Dual Preview: Flashes Visit Pitt Sunday
Another evenly matched dual meet is expected Sunday (Dec. 12) when Kent State takes on Pittsburgh inside Fitzgerald Field House at 2 p.m. The Panthers (4-3) are No. 17 in the NWCA Coaches Poll, while the Golden Flashes (2-4) are No. 19 according InterMat's tournament rankings.
LAST ACTION
Seven of 10 matches were decided by three points or less in Missouri's 19-15 home win over Kent State Sunday, Dec. 5. Unfortunately for the Golden Flashes, Missouri won five of those seven close matches, including two, one-point decisions and an overtime victory at heavyweight. Tyler Small (133), Marcel Clopton (149), Matt Cathell (157) and Dustin Kilgore (197) all claimed victories for KSU, including a second period pin by Kilgore.
LIVE STATS & VIDEO
Live stats can be viewed at nwcaonline.com. Live video can be seen on the Pittsburgh Panthers All-Access Page. The opening match is slated to begin at 2 p.m. Comcast Cable customers can also see a replay of the meet on Sunday, Dec. 19 on TCN.
DUAL SERIES HISTORY
Kent State and Pitt will renew a regional rivalry that went four straight seasons from 2006-09. The Golden Flashes have won four of five meetings in the last decade against the Panthers and hold a 12-10 all-time series edge. Most recently, KSU blasted Pitt 27-3 on Jan. 31, 2009 at the M.A.C. Center. Nic Bedelyon earned an overtime victory, while Ross Tice (157) and Dustin Kilgore also contributed to the Flashes' nine wins on the day. In January of 2008, three matches were settled in overtime as Kent State downed the Panthers 22-13 the last time the teams met in Pittsburgh.
A LOOK AT PITT
The Panthers returned eight starters from a team that went 17-1-1 last season and sent six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. Six Panthers are currently ranked in WrestlingReport.com's Top 30. Since Nov. 21, Pitt has defeated Ohio State, Nebraska, Virginia and Penn in dual meets. The Panthers are No. 15 according to InterMat's tournament rankings.
DUAL SUCCESS
Since the 2005-06 season, the Golden Flashes have gone 73-24-1 in dual meets.
KILGORE CLAIMS CAREER WIN NUMBER 100
On Nov. 7 at the Hokie Open, Dustin Kilgore became the first Kent State wrestler to reach 100 career victories during his junior year. Kilgore is now 14-0 on the season and recently raised his victory total to 111, giving him the fifth most wins in school history. Going 4-0 at the Body Bar, he passed three former wrestlers on KSU's 100-win list, including head coach Jim Andrassy. Next up on the list is Jermail Porter in fourth with 119 victories.
KILGORE CLAIMS NO. 1 NATIONAL RANKING AND MAC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Following a 10-9 win over then No. 1, Cam Simaz of Cornell in the finals of the Body Bar, Dustin Kilgore became the first Kent State wrestler to earn a No. 1 national ranking since 1985 (Don Horning). Kilgore holds the No. 1 spot in five polls and was named MAC Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 24 after going 4-0 at the Body Bar with a pin, a tech fall and a major decision.
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT BREAKDOWN
125- Sunday at Missouri, junior Nic Bedelyon (9-1) suffered his first loss since the 2009 NCAA Championships. Bedelyon fell 3-1 to Alan Waters, who improved to 19-0. Prior to Sunday, the 2009 All-American had been nothing short of dominant, going 4-0 at the Body Bar with two major decisions. In the finals, he blanked No. 19 Frank Perrelli (Cornell) 4-0. His most impressive outing of the year came at the Hershey Duals on Nov. 13, going 3-0 on the day. Bedelyon tore apart No. 10 Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech 15-0, sealing a technical fall 45 seconds into the third period. He is 5-1 in dual meets and six of his nine wins have come by way of major decision, pin or tech fall. Bedelyon saw his first action in over a year on Nov. 6 with a 15-5 major decision over Chattanooga's Preston Garner and a first period pin of Iowa State's Patrick Hunter. Bedelyon is ranked No. 8 by Amateur Wrestling News. He will likely face Anthony Zanetta (3-4), who is ranked No. 24 according to WrestlingReport.com.
133- True freshman Tyler Small (7-5) earned his first dual win of the year Sunday with an 8-6 upset over No. 17 Nathan McCormick. Small also showed his potential at the Body Bar with a fourth place finish and a convincing 15-8 victory over then No. 17 Kevin Smith of Buffalo in the quarterfinals. Small made a memorable collegiate debut at the Hokie Open with a third place finish and a 4-1 mark. At the Hershey Duals, Small fell to No. 6 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) and was leading Virginia's Joe Spisak 2-0 late in the third, before surrendering a reversal and near fall. Small has two pins on the year and is ranked No. 27 according to WrestlingReport.com. He will likely face freshman Shelton Mack (7-7), whose last dual win came against Nebraska.
141- Sophomore Chase Skonieczny (8-8) ran into another ranked opponent (No. 10 Todd Schavrien) at Missouri, giving him six losses against Top 20 competition. Skonieczny placed fourth at the Body Bar with a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Hicks Manson of Cornell and later dropped his consolation final bout in overtime. Skonieczny earned a 6-1 victory over North Carolina's Rocco Wellek in his only dual win this season. Skonieczny also went 5-1 with two major decisions in a fifth place finish at the Hokie Open. The ranked opponents will keep on coming as junior Tyler Nauman (6-1) is expected to take the mat for the Panthers.
149- Junior Marcel Clopton (5-6) improved to 2-1 in dual meets Sunday with a 4-1 victory over Missouri's Brandon Wiest. Clopton went 2-2 at the Body Bar and earned a dual win against Chattanooga. The expected Pitt starter is sophomore Dane Johnson (11-8) who earned dual victories against Penn and Nebraska.
157- Senior Matt Cathell (7-3) recently cruised to a 6-0 victory over Missouri's Dan Gonsor. Cathell tallied his fifth pin of the season against North Carolina at the Hershey Duals. He sat out the Body Bar with an injury. This year, Cathell is competing at 157 for the first time in his career. He racked up four pins and a major decision in his opening weekend and placed third at the Hokie Open. Two of his losses have come at the hands of No. 12 Pete Yates of Virginia Tech. Cathell is No. 22 according to D1CW. He will likely face sophomore Donnie Tasser (6-7), who earned a pair of convincing wins at the Northeast duals.
165- Junior Ross Tice (8-6) was unable to hold a 3-0 second period lead against No.12 Zach Toal of Missouri Sunday in a 7-4 loss. Tice went 3-1 with a major decision in his third place finish at the Body Bar. He is currently ranked No. 21 by WrestlingReport.com. Tice went 1-1 at the Hershey Duals with a 7-3 win over Virginia's Charles Miller. Tice finished sixth at the Hokie Open with a technical fall and a major decision. He is 2-3 in duals this season. He could face senior Adam Counterman (7-6) or redshirt freshman PJ. Tasser (9-4).
174- Redshirt freshman Brandonn Johnson (10-6) dropped a tight 5-4 decision to No. 15 Dorian Henderson of Missouri Sunday. Johnson had won four straight bouts heading into Sunday, all coming from his fifth place finish at the Body Bar. Johnson's only setback there came against No. 1 Mack Lewnes of Cornell and his first victory of the day was a 16-0 tech. fall. In his latest dual win, Johnson earned a 5-1 victory over UNC's Tom Ferguson. Three of Johnson's six losses have come against Top 3 opponents. Johnson already has 13 career pins. He placed sixth at the Hokie Open with two pins. In his first career dual vs. Chattanooga, he won by major decision. Redshirt junior Ethan Headlee (13-5) is ranked No. 19 by D1CW. Headlee has pinned opponents in duals against Ohio State and American.
184- Sophomore Casey Newburg (8-7) was unable to hold a lead in a 4-3 loss to Missouri's Mike Larson. Newburg went 4-1 with a pair of pins and a major decision at the Body Bar. His only loss came to No. 4 Steve Bosak of Cornell. Five of Newburg's seven setbacks have come against Top 20 opponents. He went 3-2 at the Hokie Open with a major decision. Newburg earned a decisive 8-2 win in his dual against Iowa State, but fell in an overtime tiebreaker to No. 19 Jason McCroskey of Chattanooga. Pitt freshman Max Thomusseit (12-6) is ranked No. 30 by WrestlingReport.com after wins against Penn and American at the Northeast Duals.
197- Junior All-American Dustin Kilgore (14-0) is ranked No. 1 in five different polls in his first season at 197 pounds. Since January of 2009, Kilgore has won in 36 straight dual meets, including a second period pin on Sunday. He tallieda pair of major decisions and a convincing 11-4 win at the Hershey Duals. One of those majors came against No. 11 Mike Salopek of Virginia. Kilgore had a pair of tech falls in a 4-0 day at the Hokie Open, concluded by a win over No. 10 Jerome Ward of Iowa State in the finals. Ten of Kilgore's 14 wins have come via tech. fall, pin or major decision. He will be faced with one of his toughest tests of the season Sunday facing No. 8 Zac Thomusseit (14-1). The Pitt junior defeated a pair of ranked opponents at the Northeast Duals.
285- Junior Brendan Barlow (9-4) took No. 6 Dom Bradley into overtime Sunday, before falling 5-3. Barlow went 4-0 with a major decision and did not surrender a takedown in his repeat title performance at the Body Bar. He is ranked No. 13 by InterMat and defeated a pair of Top 20 opponents in his 3-0 day at the Hershey Duals. Barlow won 33 matches last year, including three at the NCAA Tournament. Panther senior Ryan Tomei (10-1) is ranked No. 2 in three different polls after a 3-0 day at the Northeast Duals.
UP NEXT
The Golden Flashes take a 17-day break from competition, before heading to Greensboro, N.C. for the Southern Scuffle Dec. 29-30.
FLASHES MOVE AHEAD OF CHIPPEWAS IN MAC POLL
Kent State was represented in the top four of all 10 weight classes in the Nov. 10 Mid-American Conference Coaches Poll. The Flashes earned 23.5 total points, claiming the top spot just ahead of Central Michigan 23.0.
