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Ohio State grapplers doing their best to deliver on Kyle Snyder's prediction

Ohio State grapplers are doing their best to deliver on Kyle Snyder's prediction of an NCAA Wrestling Championship.
Credit: Jeff Curry
Ohio State Buckeyes wrestler Kyle Snyder celebrates after defeating Wisconsin Badgers wrestler Connor Medbery during the heavyweight class finals for the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Scottrade Center.

CLEVELAND -- Confidence has never been a problem for Ohio State senior wrestler Kyle Snyder, and he put that on full display at media day ahead of the 2018 NCAA Championships at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

With Penn State and Ohio State having gone back and forth in the Big Ten Conference for the entire season, Snyder believes it is a two-horse race to the top of the podium and feels the Buckeyes have the upper hand for the National Championship.

“Both teams are really good,” Snyder said. “Penn State won it last year and wrestled really well. Five champions and all of them are returning, so obviously, they have the firepower to compete at a really high level.

“But I would say that we are the favorite. I think just looking at the seeds, looking at our performance from last week, if everyone competes at the best of their ability, the best that they can, then I think it's our tournament to win, our tournament to lose.”

Credit: Aaron Doster, Custom
Ohio State wrestler Kyle Snyder reacts after defeating Campbell Fighting Camels grappler Jere Heino during the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships at Quicken Loans Arena.

And the Buckeyes are doing what they can to prove Snyder right, as midway through the third session, Ohio State holds a 20-point lead in the team standings over Iowa and entered the morning matches with nine of their 10 wrestlers still in the championship bracket.

While Snyder believes the Buckeyes have what it takes to win the NCAA Championship for the second time in four years, he knows it will be far from easy.

“All you can do is control your effort and your willingness to fight, be offensive, and then, the other things take care of themselves,” Snyder said.

“We definitely know we're facing a great team in Penn State, and we need to be at the very highest of our level to compete with them and win this title, which is definitely our plan.”

Credit: Jeff Curry, Custom
Ohio State Buckeyes wrestler Kyle Snyder earns a takedown against Wisconsin Badgers wrestler Connor Medbery during the heavyweight title match at the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Scottrade Center.

Not one to make guarantees, at least not through the media, Buckeyes coach Tom Ryan understands why Snyder is confident heading into the NCAA Championships.

“He feels great about this team,” Ryan said. “He's a great leader. Penn State has a tremendous team this year, as does Missouri and many others here. When you look at the last competition that occurred, the Big Tens, if we can wrestle like that and our guys can compete to that level, we certainly have a shot.

“I don’t guarantee anything other than I believe my team is ready. I like where they are physically and mentally. They care about each other, and we’re ready to wrestle, so we’ll see Saturday night how this all shakes out.”

Regardless of the roads to the championship matches, Ryan and Snyder know well what kind of support the Buckeyes will get in Cleveland throughout the weekend.

“I believe in energy,” Ryan said. “I felt it in State College what energy feels like when a crowd gets going. We’re in a great state for wrestling, in a great region. I think the energy is real, and you can choose to feed off of it or let it get to you as well.

“We expect the place to be rocking with crazy, in-love-with-the-sport fans, and if it helps us, that would be nice.”

Snyder added, “We’re all feeling good at Ohio State. We have more tickets. I mean we’ve got more tickets sold through the NCAA to Buckeye fans and donors and family than we’ve ever had. I feel like this is going to be a predominantly Buckeye-favored crowd, which will go to favor us.”

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