All-American Drought Over; Porter Beats Buzzer
3/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
All-American Drought Over; Porter Beats Buzzer
Senior turns 3-2 loss into stunning 4-3 win to end 23-year streak
By Ty Linder
SAINT LOUIS - A streak whose lifespan reached 23 years was finally killed Friday afternoon in the Gateway City.
But it went out kicking and screaming.
Trailing 3-2 against Lehigh's Zach Rey, KSU senior Jermail Porter took a shot near the edge with 30 seconds left in regulation. He came up short, and it appeared his efforts to end the much ballyhooed streak would as well.
With memories of a one-point loss in last year's All-American round still very fresh, the KSU coaches watched precious seconds tick away. 20. 15. Then inside 10.
After a brief glance at the tripod timer, Porter fired both arms around the legs of Rey, drove his left shoulder in and dropped his opponent to the mat. Referee Matt Zietz' right arm shot up with the two points that won the match for Porter and snapped the streak.
"It was just a matter of time," head coach Jim Andrassy said. "He's had an unbelievable year and I never had a doubt he could do this."
Porter, now a winner of 29 straight will face Missouri's Mark Ellis in the championship semi-finals tonight.
Kent State's last AA was Don Horning in 1986.
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Bedelyon Stays Alive; Tournament Run Ends for Kilgore, Chine
KSU's Nic Bedelyon used a five-point cradle in the second period to take a 5-0 lead on Penn State's Brad Pataky, then rolled up two more takedowns for a 9-3 win in the wrestlebacks.
Bedelyon, who in the morning session secured an 8-6 win over Iowa State's Tyler Clark, will face Oklahoma's Joey Fio - a seven seed. That match takes place just after 6 p.m. central time Friday night.
From Friday Morning Session:
In the championship quarterfinals, Kent State suffered a pair of lopsided setbacks. At 133, Dan Mitcheff lost to a two-time All-American Jayson Ness from Minnesota, 6-1. The KSU junior was not able to stop the bevy of tight singles by Ness who is also a previous NCAA finalist. Mitcheff awaits Steve Bell of Maryland in Friday night's wrestleback action.
At 141 pounds, Drew Lashaway became Maryland Terrapin Alex Krom's third upset victim. The unseeded Terp rolled up four takedowns and a couple near fall points as well. The 10-1 final sends Lashaway to the wrestlebacks where he'll face Frank Molinaro of Penn State.
Bedelyon, Mitcheff and Lashaway are one win from All-American status. KSU still has senior Jermail Porter in the championship semis with an estimated match time of 8 p.m. central.
KSU is currently 11th in the team standings with 26 points, a half point in back of 10th-place Michigan.
UPDATED: 2:24 CST
