Expect The Unexpected: Lance Palmer knocks Jason Johnstone in St. John’s debut; Corey Morrison stuns All-American Kirk Nail in overtime.

“That’s why they still wrestle the matches on the mat.”

For months pundits have been shaping the lineup for the newly revitalized Ohio State Buckeyes.  The “conventional wisdom” on the wrestling forums has been that:

Lance Palmer’s time would come, but Jason Johnstone, with two seasons in the Buckeye program, would be too technically advanced for him.

Corey Morrison might eventually blossom into a decent heavyweight, but would be no match for All-American Kirk Nail at this time.  In fact, many believed that Ohio State desperately needed to recruit a heavyweight for after Nail graduated.

Transfer Chris Vondruska gave the Buckeyes a 157 pounder that could compete in the Big Ten, something that Senior Jordin Humphrey was not.

All three of those scenarios may yet come to pass.  However, at the Ohio State Intrasquad meet on the night of October 12th- Palmer, Morrison, and Humphrey  all served notice publicly they have their own plans for this season.  The highlights:

Lance Palmer takes down Jason Johnstone

Some have questioned whether Lance Palmer would be ready to compete at a Big Ten level, or whether his style will translate well into college wrestling.   After last night, the answer to both question appears to be a resounding “yes.”  Certainly, nearly all observers agreed that Palmer would benefit from a year to redshirt behind highly-regarded former 2x state champion Jason Johnstone.

When they took the mat, my first observation was that Johnstone, after a year out of the Buckeye lineup (he redshirted behind Jeff Jaggers) looked very “fired up” for his return, while Palmer looked a bit apprehensive about his debut in St. John’s Arena.  The first half of the match seemed to support the conventional wisdom that Palmer was not quite ready.  Johnstone got in on an early takedown but could not convert as Palmer counter with a whizzer to force a stalemate.  The first stanza ended 0-0.  Palmer started down in the 2nd period and quickly escaped, but Johnstone immediately caught Palmer off-guard in the transition with a single that he finished nicely to take a 2-1 lead.  Johnstone immediately loaded up a 2-on-1 tilt, and appeared to be close to back points which would have given him a very solid lead.  However, Palmer maintained his composure and managed to not hold off the two-count.  Johnstone continued to ride and control Palmer as the match appeared to be going according to expectations.

And then with about 30 seconds left in the second, Palmer seemed to almost “wake up” and move to a whole different level.  Palmer picked up the intensity and hit an explosive move from the bottom (which I don’t quite have a name for), reversing Johnstone with 15 seconds left in the second period- after a scramble that saw him end up with a single leg- to take a 3-2 lead.  Johnstone, however, had a 1:23 riding time advantage, so the actual score at this point was 3-3.  

Johnstone elected to take neutral in the third period rather than face Palmer’s punishing mat wrestling skills and potentially lose his riding time.  Both wrestlers had some nice attempts in this period (notably Palmer with a great knee pick attempt) but you could see that Palmer was gaining strength and confidence while Johnstone was fading a bit.  Finally, with about 15 seconds left, Johnstone took attempted a half-hearted inside trip, and Palmer instantly responded to the opening as Johnstone with one of the most explosive double legs this writer has ever seen.  There was no scramble…..Palmer just blew through Johnstone and took him straight to his back.  Johnstone fought off his back in the closing seconds, but the damage was done- as Palmer scored a takedown and two back points for a 7-3 final that left the fans stunned.

Palmer beating Johnstone- What Result on the OSU Lineup?

The Palmer win shows why Tom Ryan has a tough job.  Clearly, Jason Johnstone is a quality wrestler that is ready to make his mark in the Big Ten.  If you wrestle him and redshirt Palmer, neither have lost a year of eligibility, and perhaps you can get them both into the next year by bulking one up into a 157.  However, Ryan has stated repeatedly that he will put the best team out on the mat that he can.   One match decided in the last 15 seconds is not definitive proof of who is the best 149 in Ohio State’s program at this time- but it will be difficult to erase the 7-3 result from the minds of Ohio State fans.
 
I spoke with Duane Palmer (Lance’s father) immediately after the match.  Palmer indicated to me that it was his hope that the coaches would wrestle Lance this year, especially given the result of this intrasquad match.  However, he also pointedly stated that he would respect whatever decision the coaches made.  On the match itself, Duane Palmer had this to say: “I’ve always stressed hard weightlifting and conditioning with Lance and Collin (Palmer).  It’s in that third period, where you really see the strength difference take effect…. when you are very strong it wears a guy down and that’s when you score more easily.”  Both Duane Palmer and I noted that the extra minute between a high school and college match would greatly benefit Lance- indeed it was at the 6:50 mark that he scored the decisive takedown and backpoints.

Corey Morrison Stuns Kirk Nail

The College Sports Television wrestling preview for Ohio State described the role of sophomore heavyweight Corey Morrison as such:  “moving up to provide depth is Corey Morrison of Shaker Heights, Ohio.”  Evidently, Morrison believes his role is to do something besides “provide depth” for the Buckeyes.   This match was the real shocker of the night.  All-American Kirk Nail entered ranked #3 in the nation, Corey Morrison is coming off a 7-18 season at 197 lbs. 

Nail scored first, with an arm drag to a leg attack that was really uncontested- just good solid technique and positioning by Nail. From there the wrestlers traded escapes, resulting in a 3-2 lead in the closing seconds.  Many of the fans got up to leave with five seconds remaining, believing Nail to have won.  However, the official gave Nail his second stalling warning at the buzzer, sending the match into overtime.  Nail was very close to scoring on a go-behind early in the overtime stanza but Morrison kept hustling and staved off the attempt.  At this point Nail appeared to have completely shot his energy, while Morrison looked as fresh as when the match began.  When they went back to the center, Morrison exploded through the fatigued Nail, driving him straight to his back where he held him for a five count, for an 8-3 overtime final score.

I don’t know that Morrison will be the starter here when its all said and done- but make no mistake, Morrison is for real.  Morrison looks to be a rock-solid 220-230 lbs right now, light for a heavyweight, but he has bulked up without sacrificing any speed- in fact the highly-mobile Morrison looked as light on his feet as a 149 lb. wrestler.  Watching Morrison bounce around on his feet was a stark contrast to the more traditional heavyweight wrestling style of Nail.  

Regardless of the intrasquad result, I look for the coaches to redshirt Morrison here and go with All-American Nail- even if Morrison has the edge in the wrestling room.  Corey Morrison is young for his grade- in face he just turned 19 in June.  The difference in strength between a 22-23 year old heavyweight versus a 19 year old is tremendous.  With a proven commodity in Nail ready to go, it make more sense to give Morrison another year to get bigger, stronger, and more technical working out with Nail, JD Bergman, Alex Picazo,  Mike Pucillo, and of course, Tommy Rowlands and Ross Thatcher.  If he can make a similar improvement to the one he has seemingly made in the last year, Morrison could be simply amazing next season.

Jordin Humphrey outlasts Chris Vondruska in Overtime

As much as Morrison’s role on this year squad was minimized in the College Sports write-up, Jordin Humphrey’s was diminished even more.  Here’s what the CSTV preview had to say about Humphrey:

“After splitting time at 149/157 last year, Jordin Humphrey of Indianapolis, Ind., will stay at 157 pounds on a permanent basis this year and is likely to supply solid depth behind Vondruska.  J. Humprhey (Misspelling of “Humphrey” by CSTV, not Ohio Wrestling Site) is the older brother of fellow Buckeye Reece Humphrey and son of former Ohio State wrestler Jim Humphrey.”  Despite apparently having so little chance to win, Humphrey decided to show up and wrestle anyway.

 The early part of the match went according to the “conventional wisdom” as Vondruska notched two quick single leg takedowns for a 4-1 lead.  However, Humphrey then escaped and caught Vondruska with a beautiful outside firemans as Vondruska was walking in.  While Vondruska escaped to close the first period with a 5-4 lead, that takedown seemed to give Jordin Humphrey all the momentum in the match.

The wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third periods, resulting in Vondruska clinging to a 6-5 lead with a minute remaining.  There were numerous great attempts during this time frame but no takedowns.  With :35 remaining, Vondruska appeared to have the takedown that would have virtually clinched the win, but somehow, Humphrey scrambled out and got the takedown himself, taking a 7-6 lead.  Vondruska got away to tie it at 7-7 with ten seconds to go, but Humphrey hit a beautiful lateral drop and was awarded the points at the buzzer.  However, Vondruska still had Humphrey’s ankle- in a position that is difficult to describe- and the crowd (maybe just hoping to see more of this great match in overtime) voiced their disapproval of the call.  This writer saw it as “two”.

Perhaps playing to the crowd, the officials then waived off the takedown as the announcer indicated it was after time had expired.  One might have thought that Humphrey would have had a let-down after such a superb effort was denied- but Humphrey didn’t let up at all.  In sudden-death, he immediately got behind Vondruska in a flurry and appeared to establish control, but no points were awarded as he did so as the two Buckeyes were rolling out of bounds.   Finally, Humphrey scored a clean double leg on the edge for the victory. 

It’s difficult to know what to make of this result as it was so unexpected.  Chris Vondruska won two matches at NCAA last year including a pin over Matt Nagel of Minnesota.  Humphrey (as evidence by his write-up in the preview) was almost an afterthought, but looked superb last night.  There’s no doubt that conditioning was a factor for Vondruska, just as it was for Nail.  Clearly, however, Ohio State has two solid 157’s to choose from.

Recap of All Bouts

Will Livingston, a freshman from New Jersey, was a buzz-saw.   Livingston scored two takedowns, four near-falls from leg-rides, and a reversal to notch a 16-0 technical fall.
He looked strong, fast, and brutal on top.  The reality is a true freshman in the Big Ten is going to take his lumps, but Livingston will be a quality starter from the get-go in my view.

TJ Enright versus Reece Humphrey was one of the most pivotal bouts of the night- maybe.  Both have posted solid seasons at 133 in the past, and neither will want to tangle with J. Jaggers at 141.  However- without knowing what the weigh-in policy was for the intrasquad- there appeared to be no way that Humphrey was anywhere near 133 or would ever see it again.  Enright, on the other hand, looked like he was planning to go back down to 133 as reported.  That said, Humphrey made a tactical error in letting Enright set the pace of the match.  Enright is an outstanding control wrestler, and went from a fist period single leg takedown to basically maintaining position with the lead.  Humphrey needed to generate more motion to take Enright out of position. Humphrey seemed to realize his mistake with about a minute to go and picked up the pace.  One interesting upper-body attack resulted in him coming out with a single leg that he nearly, but did not quite convert, as Enright held on for a 4-3 win.

Blake Maurer put on a takedown clinic against Wes Bergman, scoring eight takedowns en route to an 18-6 final.   Look for Maurer, currently ranked #12, to have a huge season if he can remain healthy.  Bergman has got to be tallest 174 I have ever seen, and showed at times his leverage had the potential to be dangerous.

Last but certainly not least, Ohio State’s best wrestler, #1 ranked (by www.revwrestling.com) J.D. Bergman made a solid showing in his return to St. John’s after a redshirt season.  For those who don’t know, Bergman had an outstanding off-season of wrestling, soundly defeating the last two NCAA runner-ups as well as former Buckeye All-American Nick Preston.  So I was actually impressed that sophomore transfer Zach Weinrich was able to stay competitive with him in a 13-7 bout.  Weinrich scored a reversal and made Bergman work for every takedown.  Only a sophomore, Weinrich is a transfer from Roger Williams University where he was an NCAA Qualifier in Division III.  When you figure that Ohio State also has former two-time Ohio state place-winner Jason Cook (a transfer from Campbell where he posted a solid 22-15 record)here, its clear that Ohio State has a great deal of depth (there’s that dreaded word again!) at this weight, just as they do at the other upperweight classes, 184 and 285.

Summary

All in all, the intrasquad was truly a great event.  The Palmer-Johnstone, Morrison-Nail, and Humphrey-Vondruska matches were all outstanding.  Great new talent emerged at those weights.  The enthusiasm of the crowd for the program was unmistakable, even if they were reluctant to cheer for one wrestler over another.  Ohio State’s new coaching regime has clearly infused a new intensity into the team.

Be sure to make Ohio State’s first home match against Missouri on November 16th at 7:30 a.m. if possible!   Missouri has one of the finest programs in the country, including the best collegiate wrestler since Cael Sanderson in Ben Askren at 174 lbs. 

The Ohio State 2006-2007 Schedule:

Sun	11/12/06	Michigan State Open	East Lansing, MI	All Day
Thu	11/16/06	Missouri	Columbus, OH	7:30 PM
Sun	11/26/06	Cornell	Ithaca, NY	2:00 PM
Fri	12/01/06	Las Vegas Invitational	Las Vegas, NV	All Day
Sat	12/02/06	Las Vegas Invitational	Las Vegas, NV	All Day
Sun	12/17/06	UT-Chattanooga	Columbus, OH	2:00 PM
Thu	12/28/06	Southern Scuffle	Greensboro, NC	All Day
Fri	12/29/06	Southern Scuffle	Greensboro, NC	All Day
Sun	01/07/07	Kent State	Columbus, OH	2:00 PM
Sun	01/14/07	Purdue	Columbus, OH	2:00 PM
Sun	01/21/07	Ashland Duals	Ashland, OH	10:00 AM
Fri	01/26/07	Penn State	State College, PA	7:00 PM
Sun	01/28/07	Indiana	Columbus, OH	2:00 PM
Fri	02/02/07	Michigan State	Columbus, OH	7:00 PM
Sun	02/04/07	Northwestern	Lakewood, OH	2:00 PM
Sun	02/11/07	Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	2:00 PM
Fri	02/16/07	Iowa	Iowa City, IA	7:00 PM
Sun	02/18/07	Illinois	Champaign, IL	1:00 PM
Sat	03/03/07	Big Ten Championships	East Lansing, MI	All Day
Sun	03/04/07	Big Ten Championships	East Lansing, MI	All Day
Thu	03/15/07	NCAA Championships	Detroit, MI	All Day
Fri	03/16/07	NCAA Championships	Detroit, MI	All Day
Sat	03/17/07	NCAA Championships	Detroit, MI	All Day

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OhioWrestlingSite.com 2005