Ohio Ready for Hokie Open

Bobcats to Start Regular Season at Tournament

(ATHENS, Ohio) - The Bobcats begin the 2009-10 campaign with a trip east to compete in the Hokie Open on Sunday. The tournament will feature 456 wrestlers from 26 teams, making this an exciting way to begin the season.

Ohio returns a solid group of wrestlers this season and was predicted to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference. The Green and White will have four senior leaders this season in Kevin Christensen (Fairborn, Oh.), Jacob Ison (Batavia, Oh.), Seth Morton (Canal Winchester, Oh.) and Clay Tucker (Martins Ferry, Oh.). The program also had a good recruiting class, welcoming some highly-touted freshmen into the fold. Honored by Sports Illustrated as a “Face in the Crowd”, freshman heavyweight Jeremy Johnson (Broadview Heights, Oh.) was a very positive addition to the team.

The team hosted an annual intra-squad meet last weekend, with Green edging White by a final score of 24-18. Nick Purdue (Genoa, Oh.), Erik Schuth (Spencerport, N.Y.) and Andy Hartshorn (Reynoldsburg, Oh.) all pinned their opponents in less than three minutes.

Competition will begin in Sunday’s Hokie Open at 9 a.m.