Kent State University
Northern Illinois
Wrestling Closes Out 2019 With Pair of Duals
12/17/2019 9:51:00 PM | Wrestling
KENT, OHIO- Kent State will wrap up the 2019 calendar season with a key pair of duals this week, taking on Northern Illinois Wednesday in a crucial MAC dual and #7/8 Wisconsin on Thursday.
Both matches will begin at 8 eastern/ 7 central.
The Golden Flashes are coming off a strong showing at the Cleveland State Open. Kent State totaled 419 points, second only to the host Vikings on Saturday. Berthold led the way with his runner-up finish. The heavyweight had two victories by fall and a third by major decision en route to a 3-1 day. Andrew McNally and Colin McCracken each finished fourth, putting three wrestlers in this week's starting line-up with a fourth-place showing or better.
After the Open, the Golden Flashes have two wrestlers ranked by the MAC in their respective classes. Tim Rooney is ranked 4th at 133 while Andrew McNally is ranked 4th at 174. The match to watch out for against NIU is at 174 which features the MAC's #4 wrestler (McNally) and potentially its #6 wrestler, Kenny Moore.
ABOUT NIU
The match against Northern Illinois is especially critical for the Golden Flashes as NIU is currently tied for 7th in the latest MAC wrestling rankings while Kent State is tied for 13th.
The Huskies (4-3, 1-1) won the previous with the Golden Flashes 22-13 last season, inside the MAC Center. The Huskies will be looking for their second MAC win in three tries this season, having lost 26-6 to Rider and picking up a narrow 19-17 over Clarion as part of the Purdue Duals.
The Huskies feature five wrestlers ranked by the MAC in their respective weight classes. Bryce West (4th at 125), Izzak Olejnik (4th at 165), Kenny Moore (6th at 174), Brit Wilson (4th at 184) and Gage Braun (5th at 197).
Lineup vs NIU
125 Earl Blake or Tomas Gutierrez vs Bryce West
133 Tim Rooney vs Caleb Brooks
141 Cory Simpson vs Anthony Gibson or Nathan Swartz
149 Kody Kamara vs McCoy Kent
157 Brady Christman vs Mason Kauffman or Dylan Thurston
165 Kade Byland vs Izzak Olejnik
174 Andrew McNally vs Caden McWhirter or Kenny Moore
184 Shane Mast or Tyler Bates vs Brit Wilson
197 Colin McCracken vs Gage Braun
Hwt Spencer Berthold vs Max Ihry or Terrese Aaron
ABOUT WISCONSIN
The Badgers come into the meet ranked in the top-10 in both tournament and dual rankings in the Intermat top-25. They come into the dual at 6-1 on the season, their lone defeat coming to Big-10 rival Iowa. They're 2-0 against the MAC this season with a 33-3 win at Buffalo and a 28-15 victory at Edinboro back in November.
One of the wrestlers to watch is redshirt senior Seth Gross, the #2 wrestler at 133 according to Intermat. Gross comes into the match at 10-1 on the season, his only defeat coming to fellow top-3 wrestler Austin DeSanto of Iowa.
In total, six Badgers rank in the Intermat top-20 at their respective weight class. Gross (#2, 133), Tristan Moran (#9, 141), Cole Martin (#17, 149), Evan Wick (#3, 165), Johnny Sebastian (#19, 184) and Trent Hilger (#4, hwt) represent Wisconsin in the rankings.
This will be the third meeting all-time between the schools, with each school taking a dual so far. Kent State won 33-10 back in February of 2013 while the Badgers took a 37-13 decision in November of 2018.
Lineup vs Wisconsin
125 – Eric Barnett vs Earl Blake or Tomas Gutierrez
133 – Seth Gross vs Tim Rooney
141 – Tristan Moran vs Cory Simpson
149 – Cole Martin vs Kody Kamara
157 – Garrett Model or Drew Scharenbrock vs Brady Christman
165 – Evan Wick vs Kade Byland
174 – Jared Krattiger or Tyler Dow vs Andrew Mcnally
184 – Johnny Sebastian vs Shane Mast or Tyler Bates
197 – Taylor Watkins or Peter Christensen vs Colin McCracken
285 – Trent Hillger vs Spencer Berthold
FOLLOW ALONG
Wednesday's dual will air on NIU Tube while Thursday's dual will be on Big Ten Network Plus. The dual with the Badgers will also air on 96.7 FM, links to watch and listen to the matches can be found on the wrestling schedule page.
LOOKING AHEAD
Kent State will host their first match of 2020, welcoming in MAC foe SIU-Edwardsville on Tuesday, January 7th. Please note, that dual match will take place at the Kent State Field House next to Dix Stadium. The dual is scheduled for a noon start time.
Players Mentioned
