Flashes to Compete at Brute Invitational and Midlands Championships This Weekend
12/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Three Kent State wrestlers accepted invitations to compete in the prestigious Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena, while the rest of the Golden Flashes head to Lock Haven, Pa. for the Brute Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 29. Formerly known as the Mat Town Invitational, Kent State will be one of 12 teams at Thomas Fieldhouse in a field that includes: Pitt, Drexel, MAC-rival Buffalo, Binghamton, Old Dominion, Gardner-Webb, George Mason, Bloomsburg, VMI, host Lock Haven, and Franklin and Marshall.
Fifth-year senior Dustin Kilgore (Berea, Ohio) will be joined in Evanston, Ill., by Tyler Small (Littlestown, Pa.) and Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio), who will both compete unattached.
Kilgore (17-0), the nation's consensus No. 1 at 197 pounds will share a bracket with Pitt's Matt Wilps, the nation's consensus No. 2. Kilgore is coming off his 36th straight victory and 51st consecutive win a dual. He raised his Kent State record-holding win total to 152, with a pin in 47 seconds against Northern Illinois' Parker Settecase. Kilgore will be looking for his fifth tournament title of the season.
Live audio of the Midlands can be heard on TheMat.com. Sunday's finals can be seen live on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. Eastern. Small (14-3) and Miller (10-5) were both Mid-American Conference champions last season and will compete at 141 and 157 respectively.
Team scores in Lock Haven will be determined from one wrestler (highest scoring) in each weight class. Last season, the Golden Flashes finished third of 11 teams.
Live results can be found on golhu.com and live video of the finals can be seen on FloWrestling and PAWRvideo.
Senior Casey Newburg (Union, Ohio) will be looking to win his fourth tournament title this season in Lock Haven. A co-champion last year at Thomas Fieldhouse, Newburg currently leads the Flashes with 18 victories. At the Las Vegas Invitational, he became the 13th member of Kent State's 100-victory club. Now with 103 wins, Newburg is ranked No. 17 by WrestlingReport.com.
Senior 125-pounder Stevie Mitcheff (Lorain, Ohio) is coming off a 10-0 shutout of NIU's Derek Elmore in the first MAC dual of the season. Last season in Lock Haven, Mitcheff went 4-1 in a third place finish, while competing at 133 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Nick Carr (Fayette, Pa.) is coming off two straight dual wins, including a 10-3 victory over No. 10 Cam Tessari (Ohio State). Now 14-4 on the year, Carr is No. 31 at 149, according to WrestlingReport.com.
Also coming off victories in his first two career duals is redshirt freshman Sam Wheeler (Copley, Ohio). Ranked No. 30 at 174, Wheeler (12-5) rallied from a third period deficit and pinned NIU's Matt Mougin.
Senior heavyweight Keith Witt (Oak Harbor, Ohio) placed fourth in Lock Haven last season, while competing at 197. Witt has placed as high as second in tournament competition this season.
Redshirt freshman Kyle Bauer (Wheeling, W.Va.) will move up to 141 this weekend, where he will be joined by sophomore Andy Candiello (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Bauer is 11-10 on the year and looks to make a case for the starting spot at 141. Meanwhile, true freshman Mack McGuire (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) will make his push for the starting spot at 133. McGuire (11-9) has placed in the top six at both the Michigan State Open and Buffalo Invitational.
Sophomore Caleb Marsh (Marysville, Ohio) is 8-3 at 165 and is coming off his first dual win, an 8-2 decision over NIU's Dan Burk.
