Ohio Wrestling Tops North Carolina 19-16

Contact: Brian Stanley, (740) 593-0054 or sports.media@ohio.edu

ATHENS, Ohio (January 20, 2001) -- In a closely contested battle, Ohio (7-3) pulled out a 19-16 victory over North Carolina (2-3). Ohio's Dan Bednar's major decision in the ninth match of the meet proved to be the deciding factor as it forced Carolina to get a meet tying pin in the last match. Tar Heel Matt Kenney nearly got that pin in the first period of his match with Brad Bauer. Bauer was able to keep his shoulders off the mat and Kenney, a 7-2 winner, never got another chance for a fall.

North Carolina got off to a quick start as Chris Collins pinned Ohio's Mike Caruso at 1:08. The Bobcats tied things up with two straight decisions. Anthony Carrizales (Delta) defeated Carolina's Brad Byers 9-5. With the match tied at four going into the third period, Carrizales used a takedown and a near fall in succession to pull out the victory. At 141 lbs., Ohio's Shane Hartler used a near fall midway through the third period to secure an 8-4 victory over Mike Booth.

After North Carolina's #12, JohnMark Bentley, used two late takedowns to pull away from Andy Reichenbach, 13-5, Ohio used three straight decisions to take a 15-10 lead. Ben Gabriel (Zanesville), John Wervey (Chagrin Falls) and Luke Moore (Springfield) picked up the wins. Moore's was a two overtime affair with #14, Corey Bell. The sophomore escaped with 13 seconds left to pick up the upset win, 5-4. At 184, Tar Heel, Nick Richmond, defeated Mark Shrout (Murraysville, Pa.) 7-2, cutting the gap to 15-13, but the Bobcats hung on in the last to matches to secure the victory over the Tar Heels.

Ohio returns to the mat tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. when they host defending MAC champion Central Michigan (9-5, 0-0).

Results

Ohio 19, North Carolina 16

125 - Chris Collins (UNC) WBF Mike Caruso, 1:08

133 - Anthony Carrizales (Ohio) dec Brad Byers, 9-5

141 - Shane Hartzler (Ohio) dec Mike Booth, 8-4

149 - JohnMark Bentley (UNC) md Andy Reichenbach, 13-5

157 - Ben Gabriel (Ohio) dec Chris DiGuiseppe, 7-1

165 - John Wervey (Ohio) dec Jake Reynolds, 6-4

174 - Luke Moore (Ohio) dec Corey Bell, 5-4 2OT

184 - Mick Richmond (UNC) dec Mark Shrout, 7-2

197 - Dan Bednar (Ohio) md Clint Osborn, 13-4

HWT - Matt Kenney (UNC) dec Brad Bauer, 7-3