Nine Flashes Claim Academic All-MAC Honors
4/2/2018 4:13:00 PM | Wrestling
CLEVELAND – Kent State led all Mid-American Conference institutions with nine student-athletes on the 2018 Academic All-MAC Wrestling Team. The conference office released its list of 39 wrestlers on Monday as the Golden Flashes led the pack for the fourth consecutive year.
The Flashes' nine selections matches a program record set in 2016.
Fifth-year seniors Stephen Suglio (Richfield, Ohio) and Chance Driscoll (Aurora, Ohio) were the only two conference wrestlers to earn the honor for a fourth time this season. Kent State was also just one of two teams with a pair of three-time recipients in juniors Devin Nye (Springfield, Ohio) and Anthony Tutolo (Concord, Ohio).
Suglio, an integrated science major, carries a 3.65 grade point average.  He began the season at 197 and later took over the starting heavyweight role. Suglio went 21-10 with 12 bonus-point victories and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships by placing third at the MAC Championships.Â
Driscoll graduated with a 3.62 GPA as an economics major and is now working towards a master's degree. He won 15 matches and placed seventh at the MAC Championships.
Nye carries a 3.66 GPA as a pre-physicial therapy/occupational therapy major. He earned 21 wins on the year and won a 285-pound title at the Cleveland State Open.
Tutolo went 29-13 on the season, earning his second straight trip to the NCAA Championships. He carried the Flashes' best dual meet record of the season at 17-5 and placed third at the MAC Championships. Tutolo carries a 3.54 GPA, majoring in interpersonal communications.
Juniors Kyle Conel (Ashtabula, Ohio) and Isaac Bast (Massillon, Ohio) and sophomore Tim Rooney (Columbus, Ohio) all became two-time Academic All-MAC recipients. Redshirt freshmen Nick Monico (Meadville, Pa.) and Dylan Barreiro (Derry, N.H.) claimed their first postseason collegiate honor.
Conel highlighted Kent State's season with a third place finish at the NCAA Championships. He won a team-high 30 matches and is the NCAA's highest place-winner for a wrestler starting in the pigtail round since the tournament went to its current format in 2014.
Bast and Barreiro both placed fourth at the MAC Championships, while Rooney was fifth. Monico went 11-7 in dual meets, before his season was cut short.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.
A select group of MAC Distinguished Scholar Athletes will be chosen from the Academic All-MAC Team and announced at later date.
Players Mentioned
