Kilgore Becomes Four-Time MAC Champion; Mitcheff & Newburg Also Punch NCAA Tickets
3/10/2013 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Senior Dustin Kilgore (Berea, Ohio) continued on his path to glory, winning a 197-pound Mid-American Conference crown Sunday at the University at Buffalo's Alumni Arena. With a 17-5 major decision over Missouri's Brent Haynes in the final, Kilgore became just the sixth four-time MAC champion in conference history and the second in program history. He was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Joining Kilgore with automatic bids to the NCAA Championships were seniors Stevie Mitcheff (Lorain, Ohio) and Casey Newburg (Union, Ohio). Mitcheff entered Sunday as the No. 3 seed, but came away with a second place. In the toughest bracket of day, Newburg claimed a fourth place.
As a team, the Golden Flashes finished in fourth place with 82.0 points, just one point behind Northern Iowa in third and six points back of Central Michigan in second. No. 4 Missouri took the team title with 136 points in its inaugural tournament appearance.
Kilgore (39-0) notched his 18th pin of the season in the opening round against Central Michigan's Jackson Lewis. He then won by injury default in the semifinals, before putting together six takedowns and two reversals in the championship round.
Sophomore Caleb Marsh (Marysville, Ohio) made a strong case for an NCAA at-large bid with a third place finish at 165. Coming in as the No. 4 seed, Marsh claimed three victories, including a 4-1 decision over Missouri's Zach Toal in the consolation final.
Mitcheff topped Northern Iowa's Ryan Jauch 1-0 in the quarterfinal and Ohio's KeVon Powell 4-1 in the semifinal. Mitcheff then fell to No. 1 Alan Waters (Missouri) 4-0.
Newburg piled up points early and often in a 14-3 major decision of Ohio's Michael Duckworth. He later topped Eastern Michigan Khodar Hoballah 8-2.
Despite being unseeded, senior Tommy Sasfy (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) captured a fifth place. Sasfy defeated No. 4 seed Sparty Chino (Ohio) 4-0 and scored a reversal in his fifth place match with 30 seconds left to claim a 2-0 win over Northern Illinois' Andrew Morse.
Freshman Mack McGuire (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) also went 2-2 in a fifth place finish. McGuire won his fifth place bout 14-2 over Eastern Michigan's Vincent Pizzuto and will keep his hopes up for an at-large bid.
Also hoping for an at-large bid will be redshirt freshman Sam Wheeler (Copley, Ohio). Wheeler placed sixth in a bracket that had five automatic bids. Freshman Luke Kern (Delta, Ohio) and senior Keith Witt (Oak harbor, Ohio) also grabbed sixth places.
The NCAA Championships will be held March 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa. At-large bids will be announced Wednesday, March 13.
Kilgore final match highlights
Marsh final seconds of consolation final
McGuire takedown & near fall
Kilgore's Pin
