Five Flashes Place; Team Finishes Sixth at Scuffle
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Kent State claimed top eight finishes in each of the five upper weight classes, while five other Golden Flashes came up one win shy of placing Thursday at the Southern Scuffle. Junior Dustin Kilgore's fifth place was the highest for the Flashes, who finished sixth in the team standings at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Kilgore claimed his third consecutive pin of the tournament in the quarterfinals against Edinboro's Shawn Fendone. He then suffered his first loss of the season against George Mason's Cayle Byers 9-4. Kilgore (19-2) fell to another Top 10 opponent in Penn's Micah Burak 6-4 in the consolation semifinals. He ended the day on a high note with a 10-2 major decision over Oregon State's Chad Hanke to claim fifth place.
Returning to heavyweight for the first time this season, senior Joe Tymoszczuk won his first three matches of the day on the way to a sixth place. Tymoszczuk claimed 4-3 decisions over both Chad Bleske of Michigan and Ben Berhow of Minnesota. He then topped conference rival Jeremy Johnson of Ohio in sudden victory 3-1. Junior Brendan Barlow (285) scored an 11-2 major decision over Lock Haven's Henry Turner to start his day, but came up one win shy of placing. No. 9 Anthony Nelson of Minnesota squeaked out a 2-1 decision over Barlow.
Junior Ross Tice (165) went 2-2 on the day and 5-2 for the tournament in his seventh place finish. Tice fell to top-seeded and No. 4 Justin Kerber of Cornell 2-0 in the quarterfinals. Tice then topped Oregon State's Jon Brascetta 8-3 and fell to fifth-seeded Kyle Blevins 5-3. In his seventh-place match, Tice had little trouble with Utah Valley State's Jeb Clark with a 7-2 decision.
Freshman Brandonn Johnson won his first two bouts of the day on the way to an eighth place finish. Johnson scored a 9-0 major decision over Navy's Peter Huntley and defeated seventh-seeded Byron Sigmon of UNC-Greensboro 7-1. North Carolina's Andre Petroski edged Johnson 6-4 in the seventh-place bout, but Johnson still finished the tournament with five victories.
Sophomore Casey Newburg (184) claimed a seventh place in a weight class that saw two other Golden Flashes within a match of placing in the top eight. After falling to No. 3 Steve Bosak (Cornell), Newburg topped teammate Chris Estep 4-1. Estep won earlier in the day 3-1 over Oregon State's Taylor Meeks and finished the tournament with four wins. Newburg later outlasted Boston University's Brock Mantella 3-2 in his seventh-place bout. Sophomore Keith Witt fell to Mantella 2-0, to come up one win short of placing. Witt finished 3-2 over two days.
Junior Marcel Clopton (149) started his day with a 5-2 victory over North Carolina's Daniel Helena, but came up one victory short of placing in the top eight. Clopton went 4-2 over two days. Sophomore Tommy Sasfy also came up one win short of placing in the top eight at 149 pounds, going 3-2 over two days.
Kent State's day got off to a slow start as sophomore Stevie Mitcheff (125) junior Chase Skonieczny (141) each lost their only match. Mitcheff finished the tournament with a 4-2 record, while Skonieczny went 3-2.
Cornell and Penn State tied for the team title with 151.5 points. Oregon State, Michigan and Minnesota filled in the next three spots before Kent State, who finished with 76 team points.
The Golden Flashes return to action Jan. 4 with a dual meet at Cleveland State.
