Ian Miller Earns His Second Mid-American Conference Title

Saturday, March 8

Kent, Ohio

TBA

Kent State University

MAC Championships

Photo by: David Dermer

Ian Miller Earns His Second Mid-American Conference Title

3/9/2014 5:39:00 PM | Wrestling

Final Brackets & Team Scores

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KENT, Ohio – Sophomore Ian Miller continued to dominate from his feet Sunday on the way to his second conference tournament title during the 2014 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships inside the M.A.C. Center. Joining Miller with NCAA automatic qualifying spots were sophomores Michael DePalma and Mack McGuire, who each claimed third places.

Behind four takedowns and riding time, Miller secured a 9-4 victory over Central Michigan's Luke Smith in the finals. Miller converted a pair of duck-unders for first period takedowns including one in the final seconds. A Smith escape in the second cut the lead to 4-2, but Miller continued to attack and scored takedowns in the second and third periods.

"When I'm able to get my offense going, it's hard to stop," Miller said.

DePalma worked his two-on-one tilt in each of his two victories Sunday, downing Northern Illinois' Rob Jillard 10-3 and top-seeded Tywon Claxton (Ohio) 5-0. DePalma clung to a 1-0 lead after two periods in his third place match against Claxton, before putting him on his back for a five-count to seal the victory.

McGuire avenged an earlier season loss to Eastern Michigan's Vincent Pizzuto with a 4-2 victory in his consolation semifinal. McGuire's third period reversal proved to be the difference maker. He then won his third place match by medical forfeit over Northern Illinois' Nick Smith.

Sophomores Cole Baxter and Tyler Buckwalter each grabbed fifth places. Despite losing to Central Michigan's Nick Becker 4-1 on Saturday, Buckwalter repaid the favor Sunday with a 6-3 decision with takedowns in the first and second periods.

Baxter topped Northern Iowa's Jared Bartel 6-2 in his fifth place bout. Baxter slipped through a Bartel headlock attempt for a first period takedown and jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a reversal early in the second period.

Baxter, Caleb Marsh and Tyler Small will keep their fingers crossed for NCAA at-large bids to be announced during the week.

As a team, Kent State finished in sixth place with 67 points. For the second straight season, Missouri won the team title. The Tigers' 118.5 points edged Northern Iowa's 116 points.

With Miller's title, Kent State becomes the only MAC program to have at least one individual conference champion in each of the last nine seasons.

Miller, DePalma and McGuire will compete at the 2014 NCAA Championships March 20-22 inside Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Center. The entire tournament can be seen on ESPN, ESPNU and ESPN3.