The death of Ohio State football player Kosta Karageorge has now made national news, however, there has been little discussion of his past accomplishments as a wrestler for the Ohio school.
The fact of the matter is that Karageorge was an extremely accomplished wrestler, beloved by his Ohio State teammates and many other wrestlers he crossed paths with. He was good too. In high school he earned the title of All-American by placing at the Junior National Championships in Fargo, and wrestled three years for the Buckeyes, one of college wrestling’s elite programs, occasionally starting at heavyweight and earning a varsity letter. Last year, his final year on the wrestling team, he collected an impressive 35 wins.
The wrestling community in the United States, if nothing else, is loyal to its own. Today and yesterday, wrestlers and wrestling programs from coast to coast took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the tragic passing of Karageorge.
Reigning NCAA heavyweight champion Nick Gwiazdowski of NC State-
The National Wrestling Coaches Association-
Ohio State national runner-up and three-time All American Nick Heflin-
The University of Michigan’s wrestling team, bitter rivals of Ohio State-
USA Wrestling- the sanctioning body of American Olympic Wrestling
OSU wrestler Bo Jordan
Ohio State’s wrestling program with a statement from head coach Tom Ryan
As well as just about every major wrestling program in the United States.
In addition, Flowrestling.org was kind enough to post once of Karageorge’s best high school matches, a win in the finals of the Alliance Top Gun, a major high school wrestling tournament.
On behalf of Bloody Elbow, I would also like to extend my deepest condolences to all those affected by this tragedy.