Kent State University
Old Dominion University
Flashes to Host Old Dominion and Central Michigan
2/8/2018 4:49:00โฏPM | Wrestling
Kent State (11-8, 1-3) closes out the home portion of its schedule with a pair of Mid-American Conference duals this weekend.ย The Golden Flashes take on Old Dominion (7-8, 3-2) Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 16 Central Michigan (7-4, 4-1) Sunday at 2 p.m.
Live video of both duals can be seen on KentStateSports.com, while live stats can be followed on TrackWrestling.com.ย
Prior to Sunday's dual against the Chippewas, Kent State will recognize its three seniors:ย Will Bardezbain, Chance Driscoll and Stephen Suglio.ย On Friday, Ben Heyob will be presented with the Jerry Petrofes Memorial Endowed Scholarship.
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Probable Kent State Lineup 125- Jake Ferri (11-13) 133- No. 28 Anthony Tutolo (22-10) 141- Tim Rooney (25-11) 149- No. 33 Nick Monico (19-11) 157- Casey Sparkman (20-13) 165- Isaac Bast (19-16) 174- Dylan Barreiro (18-15) 184- Colin McCracken (12-18) or Shane Mast (8-16) 197- No. 29 Kyle Conel (17-9) 285- Stephen Suglio (14-8) NCAA Coaches Panel Rankings
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Probable Old Dominion Lineup 125- No. 22 Michael McGee (22-8) 133- No. 33 Caleb Richardson (11-14) or Steven Simpson (6-5) 141- No. 21 Alex Madrigal (16-6) or Mason Wohltman (11-9) 149- Kenan Carter (19-11) or Jake DiBenedetto (18-6) 157- No. 25 Larry Early (22-8) 165- Luke Drugac (12-12) or Ben Schram (9-7) 174- No. 24 Seldon Wright (20-8) or Dean Drugac (7-7) 184- Antonio Agee (16-11) 197- Noah Bushman (7-12) or John D'Agostino (3-9) 285- Ali Wahab (14-8) |
Probable Central Michigan Lineup
125- Drew Hildebrandt (13-15)
133- Dresden Simon (14-14)
141- No. 10 Mason Smith (27-4)
149- No. 4 Justin Oliver (22-3) or Nolan Saxton (14-8)
157- No. 32 Colin Heffernan (11-14) or Blake Montrie (8-14)
165- Logan Parks (14-9)
174- No. 14 CJ Brucki (18-9)
184- No. 15 Jordan Ellingwood (21-7)
197- No. 27 Jordan Atienza (16-9)
285- No. 18 Matt Stencel (23-11)
*NCAA Coaches Rankings from Feb. 8
Quick Shots
- Junior Casey Sparkman leads the Flashes with 11 bonus-point victories (5 tech falls, 6 major decisions) this season.ย He is also the Flashes' active leader in career victories with 99.
- True freshman Jake Ferri (125) recently earned his first career MAC dual victory at Ohio
- Junior Anthony Tutolo was named MAC Wrestler of the Week last month after going 4-0 at the Virginia Duals.
- The NWCA honored Kent State for having the fourth highest grade point average in the nation last season at 3.423.
- Junior Kyle Conel is 23-6 in career dual meets.ย
- Conel, junior Devin Nye and freshman Colin McCracken all 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 MAC Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 15, after going 5-0 at the Journeymen Duals and Journeymen Classic.ย
Dual Success
Eight of the Flashes' dual wins this year have been by 11 or more points.ย Four of those wins have been by 27 or more points.
Since the 2005-06 season, Kent State is 156-89-1 in dual meets and 49-26-1 in MAC duals.ย
Opponents and Series Histories
Since early January, Old Dominion has earned notable dual wins over Eastern Michigan, Chattanooga and Buffalo. ย Sophomore 157-pounder Larry Early placed eighth at Midlands this season, winning five matches.ย Sophomore 133-pounder Steven Simpson and junior 149-pounder Kenan Carter each won individual titles at the Lock Haven Classic.
Kent State leads the all-time series with Old Dominion 11-4, dating back to 1990.ย In the four conference clashes since the Monarchs joined the MAC, each team is 2-0 at home.ย Last season in Norfolk, the Flashes and Monarchs won five matches each, but bonus points gave Old Dominion a 23-19 victory.ย In the last battle at the M.A.C. Center, the Flashes earned a 25-13 victory in 2016.
Seven Chippewas are ranked in the latest NCAA Coaches Panel.ย Central Michigan opened dual meet competition with a 31-9 victory over Michigan State this season.ย Junior 149-pounder Justin Oliver won an individual title at the Las Vegas Invitational, going 6-0.ย Sophomore 141-pounder Mason Smith finished fifth at Las Vegas.ย Redshirt freshman heavyweight Matt Stencel placed second at the Eastern Michigan Open.
Central Michigan leads the all-time series with Kent State 28-21.ย The longtime rivals have met every year since 1979.ย The Chippewas have 17 of the last 20 meetings, but the Flashes have won two of the last three meetings in Kent.ย Kent State edged Central Michigan 18-17 the last time the teams met at the M.A.C. Center in 2016.ย The Chippewas won nine matches last season in Mount Pleasant on the way to a 40-3 victory.
MAC Rankings
Five Golden Flashes were in the latest February MAC rankings:
No. 4 Anthony Tutolo, 133
No. 4 Tim Rooney, 141
No. 4 Nick Monico, 149
No. 4 Casey Sparkman, 157
No. 4 Kyle Conel, 197
Up Next
The Golden Flashes conclude their regular season with a Feb. 16 dual meet at Northern Illinois.ย
Players Mentioned
