The buzz in the DeCarlo Varsity Center Tuesday night grew louder as the dreams of an upset by the underdog home squad grew increasingly realistic.

But just as the excitement reached a crescendo, the visiting Ohio Northern Polar Bears used an overtime takedown and a pin in the final two matches to escape the clutches of thehomestanding John Carroll Blue Streaks.

The final score was 21-13, but the margin belied the drama that took place over 105 minutes.

Ohio Northern came in ranked #12 in the nation and had just defeated defending Ohio Athletic Conference champion the week before.

After winning the first three bouts of the evening, the Polar Bears looked well on their way to a sixth consecutive win over the Blue Streaks.

It was then that the battle was joined by the middle weights. A victory by Greg Ryan at 149, a stunning major decision by Terner Gott over defending OAC champion Mick Letcher, and a hearty effort by Sean Gill that was not decided until the closing second propelled John Carroll to a 10-9 advantage through six matches.

Two-time Ohio Northern All-American Kyle Kwiat improved to 23-0 on the year with a 6-2 decision over Todd Gaydosh at 174, but JCU junior Bryan Steinmetz put his team back on top with a workmanlike win at 184.

Ahead 13-12 entering the final two bouts, the Blue Streaks had the DeCarlo Center crowd on the edge of their seats. When Jim Nemunaitis rallied from 3-0 down to force overtime at 197, the Blue Streaks appeared primed to pull off the upset.

But the Polar Bears, who have faced eight nationally ranked teams over the course of this season, showed the benefits of being battle tested. Michael Pawlitz  was able to counter a Nemunaitis shot in the first sudden victory period with a match-winning takedown to give Ohio Northern a 15-13 lead.

Cody Lovejoy ended the drama when he flipped Alec Barker to his back off a failed escape attempt midway through the second period to seal the Ohio Northern win.

ONU is now 10-4 overall and 3-0 in the OAC, while John Carroll slips to 5-4 and 2-1 in league action.



Ohio Northern (ONU) 21, John Carroll (JCU) 13

125 Cole Cochran (ONU), dec. John Cobos (JCU), 8-7; 133 Jeremy Jones (ONU) dec. Kevin Nycz (JCU), 3-0; 141 Rudolph Pataro (ONU) dec. Jake Rininger (JCU), 4-2; 149 Greg Ryan (JCU) dec. Brandon Howes (ONU), 7-4; 157 Terner Gott (JCU) maj. dec. Michael Letcher (ONU), 11-1; 165 Sean Gill (JCU) dec. William Painter (ONU), 5-3; 174 Kyle Kwiat (ONU) dec. Todd Gaydosh (JCU), 6-2; 184 Bryan Steinmetz (JCU) dec. Dennis Recknagel (ONU), 4-2; 197 Michael Pawlitz (ONU) dec Jim Nemunaitis (JCU), 6-4; SV 285 Cody Lovejoy (ONU) pinned Alec Barker (JCU), 5:27