Masanosuke Ono is going to start for Penn State wrestling this season.
The question is, where will he be in the lineup?
He could compete at 133 pounds, which aligns closely with where he competes in freestyle (61 KG).
He could also wrestle at 141, which would keep Marcus Blaze at 133 for Penn State. Blaze also competes at 61 KG, so somebody is going to have to bump up. Maybe that would be easier for Ono, since Blaze has to keep his 61 KG weight for the Senior World Championships in Kazakhstan this fall.
Although Ono, at 22, is already a Senior World Champ, he isn’t competing at this year’s tournament due to focusing on folkstyle.
Ono did wrestle this past Saturday at Real American Freestyle 12, where he took care of Ohio State’s Ben Davino, last year’s runner-up at 133, in a 4-0 win.
Afterward, NSN spoke exclusively with Ono, who said it doesn’t matter where Penn State has him in the lineup.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“If the coaches say, ‘hey, let’s go 157,” Ono said. “I need to do it. So, I mean, I don’t think about that, you know?”
Ono will not wrestle at 157, as Penn State is just fine with either Tyler Kasak or PJ Duke, who have three All-America performances between them.
What Ono is thinking about is the adjustment from freestyle to folkstyle.
He is already established as one of the best in the world at the former, and now is learning the latter in the world’s top wrestling room.
“(Transitioning to folkstyle is) very difficult for me,” he said. “You know, I’ve done freestyle all my life. So this last year, I’ve focused on folkstyle. And then, you know, like we have Marcus Blaze, Braeden Davis. Like any coach, they take me down every time. So, you know, it’s hard for me, but I mean, that’s what I found. I’m excited about competing in folkstyle. So it’s good.”
