Kent State University
Chattanooga
Flashes Return to Virginia Duals This Weekend
1/11/2018 9:34:00 AM | Wrestling
Kent State (8-4) will begin the 2018 calendar year, taking on four opponents over two days at the Virginia Duals Friday and Saturday (Jan. 12-13) inside the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. The Golden Flashes open their weekend up Friday against Chattanooga (3-3) at 9 a.m. Kent State then renews a rivalry with former Mid-American Conference member No. 11 Northern Iowa (2-1) at 11 a.m.
Live results can be followed on TrackWrestling.com and live video can be seen with a subscription to TrackWrestling. The entire Virginia Duals event features 13 Division I teams and is held in conjunction with a small college and high school dual tournament.
The top four teams from each pool will advance to Saturday's Gold Bracket. There will also be a four-team Silver Bracket and a four-team Bronze Bracket, giving each team two additional dual meets. Silver and Bronze brackets will begin Friday at 3 p.m. and conclude Saturday at 10 a.m. Gold bracket semifinals will be Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by the championship and third place duals at 8:30 p.m.
Competing Teams
|
Hampton Pool |
James Pool |
Poquoson Pool |
York Pool |
|
No. 9 Virginia Tech |
No. 10 Arizona State |
No. 11 Northern Iowa |
No. 20 Lock Haven |
|
Old Dominion |
Virginia |
Kent State |
Oklahoma |
|
Campbell |
Iowa State |
Chattanooga |
Bucknell |
|
|
|
|
Fresno State |
Flashes Traveling to Virginia Duals
125- Will Bardezbain (15-9), Jake Ferri (9-8)
133- Anthony Tutolo (17-8)
141- Tim Rooney (22-7), Chance Driscoll (7-9)
149- Nick Monico (18-8)
157- Casey Sparkman (16-10), Ben Heyob (7-7)
165- Isaac Bast (15-13), Lane Hinkle (9-9)
174- Dylan Barreiro (17-11)
184- Colin McCracken (10-14)
197- Kyle Conel (14-5), Shane Mast (6-13)
285- Devin Nye (20-13)
Quick Shots
- Seven of the Flashes' eight dual wins this year have been by 11 or more points. Four of those wins have been by 27 or more points.
- The NWCA honored Kent State for having the fourth highest grade point average in the nation last season at 3.423.
- Junior Casey Sparkman leads the Flashes with 11 bonus-point victories (5 tech falls, 6 major decisions). He is also the Flashes' active leader in career victories with 95.
- Junior Kyle Conel is 20-2 in career dual meets.
- Conel and junior Devin Nye lead the team with five pins on the season. Nye's 31 career pins rank fifth among Kent State's all-time leaders.
- Conel won a 197-pound title at the Clarion Open this season, while Nye won a 285-pound crown at the Cleveland State Open for the second time in his career.
- Sophomore Tim Rooney was named Mid-American Conference Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 15, after going 5-0 at the Journeymen Duals and Journeymen Classic.
- Since the 2005-06 season, Kent State is 153-85-1 in dual meets and 48-25-1 in MAC duals.
The Opponents & Series History
Northern Iowa recently finished second of 24 teams at the Southern Scuffle. Seven Panthers earned top five finishes. Sophomore 125-pounder Jay Schwarm, junior 165-pounder Bryce Steiert, junior 184-pounder Drew Foster and sophomore 197-pounder Jacob Holschlag all finished second.
The Panthers lead the all-time series with the Flashes 3-1, including a 31-16 road victory in Kent last season. Chance Driscoll and Casey Sparkman earned two of the Flashes four individual victories. In 2016, the Flashes topped UNI 22-13 in Cedar Falls.
UNI Wrestlers at Virginia Duals
125- Jay Schwarm (17-4)
133- Jack Wagner (6-10), Rudy Yates (8-5)
141- Josh Alber (16-3)
149- Max Thomsen (16-5)
157- Paden Moore (12-6), Logan Ryan (10-4)
165- Dan Kelly (8-6), Isaiah Patton (11-9)
174- Taylor Lujan (18-3)
184- Drew Foster (14-4)
197- Jacob Holschlag (11-4)
285- Carter Isley (14-8)
Chattanooga has dual wins over VMI, Davidson and Ohio. The Mocs recently finished 11th at the Southern Scuffle. Senior 184-pounder Bryce Carr placed third and senior 197-pounder Scottie Boykin finished fifth. Junior 149-pounder Roman Boylen placed eighth winning five matches.
Kent State leads the all-time series with Chattanooga 10-4, but the Mocs have won the last three meetings. Last season in Kent, each team won five matches, but Chattanooga used bonus points for a 22-19 road win. Driscoll, Sparkman, Anthony Tutolo and Tim Rooney were all winners against the Mocs. The Flashes' last win in the series came in 2010.
Chattanooga Wrestlers at Virginia Duals
125- Alonzo Allen (10-5), Fabian Gutierrez (4-6)
133- Chris Debien (6-9), Jake Huffine (0-5)
141- Michael Pongracz (9-8)
149- Roman Boylen (10-7)
157- Dylan Forzani (4-8), Jake Adcock (5-6)
165- Chad Pyke (12-7)
174- Justin Lampe (10-8)
184- Bryce Carr (15-4)
197- Scottie Boykin (15-5)
285- Torrez Finney (0-0), Ben Stacey (1-6)
Virginia Duals History
Prior to the current pool format at the Virginia Duals, Kent State placed in the top six spots of the dual tournament in eight straight seasons. In 2012, the Golden Flashes went 4-0, capping off its run with an upset of Missouri in the championship round.
Last season, the Flashes finished 1-3 with a 26-15 win over the Citadel. In 2016, Kent State went 3-1 overall, winning the Silver Bracket.
Last Time Out
The Golden Flashes went 2-2 at the South Beach Duals Dec. 29-30, highlighted by victories over Columbia (25-12) and SIU-Edwardsville (31-3). Junior Anthony Tutolo went 3-1 on the weekend. Kent State's losses came against No. 4 Missouri and No. 13 Cornell.
MAC Rankings
Four Golden Flashes are in the latest January MAC rankings:
No. 4 Anthony Tutolo, 133
No. 4 Nick Monico, 149
No. 4 Casey Sparkman, 157
No. 2 Stephen Suglio, 197
Up Next
The Golden Flashes take on archrival Ohio on Friday, Jan. 19 in Athens.
Players Mentioned
