Flashes in Second After Day One of MAC Championships
3/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.- Six Kent State wrestlers are in contention for automatic bids to the NCAA Championships following day one of the Mid-American Conference Championships at Central Michigan's Rose Arena. The Golden Flashes currently sit in second place in the team standings with 44 points, while CMU leads with 54.5 points.
KSU pushed four wrestlers (Brendan Barlow, Dustin Kilgore, Keith Witt, Danny Mitcheff) through to Sunday's championship finals, while four others are still alive, two of which (Adam Cogar, Ross Tice) have shots at NCAA automatic bids.
"It's mixed emotions right now," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "We pulled some upsets and we had some guys get upset. Second place isn't where we want to be, but Central Michigan's a better team right now."
Senior Danny Mitcheff (133) tied Kent State's career record for victories (126) with a 5-2 win over Buffalo's Kevin Smith 5-2 in the semifinals. It was the third time this season Mitcheff (29-3) has defeated Smith, who is ranked No. 18. Mitcheff scored takedowns in the first and third periods to earn his fourth consecutive trip to the MAC finals.
Kilgore (184) earned his ninth and 10th major decisions of the year. In the quarterfinals Kilgore (32-1) dropped Buffalo's Josh Peters, 15-6, before easing by Eastern Michigan's Phillip Joseph, 11-2.
After drawing a bye, Witt (174) pinned Ohio's Jacob Ison with one second remaining in the match. The second-seeded Ison tried to be aggressive from his feet in the third, but Witt tossed him to his back for his fourth takedown of the match. Witt fell to Ison earlier in the season, but is now in position to claim one of the two available spots for the NCAA Championships at 174.
"Keith turns it up a notch for big matches," Andrassy said. "He's been like that since high school. Ison is a fifth-year senior, but Keith kept himself in position score throught the match."
Barlow (285) also drew a quterfinal bye before pulling away with a 3-1 semifinal victory Northern Illinois' Dakota Greenhaw.
Tice scored a convincing 7-1 quarterfinal decision over NIU's Joe Clothier, using two takedowns and a two-point near fall. Top-seeded Tyler Grayson (Central Michigan) handed Tice a 6-1 loss in the semifinals. Tice kept his hopes alive for a true second place with a 6-0 shutout of Ohio's Kevin Christensen. Tice scored a first period takedown and a pair of two-point tilts.
Cogar tallied three takedowns in a 7-4 quarterfinal win over NIU's Scott Penny. Cogar then dropped a 1-0 decision to Ohio's Eric Schuth, who scored the match's only point with a third period escape. With a second period pin of EMU's Travis Stanback, Cogar kept NCAA hopes alive.
Redshirt freshman Chase Skonieczny (141) blanked Buffalo's Andrew Schutt 5-0 in the quarterfinals. Skonieczny scored an opening period takedown, a third period reversal and piled up several minutes of riding time. He then fell to Central Michigan's Conor Beebe in the semifinals. In the consolation round, Skonieczny redeemd himself against Eastern Michigan's Corey Phillips. After losing to Phillips earlier in the season, Skonieczny scored a 6-3 victory.
Sophomore Troy Opfer (125) fell to Central Michigan's Matt Steintrager 5-1 in the semifinals, before competing in a marathon. NIU's Izzy Montemayor jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Opfer in the consolation round, before it went into overtime tied 4-4. The first two sudden victories and first two tiebreakers were not enough to settle it as Opfer got behind Montemayor for the takedown in the third sudden victory to claim a 6-4 win. The tournament's longest match needed almost 12 minutes of wrestling to be settled.
Redshirt sophomore Marcel Clopton (149) and Nothern Illinois' Dan Ruettiger were deadlocked at 1-1 in the final minute of their quarterfinal bout, before Ruettiger worked a late cradle from the neutral position for a 6-1 win. Clopton then had to face top-seeded Tony D'Alie (Central Michigan). D'Alie broke a late third period 1-1 tie with a takedown and held on for a 3-2 win.
Redshirt freshman Mallie Shuster (157) defeated Eastern Michigan's Aaron Sulzer 9-5 in the quarterfinals, before dropping his next two bouts. Sulzer grabbed the opening takedown before Shuster put together eight straight points. Bryan Deutsch of Northern Illinois (12-3) and Buffalo's Andrew Stella (3-1) ended Shuster's tournament run.
"We train ourselves to do well on the second day of tournaments," Andrassy said. "And we expect to win to win a lot of matches tomorrow."
The championship and consolation finals will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. at Rose Arena.
| Updated Brackets |
