Kent State University
MAC Championship
Miller Wins Third MAC Title as Flashes Finish Fourth
3/8/2015 7:12:00 PM | Wrestling
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Kent State junior Ian Miller captured his third career Mid-American Conference championship Sunday at Missouri's Hearnes Center. Junior Mike DePalma and sophomore Mimmo Lytle also gained automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, while the Golden Flashes finished fourth as a team.
"I'm fairly happy about finishing fourth," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "A few matches here and there and we could have been higher. We got three guys through (to NCAA) and we have a few others that will play the waiting game."
The Golden Flashes have had at least one individual MAC champion in 10 straight seasons as Miller became the 10th Kent State wrestler to win three conference titles. Miller topped Missouri's Joey Lavallee 4-2 in front of the Tiger crowd. The pivotal points came from a first period takedown by Miller at the edge of the mat. With a quick escape to start the third, Miller was able to hold on to his riding time.
"He took a shot and I countershot," Miller said. "I have pretty good mat awareness. I just had to keep my right foot in the whole time. And then I try to ride on the edge as long as I could since it's the safest place to ride."
DePalma punched his NCAA ticket in the consolation semifinals with a second period pin of Eastern Michigan's Nick Barber. DePalma worked his 2-on-1 tilt to perfection first with a three-point near fall in the first and a fall in the second after jumping out to a 7-0 lead.
In his third place match against Ohio's Tywan Claxton, DePalma made it two pins in a row. DePalma got in on a shot and stacked Claxton's leg high as the fall was called without a takedown.
"Mike really stepped up for this tournament, wrestled well and got his mind right" Andrassy said.
Lytle topped Arthur Bunce of Northern Illinois 3-1 in the consolation semifinals. Lytle came through with a takedown on the edge of the mat in the finals seconds of the first period. In the third place bout, Old Dominion's Jake Henderson topped Lytle 2-1 with the help of a stalling call.
With four NCAA bids on the line at heavyweight, Lytle took on Ohio's Jesse Webb for a true fourth place and came away with a 1-0 victory. Lytle's second period escape made the difference.
"Mimmo wrestled the way we expected him," Andrassy said. "I'm real proud of him. The best thing is he's still young and he'll get this experience at the national tournament."
Junior Mack McGuire will be on the radar for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships following a third place finish. In a rematch of Saturday's loss to Ohio's Kagan Squire, McGuire turned the tables with a 3-2 victory. A second period reversal and riding time made the difference as McGuire fought off a late flurry of Squire shots at the end.
McGuire was dominant in a 10-3 consolation semifinal win over Eastern Michigan's Vincent Pizzuto, who defeated McGuire earlier in the season. McGuire tallied takedowns in each period and notched a two-point turn from a crab ride in the second.
Senior Caleb Marsh also put himself in position for a possible NCAA at-large bid with a fourth place finish. Marsh topped Old Dominion's Austin Coburn 10-0 in the consolation semifinals. Marsh jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first with a fireman's carry, a cradle and bow-and-arrow turn.
In his third place bout, Marsh dropped a 4-3 decision to Central Michigan's Jordan Ellingwood, who earned a pivotal riding time point. Ranked No. 29 in the NCAA Coaches Panel, will await the at-large bid announcements this week.
Senior Tyler Small claimed a fifth place with a 6-2 victory over Eastern Michigan's Michael Shaw. Tied 2-2 to start the third, Small scored a go-ahead reversal while Shaw was locking hands. Small dropped his consolation semifinal in sudden victory two as he was hit with a stalling call against Missouri's Lavion Mayes.
On Saturday, Small moved into third place among Kent State's career win leaders with 127. Ranked No. 30 in NCAA Coaches Panel, Small maintains hope for an at-large bid to St. Louis.
Junior Del Vinas settled for a sixth place following a tight 5-4 loss to Old Dominion's Brandon Jeske. Redshirt freshman also Jerald Spohn came away with a sixth place as an injury prevented him from competing in his final match.
The Flashes finished ahead of Central Michigan in the team score at a MAC Championship for the first time since 1997.
The Scottrade Center in Saint Louis will play host to the 2015 NCAA Championships March 19-21.
Players Mentioned
