COLUMBUS, Oh. – Redshirt sophomore Gavin Ricketts made sure Bellarmine wrestling avoided being shut out on the road, earning the lone win for the Knights as they fell 41-3 at No. 2 Ohio State on Wednesday night at the Covelli Center.

"I'm proud of my guys," Bellarmine head coach Ned Shuck said. "They continue to have incredible fight and competitive spirit, and they are having fun doing what they love. Can't wait to get back to work in prep for Central Michigan!"

Wrestling at 184, Ricketts was awarded a penalty late in the second period before escaping from the down position to take a 2-0 lead over Ohio State's Cayaen Smith. After scoring a point in the third, Smith tied the match with the riding time point to force sudden victory. With no scoring in the first overtime period, the match moved into tiebreakers where Ricketts rode Smith for the entire first 30 second period. In the second tiebreaker period, Ricketts chose neutral and fought off Smith's attack, holding on for the win via riding time, giving Bellarmine its only three team points of the night.

Earlier in the match, redshirt sophomore AJ Rallo (141) went on the attack immediately, scoring a quick takedown on No.1 ranked Jesse Mendez to jump ahead 3-0. After ending the first period in a 4-4 tie, Rallo took another lead at 5-4 before Mendez got down to business, winning by tech fall.

Redshirt senior Zac Cowan nearly put Bellarmine on the board in the fourth match of the night, taking on No. 8 Ethan Stiles at 149. Stiles took a 3-1 lead in the first, but Cowan stayed in the fight. In the third, Cowan battled, scoring two late takedowns to cut the deficit to four, but ran out of time as he fell by decision, 12-8.

At the end of the night, redshirt sophomore Andrew Liber tried to go back-to-back with Ricketts. No. 11 Luke Geog scored three points in the first, but Liber would not go down without a fight. After trading penalty points, Liber ultimately rode Geog trying to get a turn for a fall, but was unable to do so, falling by 5-3 decision.

Bellarmine (3) at No. 2 Ohio State (41)
125: #2 Nick Bouzakis (OSU) def. Damion Ryan (BU) by TF, 19-4
133: #2 Ben Davino (OSU) def. Shay Korhorn (BU) by TF, 19-4
141: #1 Jesse Mendez (OSU) def. #32 AJ Rallo (BU) by TF 24-7
149: #8 Ethan Stiles (OSU) def. Zac Cowan (BU) by DEC, 12-8
157: #4 Brandon Cannon (OSU) def. Jeb Prechtel by TF, 20-2
165: #7 Paddy Gallagher (OSU) def. Noah Hall by TF 19-4
174: #5 Carson Kharchla (OSU) def. Cael Miller by TF, 19-4
184: Gavin Ricketts (BU) def. Cayaen Smith (OSU) by DEC, 2-2 RT (TB2)
197: #11 Luke Geog (OSU) def. Andrew Liber (BU) by DEC 5-3
285: #1 Nick Feldman (OSU) def. #27 Daulton Mayer by TF, 17-2

Up next, Bellarmine will have a quick turnaround for its next dual as the Knights welcome Central Michigan to Knights Hall on Sunday, December 7.

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