What went wrong for Ohio State wrestling at the NCAA Championships

The Ohio State Buckeyes wrapped up an incredible wrestling season with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, a somewhat disappointing end to a stellar season. The Buckeyes spent the entire year as the No. 2 team in the country behind Penn State, with a lineup that once appeared to be nearly equal to the record-breaking Nittany Lions roster.

So what went wrong at the NCAAs? How did this lineup go from a guaranteed No. 2 with an outside shot at No.

1 to finishing in a distant fifth, well behind second place Oklahoma State? How did the Buckeyes go from a clear second at the Big Ten Championships to finishing behind two teams they easily beat just two weeks ago? To start, we have to mention injuries.

The Buckeyes got pretty banged up later in the season, and way too many of Ohio State's best wrestlers entered March well below 100%. In the case of Brandon Cannon, who finished fourth, lingering injuries seemed to harm his confidence against Penn State's P. J.