Miller Advances to Quarters; All Five Flashes Alive After Day One of NCAAs
3/17/2016 4:08:00 PM | Wrestling
New York – Kent State senior Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio) kept his national title hopes alive, while four other Golden Flashes are still in the running for All-American status following two sessions of the 2016 NCAA Championships. Miller went 2-0 Thursday inside Madison Square Garden and was one of four Flashes to advance to the round of 16.
Taking on Iowa's Edwin Cooper in the evening session, Miller needed just 1:11 for his 36th career pin. Following a quick takedown, Cooper stood up and paid for it as Miller returned him to the mat on his back.
"I felt him standing up and I knew I could go to my claw and turn him," Miller said.
In the opening round, Miller put together four takedowns on his way to a 9-4 victory over Aaron Walker of The Citadel. Miller's patented duck under led to a takedown in each period.
"He's (Walker) funky so we didn't want Ian to get into scrambles with him," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "Ian did a good job and controlled the match."
Senior Mack McGuire settled for a 1-1 day falling to Iowa State's Earl Hall in the round of 16. Hall, the No. 8 seed got a key four-point near fall in the second on the way to an 8-3 victory.
McGuire provided some early drama in the Flashes' first match of the day with a 3-2 victory over Michigan's Rossi Bruno in overtime. A returning All-American, Bruno took a 2-0 lead in the second with a reversal. McGuire had escapes in the second and third to force overtime. With no takedown in sudden victory, McGuire rode out Bruno for 30 seconds and stood up for an escape in the final period.
"Mack wrestled a really good match," Andrassy said. "He usually doesn't do as well in his first match of the tournament. He (Bruno) was a tough draw and he won so that's all that matters."
Senior Mike DePalma (Jeannette, Pa.) and redshirt freshman Kyle Conel (Ashtabula, Ohio) also won their first match and dropped their second. DePalma trailed No. 7 Jake Sueflohn 2-1 after two periods before things unraveled in the third in a 10-1 loss.
DePalma won his opening bout 10-1 over Purdue's Alex Griffin. A first period throw attempt led to a scramble and ended with a reshot by DePalma for a takedown. He built his lead to 6-0 with a 2-on-1 tilt and later tacked on a takedown in the second.
"Mike is moving real well," Andrassy said. "His guy made some decent shots and he reacted well. He got one of his tilts which he hasn't gotten in a while."
Conel topped Navy's Michael Woulfe 4-2 in his opening bout. Late in the first, Conel converted a double leg shot. Up 2-1 to start the third from the bottom, Woulfe got a one-count on a turn, but shortly after Conel got a key reversal.
"It was a lot like the other two matches," Conel said of facing Woulfe for the third time. "I'm always trying to get that double," Conel added of his takedown.Â
Showing his potential in the round of 16, Conel jumped out to a 4-1 lead against No. 1 seed Morgan McIntosh of Penn State. McIntosh took the lead late in the second and turned Conel to his back for a pin in the third.
Senior Tyler Buckwalter (Mill Hall, Pa.) dropped his opening bout, but avenged several previous losses to Northern Iowa's Copper Moore. Buckwalter tallied two takedowns in the second and one in the third to top the two-time MAC champion 7-3.
Buckwalter dropped his first bout against No. 3 seed Bo Jordan of Ohio State. Jordan led 8-3 to start the third, when he cradled up Buckwalter for a pin.
After day one, Kent State is currently in 17th place with 9.0 points.Â
Friday's Session III begins at 11 a.m.
Players Mentioned
