Sammy Sasso is a graduate student and All-American wrestler at Ohio State. On November 14, 2024, he won his match at 165 pounds against Tennessee-Chattanooga at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. This is not the story. The story is that he returned to the mat after a 607-day absence caused by getting shot and almost killed.
His story is probably the most inspirational sports story in the nation. After sustaining the injuries he did, it is amazing that Sasso could walk again, let alone wrestle. This article covers the match where the number 6 ranked Buckeyes won 9 of 10 matches and destroyed Tennessee-Chattanooga. Sasso will be in their lineup when they wrestle at Edinboro, PA, on Sunday, November 17, at 1 p.m.
Sasso’s Triumphant Return
Sasso had an emotional return. He received a big ovation from a wowed crowd as he made his way to the wrestling mat. Sasso scored three takedowns in the first period as he built a 9-4 lead for Ohio State, showing his old All-American form. Sasso extended his lead to 11-4 with a reversal early in the second period. He started on the bottom and entered the third period with an 11-5 advantage. His opponent from Tenessee-Chatenooga scored the first point of the third period on an escape, but Sasso controlled the rest of the match to secure a six-point victory. As mentioned above, he will be in the lineup for the next meet.
The Match Against Tennessee-Chattanooga
Sammy Sasso’s triumphant return highlighted a dominant night for the Buckeyes as Ohio State cruised to an easy 36-6 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga. Ohio State won nine of the 10 matches in the meet. Ohio State’s only loss came at the 174-pound weight class when Bryce Hepner suffered an injury and had to default his match.
Only an injury kept Ohio State from sweeping all the matches in the meet. The Ohio State winners were Brendan McCrone at the 125-pound weight class, Nic Bouzakis (133), Jesse Mendez (141), Dylan D’Emilio (145), Paddy Gallagher (157), Sammy Sasso (165), Ryder Rogotzke (184), Luke Geog (197), and Nick Feldman (HWT). They all won their matches by technical falls to score five points for Ohio State. The link can be used to view the lineup versus Edinboro.
How is Ohio State Ranked in Wrestling
Ohio State is ranked sixth in the nation as a wrestling team, though they are ranked fifth in the coaches’ wrestling poll. They are always ranked high. In this case, Sammy Sasso is a part of that, but just a part of that team. Individual wrestlers are ranked, and Ohio State has several highly ranked wrestlers. Maybe Ohio State will win another national title.
At 125 pounds, Brendan McCrone is ranked tenth. At 133 pounds, Nic Bouzakis is ranked number thirteen. At 141 pounds, Jesse Mendez is ranked number one. At 149 pounds, Dylan D’Emilio is ranked number ten. At 157 pounds, Paddy Gallagher is raked number eighteen. At 165 pounds, Bryce Hepner is ranked number sixteen. At 174 pounds, Carson Kharchla is ranked number six. At 184 pounds, Ryder Rogotzke is ranked number six. At 197 pounds, Luke Geog is ranked number twenty-one. At heavyweight, Nick Feldman is ranked number four. Ohio State has ranked wrestlers at every weight class, not counting Sammy Sasso.
The Great Tom Ryan
The head coach of the Ohio State wrestling team is Tom Ryan. Ryan was an All-American wrestler at The University of Iowa himself. He is the author of an autobiography called Chosen Suffering, which he wrote in 2015 following Ohio State’s winning the National Championship in wrestling. His wrestling teams at Ohio State are always highly ranked. Tom Ryan is a great man. It is not surprising that Ryan is choosing to wrestle Sasso at 165 pounds or that Sasso has worked hard to get back to wrestling.
Conclusion
Nobody knows if Ohio State will win another national title in wrestling. Ohio State is talented enough to do it. However, the Buckeyes winning another national title they won in 2015 would certainly be fitting with all the emotion surrounding the team. Their winning it all would be a great story. The national championships for wrestling are March 20-22 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
