University Park— Ohio State wrestling knew it was going to have to sweep the first two bouts of the night to have a chance to beat Penn State.
Instead, the opposite happened.
At 125 pounds, No. 1 Luke Lilledahl edged out No. 2 Nic Bouzakis 4-1 with a takedown in sudden victory, ensuring that he’ll stay at No. 1 in next week’s rankings.
At 133, No. 4 Marcus Blaze overcame a cut to beat No. 2 Ben Davino 3-2 in a second tiebreaker, ensuring that the true freshman will move up in the rankings.
The two most anticipated bouts of the night lived up to the hype. It would he an uphill battle for Ohio State to come back even if Brandon Cannon (No. 1 at 157), Ethan Stiles (No. 6 at 149) and Carson Kharchla (No. 4 at 174) were in the lineup. Without those three, it’s all the more challenging.
Ohio State Wrestling Will be Shorthanded for Penn State Showdown
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Lilledahl is now 16-1 in all competitions on the season, with four of his wins being against wrestlers in the top 15. The only loss Lilledahl has suffered in 2025-26 came at the hands of his own teammate, with Nate Desmond getting a win over Lilledahl at the Black Knight Invitational in November.
Blaze has yet to suffer a loss in his college career, starting the year 18-0 with seven wins against opponents in the top 20.
The former Perrysburg High School (Ohio) standout is showing why he was the No. 1 recruit in the country coming out of high school.
Lilledahl and Blaze each passed their biggest test of the season so far, and could well see their respective opponents again at the Big Ten and National Championships next month.
