No. 21 Kent State to Compete in Virginia Duals Friday and Saturday
1/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
After taking a much-needed, two-week break from action, No. 21 Kent State will compete in the Virginia Duals Friday and Saturday (Jan. 13-14) at the Hampton Coliseum. Earning the No. 3 seed in the dual tournament, the Golden Flashes will take on The Citadel in Friday's opening round at 11 a.m.
Possible Opponents
An opening round victory would put Kent State in the 3 p.m. quarterfinal round against the winner of the Buffalo-Bucknell dual. With two victories, the Flashes could have a potential semifinal matchup with No. 20 Rutgers (7-1), Saturday at 2 p.m. No. 9 Missouri (6-1) is the tournament's top seed and a possible opponent in Saturday night's championship dual at 8:30. No. 23 Edinboro is the fourth seed and one of four NWCA Top 25 squads in the 14-team tournament.
Bracket
Live video of select dual meets can be seen at www.virginiaduals.org. Results can be seen on www.trackwrestling.com.
- Senior 165-pounder Ross Tice (Brookfield, Ohio) is expected to make his return to the starting lineup this weekend. The two-time NCAA qualifier has been out of action for the last six weeks with a knee injury.
- Last season, Kent State placed third at the Virginia Duals with wins over Lehigh (16-15), Arizona State (31-7) and Rider (26-16). The Flashes only loss came against eventual national champion Penn State (27-15).
- Six Golden Flashes are ranked in the Top 25 according to WrestlingReport.com, while three Kent State grapplers are ranked in the Top 10 according to InterMat and The Open Mat.
- In their most recent dual action, the Golden Flashes won 17-of-20 matches, earning a convincing 29-6 conference victory over Northern Illinois and a 43-6 blowout win over Cleveland State.
- In the Cleveland State dual, Nic Bedelyon and Brendan Barlow each joined the 100-victory club.
- The Golden Flashes are tied for No. 3 with Lehigh in the latest National Wrestling Media Association's Mid-Major Poll. Cornell and Wyoming are in the top two spots.
- Since the 2005-06 season, the Flashes have gone 89-30-1 in dual meets.
- Kent State is represented in the Top 4 of all 10 weight classes in the Jan. 11 MAC rankings, including four (Nic Bedelyon, Tyler Small, Ian Miller, Keith Witt) at the No. 1 spot.
First Opponent
The Citadel is coming off a 28-14 victory over Duke last week. Junior heavyweight Odie Delaney and senior 125-pounder Richard Alarcon each recorded pins for the Bulldogs. Junior 174-pounder Turtogtokh Luvsandorj is ranked as high as No. 14 in national polls. The Citadel also has a dual victory over North Carolina State this season. Kent State is 6-1 all-time against The Citadel, including a 40-6 win at the Virginia Duals in 2007.
Weight-by-Weight Breakdown
125 Senior Nic Bedelyon (Lewistown, Pa.) has not competed since Dec. 21. He claimed a 13-5 major decision over No. 19 Nick Smith (NIU) and a 6-0 shutout over previously unbeaten Ben Willeford (CSU) in his last matches. Bedelyon (19-1) is No. 4 in four national polls and has tallied four pins, three tech falls and three major decisions. He went 5-0 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with two pins, a major decision and two wins over Top 10 opponents. He has earned MAC Wrestler of the Week honors twice this season. On Nov. 21, he defeated previous No. 3 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma) 7-3 in the NWCA All-Star Classic. Bedelyon also won individual titles at the Body Bar and the Eastern Michigan Open. He is 33-3 in his last 36 matches. with two setbacks coming at the NCAA Championships.
Bedelyon hopes for a Kent State-Missouri matchup this weekend and a shot at redemption against No. 3 Alan Waters, his only loss of the season.
133 Junior Stevie Mitcheff (Lorain,Ohio) is coming off his best performance of the season, going 4-1 in a third place finish at the Mat Town Invitational two weeks ago. Mitcheff (10-12) won his first two matches of the Cleveland State Open and advanced to the semifinals. He went 3-2 at the Body Bar with a pin. He is No. 4 in the latest MAC rankings. Junior Troy Opfer (Sandusky, Ohio) is 10-9 on the year and could also see action at 133.
Possible ranked opponents include No. 32 Mike DeMarco (Rutgers) and No. 6 Nate McCormick (Missouri).
141 Sophomore Tyler Small (Littlestown, Pa.) is ranked No. 9 in three national polls and No. 1 in the MAC. Small recently finished second at the Mat Town Invitational with his only loss coming against defending national champion Kellen Russell (Michigan). Small placed sixth at the Las Vegas Invitational, where he advanced to the semifinals. He knocked off three Top 20 opponents in the span of four days at the Body Bar Invitational and Edinboro dual. He is 20-6 on the year with five pins, four major decisions and a technical fall. He has won titles this year at the Body Bar and the Eastern Michigan Open (Fresh/Soph Division).
Potential ranked opponents include No. 15 Kevin Smith (Buffalo), No. 24 Billy Ashnault (Rutgers) and No. 19 Nick Hucke (Missouri).
149 True freshman Ian Miller (Graytown, Ohio) was named Outstanding Wrestler at the Mat Town Invitational and moved up to No. 4 according W.I.N.'s rankings. Miller went 4-0 with two major decisions and two pins at Mat Town, including a fall against No. 14 Tyler Nauman (Pitt). Miller (18-3) leads the team with nine pins, including falls in each of his last two duals. He also has five major decisions and is 7-1 in duals. Miller also won an individual title at the Body Bar, which included a pair of Top 20 opponents in the bracket. Senior Marcel Clopton (Shaker Hts., Ohio) also made the semifinals at the Mat Town Invitational, before suffering an injury. Clopton (13-7) also finished second at the Cleveland State Open and has six bonus point wins on the season.
Possible ranked opponents include No. 12 Kyle Bradley (Missouri), who Miller lost to earlier this season and No. 3 Mario Mason (Rutgers).
157 Junior Mallie Shuster (Newville, Pa.) is 7-1 in dual meets this season and 22-8 in career duals. Shuster (18-9) suffered a pair of close losses in his fourth place finish at Mat Town, but tallied his first pin and third major decision of the season. He was named MAC Wrestler of the Week after defeating Top 20 opponents from Missouri and Ohio State in December. Shuster is ranked No. 16 according to W.I.N. and is No. 2 in the MAC. Shuster went 3-2 in Las Vegas, coming up one win shy of placing. He has piled up 82 career victories.
Potential ranked opponents include a rematch with No. 12 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri).
165 Fifth year senior Ross Tice originally injured his knee Nov. 19 at the Body Bar after a pair pins and a trip to the semifinals. He re-aggravated the knee in his first bout at the Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 2 and has been out of action since. In his last dual Tice earned a 5-2 win over Edinboro's Ethan Saylor. Tice currently owns 90 career victories. Junior Tommy Sasfy (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) has gone 7-5 since bumping up to 165 pounds, including wins in his last three duals. He also placed fourth at the Eastern Michigan Open.
Potential opponents include No. 23 Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo), No. 25 Corey Lear (Bucknell), No. 9 Scott Winston (Rutgers) and No. 16 Zach Toal (Missouri).
174 Sophomore Brandonn Johnson (Middletown, Md.) is on a five-match winning streak, including victories in each of his last two duals. He went 3-0 with a pin in the semifinals at the recent Mat Town Invitational, while wrestling up a weight at 184. Nine of Johnson's 13 wins have been bonus point victories. Johnson (13-12) is No. 3 in the MAC and claimed a second place finish at this year's Body Bar, going 3-1. He has five pins, a technical fall and three major decisions this season. Sophomore Kwan Bailey (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) could also see action for the Flashes at 174.
The Citadel is expected to send out No. 14 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj. Other opponents could include No. 14 Greg Zanetti (Rutgers) and a pair of strong options for Missouri.
184 Junior Casey Newburg (Union, Ohio) has won 184-pound titles at each of his last two tournaments. He most recently recorded a pair of first period pins and a major decision at the Mat Town Invitational. After missing time with an injury, Newburg (19-7) went 4-0 at the Cleveland State Open with a pin and a major decision. Newburg is currently ranked No. 23 by WrestlingReport.com and No. 3 in the MAC. He went 4-1 at the Body Bar.
No. 14 Mike Larson (Missouri) is among potential opponents at 184.
197 Junior Keith Witt (Oak Harbor, Ohio) has won eight of his last 10 matches and held his No. 1 spot in the latest MAC rankings. In his last dual action, Witt defeated NIU's Mike Lukowski, who is No. 2 in the MAC rankings. Witt went 3-0 with two quick pins at the Cleveland State Open and recently went 3-2 at the Mat Town Invitational. Last month, he upset No. 11 Brent Haynes of Missouri 2-0. Witt went 3-2 in Las Vegas, coming up one win shy of placing. He placed third at the Body Bar. Since the 2009-10 season, he's tallied 20 pins. Senior Ryan Buckner (Elmore, Ohio) won a co-championship at the Cleveland State Open and is 6-6 on the year.
Haynes is among the potential opponents this weekend as is No. 19 Dan Rinaldi (Rutgers).
285 Fifth-year senior Brendan Barlow (17-7) has won six of his last seven matches, including a 6-3 victory over No. 9 Peter Capone (Ohio State). Barlow is ranked No. 11 by W.I.N. and No. 3 in the MAC. He recently finished second at Mat Town, going 3-1 with a pin and a major decision. Barlow placed fourth in Las Vegas, going 6-2 with a major decision and wins over three Top 20 opponents.
Potential opponents include No. 30 Devin Miller (Missouri), who edged Barlow in a dual earlier this season. Barlow will also likely face No. 26 Odie Delaney of The Citadel.
