Junior Terry Turner takes a defensive position during his match against Ohio State senior Logan Stieber Jan. 16, 2015, at Jenison Field House. The Spartans were defeated by the Buckeyes, 25-13. Alice Kole/The State News
Nick Trimble walked away from the mat with his hand help up high after his match on Friday night.
One of four wrestlers for the Spartans who came away with victories against the No. 3 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, a last-second takedown in sudden death resulted in a controversial call that sent the MSU crowd in uproar.
Failing to pick up the two points which would have gave the junior a quicker victory, the no-call was upheld by the referees after video review.
"I thought in Trimble's match he got a fall," head coach Tom Minkel said. "In fact, I'm almost certain that he got a fall there and he had control as well. The officials are doing the best they can and they didn't see it that way but fortunately Nick [Trimble] found a way to get the job done.”
Despite the added effort in the second sudden death round to overcome the no-call by taking down senior Randy Languis at 149 pounds, the top ranked Buckeyes' dominance in the other weights was too much for MSU to record the upset in the dual-meet, falling to OSU, 25-13 at Jenison Field House.
The Buckeyes got off to a hot start in the meet when Nathan Tomasello, the No. 7 ranked wrestler in the country at 125 pounds, recorded a 25-9 technical fall over Mitch Rogaliner.
Hermilo Esquivel gave the Spartans a sense of hope the following match at 133 pounds when he picked up a 12-4 major decision. But winning five of the last eight matches, including a pin fall and two major decision gave OSU their second Big Ten victory of the season.
During the final match on Friday, along with Esquivel, Chris Nash (heavyweight) recorded his first conference dual victory in his career, after winning 7-4 over Ray Gordon of OSU.
Minkel said after the meet that his team wrestled pretty well and it was nice to garner a few victories against one of the top ranked programs in the nation.
"Clearly we're not in the top four or five ourselves as a team," Minkel said. "Obviously we have a challenging schedule and as tough as these dual are, they're good for us because you see the best guys in the country. When you get to the NCAA's, you're not going to be intimidated."
It's been an enjoyable week for senior Nick Proctor (174), who recorded his second dual meet win this week, after defeating Dominic Prezzia, 5-1.
It's these type of victories, Proctor said, that can provide an immense amount of motivation heading into the Big Ten and national championships in early March. Riding a three dual meet win streak, Proctor is now 10-8 this season.
"It's a huge confidence booster," the senior said. "Last season, I was out and had a couple tough dual meets losses this season and that can make or break you. Three straight dual wins, that's big for me. Really confident going into the next meet."
The Spartans will get a week off before traveling to Ypsilanti, where they'll do battle with Eastern Michigan on Friday, January 23.
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