Bedelyon Advances to Quarterfinals
ST. LOUIS – Kent State senior Nic Bedelyon (Lewistown, Pa.) made his way into the quarterfinals, while three other Golden Flashes won matches Thursday on the opening day of the NCAA Championships at the Scottrade Center.
Bedelyon, the No. 5 seed, topped No. 12 Steve Bonanno of Hofstra 10-7. Bedelyon scored two takedowns in the first period, one in the second and one in the third. He will battle No. 4 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) Friday in the quarterfinals.
In his opening match, Bedelyon trailed 2-0 heading into the second period against Iowa State's Cory Finch. Starting from the bottom in the second, Bedelyon rolled himself into a five-point move and was dominant the rest of the way. He hit a three-point tilt later in the second and a takedown and a two-point turn in the third.
Freshman Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio) needed only 57 seconds to pin Eric Terrazas (Illinois) in his opening bout. Miller edged Terrazs 3-2 early in the season, but Thursday he wasted little time scoring an opening takedown. He then planted Terrazas on his back after hoisting him up on a mat return.
In the round of 16, Miller was pinned by Hofstra's Justin Accordino in the second period. Miller quickly recorded an opening takedown and built over a minute of riding time, before the tide turned and Accordino led 8-3 after the first period. Tomorrow, Miller will face Augustus Sako (Virginia)
Sophomore Tyler Small (Littlestown, Pa.), the No. 12 seed, downed Princeton's Richard Krop 6-2 in his opening match. Scoreless after the first, Small scored a reversal and an unconventional three-point turn in the second period.
Getting a tough round of 16 draw against No. 5 Hunter Stieber, Small held his own in a 7-4 loss. He turned Stieber to his back with a reversal, but only received a one-count. Small will take on MAC rival Scott Mattingly (Central Michigan) Friday.
Junior Casey Newburg (Union, Ohio) earned his first career victory in the NCAA Championships in the consolation bracket a 6-5 win against Luke Robertus of Navy. Newburg grabbed the opening takedown, scored a reversal in the third and earned a riding time point.
Newburg drew No. 2 seed Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) in the opening round and fell 10-2. Newburg only trailed 2-1 in the second period, before Hamlin began to pull away. Tomorrow, Newburg begins with No. 12 Jon Fausey of Virginia.
Junior Keith Witt (Oak Harbor, Ohio) fell to Dan Rinaldi of Rutgers 8-2 in his opener. Rinaldi scored an opening period takedown and two-point cradle. Witt will face Oklahoma's Keldrick Hall tonight.
Witt then dropped an 8-5 decision to Oklahoma's Keldrick Hall. Trailing 5-2 in the second, Witt hit a headlock for a takedown, but did not get a near fall count with Hall out of bounds.
Senior heavyweight Brendan Barlow (Westerville, Ohio) could not finish off a number of near takedowns against No. 10 seed Michael McMullan of Northwestern. Tied 1-1 after regulation McMullen scored a takedown at the edge of the mat.
Barlow's luck did not change in his second matching, losing 3-1 in sudden victory again, this time to Wisconsin's Cole Tobin.
Junior Mallie Shuster (Newville, Pa.) dropped a 2-1 decision against Ohio State's Josh Demas. Both wrestlers earned an escape, but Shuster's did not come until late in the second, which resulted in a riding time point for Demas. Shuster's shots in the third resulted in one stalling warning for Demas, but time ran out as Demas continued to back up.
Shuster came up just short in his second match, falling to Chattoonaga's Dan Waddell 5-2. Shuster scored an opening takedown, but gave up a reversal in the final seconds of the first. He then nearly had a takedown secured in the second, before Waddell came around the back for two points.
Andrassy Interview with FloWrestling
As a team, the Golden Flashes are in 24th place with 11.0 points. Penn State leads with 38.5.
Friday's action begins at 11 a.m. Eastern with Session III. Session IV will start at 7 p.m.
