Sometimes duals come down to one wrestler’s ability to overcome rankings and pull off an upset. Feldman did just that to give Ohio State a landmark win in 2024.

With the win, Ohio State improved to 12-1 on the season and 4-0 in Big Ten duals. Next up, a match with Rutgers (10-3, 3-2) in Piscataway Sunday, February 4th at 1:00 p.m. ET.