From Unseeded to All-American
3/16/2018 3:28:00 PM | Wrestling
Kent State junior 197-pounder Kyle Conel (Ashtabula, Ohio) defied all odds and became the Golden Flashes' latest All-American Friday at Quicken Loans Arena. Conel shocked No. 1 seed Kollin Moore (Ohio State) in the quarterfinals, before falling to No. 4 Michael Macchiavello of NC State in Friday night's semifinals.
Conel tossed Moore to his back and pinned him 1:30 into the first period.
"This is the greatest feeling in the world," Conel said. "I have so many people here supporting me and it just drives me to do so much better. Â
"He shot in and I stuffed it. I came up with double underhooks and I jacked it up and when I locked up, I threw it. And I was not letting go because I wanted that pin."
Unseeded and placed in yesterday's pigtail round, Conel is now 4-1 for the tournament and is guaranteed a top six finish. He has wins over the No. 1, 8 and 9 seeds. Conel will take the winner of Jacob Holschlag of Northern Iowa.Â
Conel's semifinal appearance was the first time a wrestler from the pigtail round made the NCAA semifinals since the seeding expanded to 16 in 2014.
"We knew if something like this was going to happen, it was going to be in the first period," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "We talked about it ahead of time. Moore comes at you. He's not going to back down. Kyle did a great job of just getting in there and going for the big move."
In his semifinal, Conel claimed the opening takedown, but Macchiavello put Conel on his back in the second to end his Cinderella run
"We're just glad he's in this position to be an All-American," Andrassy said. "Hopefully he can rest up, come back tomorrow and get a third."
Kent State has now had at least one All-American in nine of the last 10 seasons. Seven Flashes have combined for 12 All-America finishes in that time.
Junior Anthony Tutolo (Concord, Ohio) Tutolo's season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion, a loss in sudden victory 2 at the hands of West Virginia's Matthew Schmitt. Â Tutolo started the second period with a quick reversal, but two escapes from Schmitt sent it into overtime.Â
Neither wrestler was able to convert a takedown in the first one-minute sudden victory period. Both earned escapes during the tiebreaker. Schmitt's match-saving escape came with just five seconds left. A Schmitt shot in the next period led to a scramble and Tutolo getting stuck on his back, while attempting to roll.
"Anthony's usually really good in scrambles, but that guy did exactly what he was supposed to do and caught Anthony's back shoulder," Andrassy said. "Making it to day two was a big step for Anthony. Now his focus will be on taking it further next year."
Senior heavyweight Stephen Suglio (Richfield, Ohio) also bowed out of the tournament during Friday's Session III. Suglio dropped a 12-3 decision to Purdue's Shawn Streck.
"He was facing a bigger guy and it was a tough matchup," Andrassy said. "Stephen would be a 197-pounder in another program. But he ended his career at the national tournament, which is a great thing."Â
With 14.5 points, the Golden Flashes sit in 25th place in the team standings.
Session V of the NCAA Championships begins at 12 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU.
