Kent State University
Central Michigan University
Flashes to Host Tri-Meet with Central Michigan and Edinboro
2/12/2016 11:39:00โฏAM | Wrestling
No. 17 Kent State (13-3, 6-1 MAC) closes out its regular season Sunday at the M.A.C. Center, in a tri-meet with No. 20 Central Michigan and Edinboro.ย Winners of seven straight, the Golden Flashes will recognize seven seniors prior to their 1 p.m. dual with the Chippewas.ย CMU will then take on Edinboro followed by the Flashes matchup with the Fighting Scots.
Dual Success
Since Head Coach Jim Andrassy's third season (2005-06), the Golden Flashes have gone 141-66-1 in dual meets and 47-15-1 in MAC dual meets.ย Six of Kent State's wins this season have been by 25 or more points.ย Since the 2010-11 season, Kent State is 21-9 at home.ย Kyle Conel and Ian Miller are undefeated in dual meets, while Mack McGuire is 13-2.ย
Live Video and Audio
Live video of Sunday's duals can be seen on KentStateSports.com.ย Live audio can be heard on Golden Flashes Radio on iHeartRadio.ย
Moving Up a Weight
Despite competing above their natural weight classes, Jairod James and Anthony Tutolo have found recent success in dual meets.ย On Jan. 24, James made his college dual debut and first appearance at 174, with a win over Old Dominion's Brooks Climmons.ย James improved to 2-0 in duals last weekend with victory over Northern Iowa's Kyle Lux.ย
Tutolo cracked the lineup by moving up to 141 last month and has victories in three of his last five duals.ย Despite giving up height and weight advantages, Tutolo came through with clutch victories that made the difference in team wins over Ohio and Eastern Michigan.
The Opponents
Central Michigan (8-4, 5-1) has won its last three MAC duals (Buffalo, EMU, Northern Iowa) by double-digit margins.ย Eight Chippewas are ranked in this week's NCAA Coaches Panel.ย CMU won its first four duals of the season, including an impressive 33-0 shutout of Michigan State.ย Following a second place team finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions, the Chippewas were ranked as high as No. 16 in the Coaches Poll.ย Senior 141-pounder Zach Horan and senior 174-pounder Mike Ottinger are both two-time MAC champions and three-time NCAA qualifiers.ย Senior 157-pounder Luke Smith went 3-2 at the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Edinboro (8-7) clinched an Eastern Wrestling League regular season title by going 6-0 in conference duals.ย Six Fighting Scots are ranked in this week's NCAA Coaches Panel, following the recent returns of senior 184-pounder Vic Avery and sophomore 157-pounder Austin Matthews, who missed the first half of the season with injuries. Avery finished third at last year's NCAA Championships, while Matthews earned a trip to NCAAs as a freshman.ย Edinboro placed third as a team at last year's NCAA Championships and fifth in 2014.ย This year, the Scots finished first of 12 teams at the PSAC Championships with six individual champions.
Projected Lineup vs. Central Michigan
125: Del Vinas (9-13) vs. No. 21 Brent Fleetwood (16-9)
133: No. 8 Mack McGuire (21-4) vs. No. 26 Corey Keener (13-8)
141: Anthony Tutolo (23-14) vs. No. 16 Zach Horan (20-8)
149: No. 19 Mike DePalma (19-6) vs. No. 12 Colin Heffernan (15-4) or Justin Oliver (23-4)
157: No. 3 Ian Miller (19-0) or Casey Sparkman (26-11) vs. No. 11 Luke Smith (25-5)
165: No. 29 Tyler Buckwalter (20-9) vs. No. 33 Jordan Atienza (22-14) or Jordan Wohlfert (5-8)
174: Mike Vollant (11-13) or Jairod James (15-4) vs. No. 9 Mike Ottinger (24-5) or CJ Brucki (29-6)
184: No. 29 Cole Baxter (20-9) vs. No. 32 Jordan Ellingwood (24-10) or Austin Severn (14-6)
197: No. 15 Kyle Conel (22-5) vs. Jackson Lewis (15-13)
285: Stephen Suglio (11-15) or Devin Nye (25-12) vs. Newton Smerchek (11-10) or Adam Robinson (22-10)
*Feb. 12 NCAA Coaches Panel Rankings
Projected Lineup vs. Edinboro
125: Del Vinas (9-15) or Drew Dickson (12-12) vs. No. 22 Sean Russell (22-6)
133: No. 8 Mack McGuire (21-4) vs. Anthony Rivera (7-10)
141: Anthony Tutolo (23-15) vs. Tyler Vath (9-15)
149: No. 19 Mike DePalma (19-6) vs. No. 17 Patricio Lugo (25-4)
157: No. 3 Ian Miller (19-0) or Casey Sparkman (26-11) vs. No. 21 Austin Matthews (6-1)
165: No. 29 Tyler Buckwalter (20-9) vs. No. 24 Casey Fuller (22-6)
174: Mike Vollant (11-13) or Jairod James (15-4) vs. Patrick Jennings (19-12) or Ty Schoffstall (7-3)
184: No. 29 Cole Baxter (20-9) vs. No. 5 Vic Avery (6-1)
197: No. 15 Kyle Conel (22-5) vs. Vince Pickett (17-13)
285: Stephen Suglio (11-15) or Devin Nye (25-12) vs. No. 22 Billy Miller (23-7)
* Feb. 12 NCAA Coaches Panel Rankings
Conel Climbing The Polls
Unranked and under the radar for the first two months of the season, redshirt freshman Kyle Conel is now No. 15 at 197 pounds.ย Conel won a championship at the Lock Haven Classic on Dec. 29, sparking a current 13-match winning streak.ย After going 4-0 at the Virginia Duals, Conel was named both MAC Wrestler of the Week and MAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week.ย Conel defeated two Top 20 opponents (Phil Wellington, Anthony Abro) in the same weekend in team victories over Ohio and Eastern Michigan.ย Last weekend, he defeated No. 16 Shawn Scott, of Northern Illinois, 9-5.
Miller Still Perfect
Senior Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio), currently 19-0, is looking to join Dustin Kilgore as the only Kent State wrestler to have an undefeated regular season in the modern era.ย Miller won 157-pound titles at both the Navy Classic and Las Vegas Invitational.ย He recently passed Nick Nemeth for fifth place in career victories at KSU with 124.ย Miller was named MAC Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 25.ย He is No. 3 in the latest NCAA Coaches poll.ย Miller recorded his 35th career pin at Navy, which ranks fourth among Kent State's career leaders.ย
History vs. Opponents
Central Michigan holds a 27-20 all-time series lead with Kent State and has won 16 of the last 18 meetings.ย The Flashes last victory came in 2012 at the M.A.C. Center on their way to a MAC regular season title.ย Last season in Mount Pleasant, the Chippewas took six matches in a 19-13 victory.ย CMU also took six matches the last time the teams met in Kent in 2014 for a 21-12 road win.
Edinboro leads the all-time series with Kent State 7-4, including victories in each of the last three seasons.ย The Flashes' last win came in 2011 at the M.A.C. Center.ย Last season at Edinboro, the Fighting Scots won seven matches in a 27-12 victory, including three one-point decisions with a riding time point.ย Mack McGuire, Ian Miller and Tyler Buckwalter claimed Kent State's three wins.ย Miller and Cole Baxter each earned victories the last time the teams met at the M.A.C. Center in 2014.ย
Quick Shots
- Associate Head Coach Matt Hill won 105 matches, while wrestling for Tim Flynn at Edinboro and Mike DePalma spent two seasons with the Fighting Scots before transferring to Kent State.
- DePalma leads the team with seven tech falls and 12 bonus-point victories following a major decision at Northern Iowa. After going 3-0 at the Eastern Michigan Duals, DePalma became the first of three Flashes named MAC Wrestler of the Week this season.
- Cole Baxter and Devin Nye lead the team with seven pins each.ย Nye won a 285-pound title at the Cleveland State Open in December.ย
- With 104 career victories, Mack McGuire can catch Head Coach Jim Andrassy for 15th place among Kent State's career leaders.
- Kent State is No. 16 in the latest InterMat Tournament Rankings, No. 19 according to Wrestling Report and No. 17 in the W.I.N. Dual Team Rankings.
- With a 3.17 this fall, Kent State recorded its highest grade point average in program history.
- Sophomore Jairod James (Bedford, Ohio) won a 165-pound title at the Purple Raider Open.
- Although KSU has often had seven seniors in its lineup, six Flashes have earned their first career MAC dual victories this season (Tutolo, Sparkman Conel, Suglio, Nye, James).
- Kent State's seven straight years with at least one All-American is the 11th longest active streak in the nation.
- Redshirt freshman Isaac Bast placed second at the Edinboro Open last Saturday at 165.
Up Next
Kent State will be among nine teams competing for NCAA Championship qualifying spots at the 2016 Mid-American Conference Championships March 5-6 at Eastern Michigan's Convocation Center.ย ย
Players Mentioned
