Phil Harrison, Buckeyes WireSat, January 31, 2026 at 1:37 AM UTC·3 min readThe Ohio State wrestling team continued to show why it is the No. 2-ranked squad in the country on Friday night, using five-straight wins in the heavier weight classes to show depth and beat No. 25 Wisconsin 30-10.
The Buckeyes' lighter weight classes usually dominate, but lost three-of-five to start the match. Vincent Kilkeary fell to Wisconsin's Nicolar Rivera at the 125 weight class, 12-7, to put OSU behind 3-0 out of the gate. At 133 lbs. Ohio State's Ben Devino clawed things back with a decision over the Badgers' Zan Fugitt, 7-2, to tie things up.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe reigning national champion at the 141-pound weight class, Jesse Mendez, made quick work of a fill-in for Wisconsin, Carson Exferd, notching a pin in less than one-minute, and just like that, Ohio State had some breathing room with a score of 9-3. That, however, was followed by back to back wins by Wisconsin when Ethan Stiles fell to Joseph Zargo at 149 pounds in extra time, 7-4, to make things 9-6, and then the Badgers came back with another victory at 157 pounds by way of a major decision score of 20-9, elevating Wisconsin to a 10-9 lead halfway throug the match.
From there, it was all Ohio State.
The Buckeyes notched wins in all five of the heavier weight classes, getting bonus points at 165 pounds (e'Than Birden), 174 pounds (tech fall by Carson Kharchla), 184 pounds (Dylan Fishback), and at 197 pounds. (Luke Geog). Heavyweight Nick Feldman capped things off with a takedown with less than 30 seconds to go to win 6-4 and secure the 30 team points for Ohio State.
Here's a look at how all of the weight classes finished up:
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNo. 2 Ohio State wrestling vs. No. 25 Wisconsin results
Weight
Result
OSU score
Wisconsin score
125
(16) Nicolar Rivera (WIS) def. Vinny Kilkeary (OSU), D, 12-7
0
3
133
(2) Ben Davino (OSU) def. (11) Zan Fugitt (WIS), D, 7-2
3
3
141
(1) Jesse Mendez (OSU) def. Carson Exferd (WIS), F, 0:51
9
3
149
(15) Joseph Zargo (WIS) def. (4) Ethan Stiles (OSU), SV, 7-4
9
6
157
Luke Mechler (WIS) def. Landon Desselle (OSU), MD, 20-9
9
10
165
e'Than Birden (OSU) def. (24) Cody Goebel (WIS), MD, 16-3
13
10
174
(5) Carson Kharchla (OSU) def. Luke Condon (WIS), TF, 17-2
18
10
184
(7) Dylan Fishback (OSU) def. David Malin (WIS), TF, 15-0
23
10
197
(10) Luke Geog (OSU) def. Wyatt Ingham (WIS), MD, 17-3
27
10
HWT
(3) Nick Feldman (OSU) def. (9) Braxton Amos (WIS), D, 6-4
30
10
With the win, Ohio State remains undefeated at 15-0. The Buckeyes will next be in action against No. 13 Michigan on Sunday. We'll have live updates and a recap of that one.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State wrestling dominates late, beats Wisconsin to stay unbeaten
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