Three steps inside the Ohio State wrestling room at the Steelwood Training Facility, Nathan Tomasello can turn to his right and almost shake hands with a larger-than-life, cutout photograph of his redshirt freshman self on the wall celebrating the program’s NCAA champions.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Tomasello said. “It takes you back through the last two years, ever since I got here. To accomplish that is pretty amazing. It’s more motivation for this year.”
A four-time Ohio high-school champion out of Parma and Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, Tomasello ended his redshirt freshman season for the Buckeyes with an 18-match winning streak that took him to Big Ten and NCAA titles at 125 pounds.