Miller Advances to NCAA Quarterfinals
3/19/2015 2:55:00 PM | Wrestling
ST. LOUIS - Kent State junior Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio) is heading back to the quarterfinals following a pair of victories at the 2015 NCAA Championships Thursday inside the Scottrade Center. Junior Mack McGuire (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) also went 1-1 Thursday and remains in the hunt for All-America honors.
Miller's first victory came against Purdue's Doug Welch. Behind four takedowns and riding time, Miller claimed a 9-4 decision. A single leg takedown and a duck under gave him a 4-2 lead in the first and an inside trip extended the lead to 6-3 in the second. Miller put the finishing touches on Welch in the third with an ankle pick.
In the evening round Miller pinned No. 10 seed Justin DeAngelis of Oklahoma in the third period. With takedowns in the first and second period, Miller held a slim 4-3 lead to start the third. DeAngelis opted to let Miller up to start the third. As DeAngelis started to take a shot, a Miller underhook immediately pancaked DeAngelis to his back.
"Ian controlled the match and fought off some offensive attacks," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said of Miller's second match. "He's got a lot left in his toolbox. And this is the spot he wanted to be in. And hopefully he can get to the semifinals for the second year in a row."
McGuire topped Oklahoma State's Gary Wayne Harding in convincing fashion, 10-4 in his opening match. McGuire led 4-0 just seconds into the match with a crafty two-point turn at the edge of the mat. He scored takedowns in the second and third period nearly earning a major decision, before a late reversal by Harding.
In his evening bout, McGuire dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 1 seed Chris Dardanes of Minnesota. A McGuire escape to start the third tied the match 1-1, before Dardanes spun behind McGuire for the takedown.
Sophomore Mimmo Lytle (Swanton, Ohio) fell to Appalachian State's Denzel Dejournette 7-4. Lytle grabbed an early 2-0 lead with a takedown at the edge, but Dejournette came back with an escape and a takedown in each of the first two periods.
Lytle then dropped his second match 8-4 to Cleveland State's Riley Shaw.
Junior Mike DePalma (Jeannette, Pa.) jumped out a 5-1 lead in his opening match, but fell 8-5 to Penn's Charles Cobb. A takedown by Cobb in the third proved to be a pivotal blow.
DePalma also carried 10-2 lead in his evening bout, before being pinned by Illinois' Kyle Langenderfer late in the second period.
Senior Tyler Small (Littlestown, Pa.) dropped his opening bout to last year's NCAA runner-up Devin Carter of Virginia Tech 22-7. Small then came up short in his second match against Iowa State's Dante Rodriguez.
Friday's quarterfinal session begins at 11 a.m. Eastern inside the Scottrade Center. McGuire will take on Chattanooga's Nick Soto, while Miller will battle No. 2 Brian Realbuto of Cornell.
