TOM RYAN Tom Ryan stepped into the role of head coach of the Ohio State wrestling team and immediately made history. In just his first year of taking charge of the program, Ryan guided four Buckeyes to All-America status, which is the most for a first-year OSU coach. Not only did several of Ryan's mentees achieve individual success, but as a team the Scarlet and Gray also accomplished a monumental achievement. The Buckeyes finished in the Top 10 of the national tournament for the first time since 2004 and jumped from a 45th-place finish in 2006 to 10th in 2007 thanks to Top 7 finishes by J Jaggers (seventh -141), Lance Palmer (fourth - 149), Mike Pucillo (sixth - 184) and J.D. Bergman (fourth -197).  Ryan advanced six wrestlers to the national stage after the Big Ten championships, yet another milestone, as that was the most grapplers to qualify for the NCAA championships since the 2002-03 season. It was in the league championship that Ryan also saw true freshman Palmer finish in the Top 3, which had not been done by a true freshman since 2001. With one of the toughest schedules in the nation, Ryan and the Scarlet and Gray had some highs and lows, but persevered to get to the end result. The season started out on a high note during tournament action at the Michigan State Open. Ryan coached several of the Buckeyes to Top 8 finishes, including Bergman and Pucillo. Bergman finished first in the Michigan State Open Nov. 12 at 197 pounds and Pucillo won the 184-pound division at the 25th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Ryan, who came to Ohio State after 11 seasons as the head coach at Hofstra, returned to New York State Nov. 26 and watched his Buckeyes upset then-No. 19 Cornell, 18-17. His first win as the OSU head coach, Ryan also garnered his 110th career win. However, it was just the beginning for a young team that was getting healthier with each passing week. The squad opened the Big Ten season at home in St. John Arena (Jan. 14) against Purdue, who entered the dual with an unblemished 10-0 record. The Buckeyes handed the Boilermakers a 28-6 loss and began a four-match win steak, as they stepped out of conference action to defeat Ohio, Appalachian State and Ashland at the 18th Annual Wendy's Big Classic Duals in Ashland, Ohio. Retuning to league competition, Ryan and the Buckeyes pulled off impressive upsets over their league counterparts in Columbus, starting with then-No. 16 Indiana (Jan. 28). The Scarlet and Gray served the Hoosiers just their second loss of the season by a 19-14 margin and followed that performance with a dramatic 19-14 win over then-No. 19 Michigan State (Feb. 2). Perhaps one of the most exciting moments in Ryan's career as a head coach came when Buckeye T.J. Enright topped No. 1-ranked Nick Simmons, 4-2, in sudden victory at 133 pounds to help propel Ohio State to victory. However, the Buckeyes were not finished shocking the conference when two days later (Feb. 4) they beat 10th-ranked Northwestern, 18-16, at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. In a dual that came down to the final bout at 141 pounds, in which J Jaggers beat James Kohlberg, 7-5, to lift the Buckeyes to victory, Ryan not only witnessed his team defeat its fourth Top 20 opponent, but he also watched Bergman defeat No. 2 Mike Tamillow. Ryan's Buckeyes also have achieved tremendous academic success. Jaggers, Pucillo and Chris Vondruska were named to the NWCA All-Academic Team, while eight wrestlers garnered Academic All-Big Ten honors and nine were Ohio State Scholar-Athlete award winners. Vondruska also went on to become the recipient of the Ohio State Men's Varsity O Scholarship, which provides a male scholar-athlete with a one-time stipend of $4,000 for postgraduate studies at Ohio State. The ideal candidate maintained a 3.0 grade point average or higher during his undergraduate studies, earned a varsity letter and performed community service. During his wrestling career, Ryan was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American for Iowa (second in 1991, third in 1992) as a member of the Hawkeyes' 1991 and 1992 national and Big Ten championships teams. He also was a two-time Big Ten champion in 1991 and 1992. Prior to enrolling at Iowa, Ryan wrestled at Syracuse, where he was the 1989 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Champion. Ryan is a native of Wantagh, N.Y., where he attended Wantagh High School. He received his bachelor of science degree in education from Iowa in 1993. He and his wife, Lynette, have four children, Jordan, Jake, Teague and Mackenzie. LOU ROSSELLI Lou Rosselli is in his second season as a Buckeye assistant coach. He was part of a group that helped Ohio State dramatically improve its standings at the NCAA tournament, moving from 45th in 2006 to 10th in 2007. He also assisted four members of the squad in earning All-America status. Rosselli came to Ohio State after beginning his coaching career at his alma mater Edinboro. The Fighting Scots club coach in 1993, Rosselli also acted as the varsity squad's volunteer assistant coach from 1993-97 before being promoted to head assistant coach in 1997. In addition to his coaching capacities with Edinboro, Rosselli also was a volunteer coach at the New York Athletic Club. At Edinboro, Rosselli helped coach the Fighting Scots to eight Eastern Wrestling League tournament championships, which included four consecutive crowns in two different spans (1998-01 and 2003-2006). The Fighting Scots won their seventh Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title in 2006 after securing the championship from 1998-2000 and 2002-2004. Individually, Rosselli coached 33 PSAC champions and 22 EWL champions. On the national level, Edinboro had 70 NCAA Division I tournament qualifiers and 17 went on to become All-Americans from 1997-2006. During that span, The Fighting Scots were credited with one national champion and four runner-ups. On the international level, Rosselli was selected as the 2007 U.S. Freestyle World Team Coach for the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, in September. Rosselli also served as the U.S. World Team coach in 2006 and guided the freestyle squad to a third-place finish at the 2006 World Championships in Guangzhou, China. In 2005, Rosselli guided the World University Games squad to three gold medals out of six and at the New York Athletic Club, Rosselli coached NYAC wrestlers at the U.S. National championships and World and Olympic Team Trials. As a competitor, Rosselli was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team in 1996 and a three-time U.S. National champion (1995, ‘96 and ‘99). At Edinboro, Rosselli was a two-time All-American in 1991 and 1993 at 118 pounds. In 1989, Rosselli was named EWL Freshman of the Year and became the first Edinboro freshman to earn a trip to nationals. Following his senior year in 1993, Rosselli earned EWL and PSAC Wrestler of the Year honors after winning titles in both conferences. A three-time PSAC champion, Rosselli was inducted into the Edinboro and EWL Halls of Fame. Rosselli graduated with a degree in health and physical education in 1993. Rosselli and his wife, Amy, have three children, Jordan, Ty and Jaxson. JOE HESKETT Joe Heskett is in his second season as an assistant coach for the Buckeyes. Heskett plays an instrumental role in the team's academic progress as well as their community service initiatives. He returned to the Buckeye state after completing his undergraduate career at Iowa State and training and coaching at Cal Poly University. Like OSU assistant Tommy Rowlands, Heskett currently is training as a 2008 Olympic hopeful. Heskett had a busy summer, as he earned a place on the U.S. World Team roster in June and proceeded to compete at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he won a silver medal at 163 pounds. He then competed in the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, in September where he finished fifth. With the Cyclones, Heskett became Iowa State's eighth four-time All-American (1999-2002) with a career record of 143-9. Third on ISU's all-time wins list, Heskett finished third in 1999 at the NCAA championships and second in 2000 and 2001, before capturing the 165-pound title in 2002. Heskett was a three-time Big 12 champion (1999, 2001, 2002) and three-time Midlands champion (1998, 2000, 2001). On the international circuit, Heskett was a 2004 Olympic Games alternate and is a five-time U.S. National Team member. During that same year, Heskett was the Dave Schultz International champion, earning Outstanding Wrestler laurels. Heskett also became the 2002 New York Athletic Club Champion and earned a silver medal at the 2001 Pan American Games to complement his two University National Freestyle championships in 1999 and 2000. A four-time Academic All-American, Heskett graduated from Iowa State in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in speech communications and earned his masters degree with honors in educational leadership from Cal Poly in 2005. Heskett and his wife Tara have two daughters, Olivia and Ava. TOMMY ROWLANDS Tommy Rowlands is in his fourth season assistant coach for Ohio State. The 2002 and 2004 NCAA heavyweight champion, Rowlands offers expertise that allowed him to conclude his career as the most decorated wrestler in OSU history. He is just the second Buckeye to win two national titles and the first to earn All-America honors four times. Rowlands splits his time between coaching Buckeye wrestling and training as a 2008 Beijing Olympic hopeful. Recently, Rowlands earned a spot on the U.S. World Freestyle Team that competed in the World Championships in September and finished fifth at 264.5 pounds. During the summer, he also won a silver medal at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (264.5 pounds) to go along with several other medals he has earned in national and international competition since he graduated from Ohio State in 2005 with a business degree. The Hilliard, Ohio, native is the all-time leader at Ohio State in career wins (164), career team points (702.0) and career takedowns (705). His career record of 164-14 (.921) ranks fourth all-time in winning percentage at OSU, while his 44 wins in 2004 and 43 triumphs in 2001 rank fourth and fifth, respectively, all-time in a single season. Rowlands and his wife, Elizabeth, reside in Hilliard, Ohio, and have a daughter, Ellie. Elizabeth completed her undergraduate studies and soccer career at Kentucky in 2004 and was a two-time all-conference performer and is the record holder at UK with 36 career assists and ranks third all-time in goals and points. JOE RYAN Joe Ryan primarily will serve as the team's video coordinator, managing all aspects of the day-to-day video operation. In addition, he will be in charge of managing the recruiting, alumni and development databases. Ryan comes to Ohio State after serving as the head assistant wrestling coach at Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. During his two-year stint with the Scarlet Knights (2005-2007), Ryan served as the recruiting and video coordinator; bring in a recruiting class ranked 18 th and 23 rd in the nation. Prior to his time at Rutgers, Ryan was the head coach at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y., from 2001-2005 and was the head coach at Seton Hall in South Orange, N.J., from 1998-2001 after serving as an assistant for the Pirates for two seasons (1997-1998). Ryan is the founder of Outstanding Sports Videos, a web site dedicated to featuring on-demand video of national high school and collegiate competitions, as well as interviews exclusive to regional markets. Ryan received his bachelor's degree in health and physical education from Lock Haven University. He also is a member of the New Jersey Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame. ROSS THATCHER Ross Thatcher is in his third year on the OSU wrestling staff and second as the volunteer strength and conditioning coach. Thatcher was a Penn State letter winner from 1997-2000 and served as an assistant coach at PSU from 2000-2003. He has helped long time friend and Olympic hopeful Tommy Rowlands as a training partner for the past four years and is active with USA wrestling, as he was an assistant coach for the 2006 Junior Fila World Team. Competing for the Nittany Lions, Thatcher was named captain and garnered All-America honors in 2000. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in the college of health and human development. Following his time at Penn State, Thatcher wrestled for the New York Athletic Club, where he was a two-time Sunkist International Open Champion, New York Athletic Club International Open Champion, Dave Schultz International Open Champion and North East Regional Outstanding Wrestler and champion. Additionally, he was a Bronze medalist for the 2001 U.S. Pan-American team and was a member of the U.S. World University Games Freestyle and Greco Roman squads. Thatcher was a two-time Ohio High School State Champion as a three-time finalist at Bishop Ready High School in Columbus. Thatcher is the son of Randy and Sandy Thatcher and has three brothers, Cris, Todd and Matt. CHRIS VONDRUSKA Chris Vondruska , who transferred from Hofstra in 2006, returned to his home state in 2006-07 to conclude his collegiate career with the Buckeyes. In five years of wrestling in the collegiate ranks, Vondruska compiled a career record of 82-32, while in his only year with the Scarlet and Gray he tallied a mark of 30-16. He was one of two Buckeyes to earn 30 wins on the season. In 2007, Vondruska made his second-consecutive trip to the NCAA championships at 165 pounds. As a senior at Hofstra, Vondruska was the Colonial Athletic Association champion at 165 pounds to qualify for nationals. In his first and only appearance at the Big Ten Conference championships, Vondruska finished fifth as a No. 5 seed. Vondruska was a nominee for the 2007 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. A graduate student in the exercise humanities program at Ohio State, Vondruska was awarded the Men's Varsity “O” Scholarship at the 2007 Ohio State Scholar-Athlete banquet this past spring and is on track to receive his masters degree in March 2008. He earned his bachelor's degree in business marketing from Hofstra in May 2006. Vondruska is a native of Bay Village, Ohio, and attended St. Edward High School.