Disap 'point' ment Again
All-American drought reaches 22 years as Porter loses by one
By Ty Linder Kent State Athletic Communications
ST. LOUIS For the second time since 2005, a Kent State wrestler came up a single point shy of bringing the program its coveted first All-American since 1986.
It looked good from the outset for junior Jermail Porter. Against Iowa State's David Zabriskie in a 285-pound All-American match Friday night, the big man from Akron Firestone worked the tie for most of the first period before dropping Zabriskie near the scorer's table for a 2-0 lead with just five seconds remaining.
But the inability to ride out his opponent for the handful of seconds allowed the match to be 2-1 heading into the second as Porter yielded the escape.
With his choice in the second, Porter took down. There, Zabriskie simply overpowered him for the entire 120 seconds of the period, essentially tying the bout with 1:58 of advantage time.
In the third, Zabriskie needed all of three seconds to officially tie the bout at two. This meant Porter had 1:57 virtually the entire third stanza to clinch a go-ahead takedown.
No shots were taken.
As time ticked down, Porter became the second KSU grappler since 2005 to fall in the All-American round by a precious point. Alex Camargo was on the short end of a 4-3 heartbreaker in Oklahoma City three years ago. Kent State's last All-American came in the form of Don Horning in 1986.
All in all, Kent State's 2008 NCAA qualifiers posted six wins in their matches. It's an improvement over the 2007 season, but the Flashes still return home from a national tournament without an All-American. The KSU grapplers' season is now done, and will focus on off-season open tournaments and additional recruiting.
