Kent State University
West Virginia University
Flashes Open Up Season at WVU Quad Meet
1/8/2021 10:30:00 AM | Wrestling
KENT, OHIO- The Kent State Golden Flashes hit the road this Sunday, starting the 2021 wrestling season, heading to Morgantown, West Virginia to take the host West Virginia Mountaineers as well as the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Ohio Bobcats.
The Golden Flashes and the Mountaineers will square-off at noon, followed by West Virginia at 1:30 and Ohio at 3 p.m. All three matches can be seen on ESPN+. Track wrestling will also provide live stats for the match.
Kent State and West Virginia often cross paths at tournaments and invitationals, but rarely square off in traditional duals. The Flashes are 4-2 all-time against WVU but haven't met since 2001 as a part of the Hampton Duals. The same can be said about the Golden Flashes and the Hokies, who will meet for the 11th time on Sunday. The Hokies hold a 6-4 all-time lead in the series with the last four meetings happening at the Hampton Duals. The match against Ohio University will not be a MAC matchup and will be run under round-robin scoring, no team score will be kept, and the results will only go towards the wrestler's overall won-loss record.
Golden Flashes fans can look for this projected lineup on Sunday
125 Jake Ferri
The senior comes into 2021 as the #33-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds by Wrestle Stat. The Massachusetts native took a red shirt last season and went 19-3 last season including a four-match win streak to close the year. Ferri won a pair of "unattached" titles last season, taking the crown at the Clarion Open and the Mountaineer Open. Sunday's opener has the potential to be a great test for Ferri as he is slated to face Killian Cardinale of West Virginia, Wrestle Stat's #27 wrestler at 125 pounds.
133 Pat Gould or Brandon Fenton
We will see a new wrestler at 133 pounds for the Golden Flashes after the graduation of national qualifier Tim Rooney. Pat Gould or Brandon Fenton will get the nod on the opening weekend after both redshirted last season. Gould went 2-4 in 2019-20 wrestling at the Lake Erie Storm and Clarion Opens. Fenton started his career at Pitt, going 7-13 for the Panthers in 2018 at 125 pounds. He moved up a weight for the Golden Flashes and went 9-3 last season which included an eight-match win streak.
141 Avry Mutschler
Mutschler redshirted in his first year at Kent, going 6-9 in 15 matches across four Opens in 2019-2020. The Lowell, Michigan native had a very impressive high school career that included a state championship and three all-state seasons.
149 Kody Komara
2021 will be Komara's third as a Kent State starter. The redshirt junior is looking to build off a 15-19 campaign last season that included a win by fall at the conference tournament. Komara also finished third at the Mountaineer Invite and had a strong showing at the Hampton Duals, going 3-1.
157 Ian Senz
The redshirt sophomore gets the nod at 157 for the Golden Flashes, his first season as the opening weekend starter. Senz got some spot starts for the Golden Flashes last season, picking up a pin during the opening tri-meet of the season. Overall, Senz went 8-12 last season and will look to solidify the 157-weight class with a strong showing in Morgantown.
165 James Limongi
Like Senz, Limongi is a redshirt sophomore and will be in the starting lineup for the first time. Limongi will look to build off a terrific end to last season where he went 4-0 en route to claiming the title at the John Carroll Open. Limongi will face a tremendous test this weekend as Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis is a top-10 wrestler at 165 pounds.
174 Andrew McNally
McNally has been a steadying force for the Golden Flashes since he arrived from Eastern Michigan prior to the 2019 season. McNally has won 65 matches for Kent State, qualifying for nationals in each of the last two seasons. Wrestle Stat has McNally as their #13 wrestler at 174 pounds.
184 Tyler Bates
The redshirt sophomore was in and out of the starting lineup last season, going 13-14 overall on the year. Bates rolled off a six-match win streak in the early stages of the 2019-2020 season and that included a title at the Mountaineer Invitational at App State. He is looking at a probable rematch with Anthony Carman of West Virginia, the two of them crossed paths at the Cleveland State open with Carman earning the victory with a third period fall.
197 Colin McCracken
The redshirt junior starts the year in the top-40 wrestlers at 197 pounds after a 24-15 season in 2019-20 that included four victories in the MAC tournament and a fifth-place finish. McCracken knocked on the door of some tournament titles last year, finishing second at the Navy Classic and 3rd at the App State Mountaineer Classic. He will be tasked with taking on one of the top wrestlers at 197 in West Virginia's Noah Adams. Adams went 32-0 last season as a sophomore.
Heavyweight Jacob Cover
Cover returns to the mat for the Golden Flashes after redshirting last year due to injury. In 2018-19, Cover went 13-11 overall in open tournaments including a 5-1 mark at the Ohio Intercollegiate Open, earning a fifth-place finish. Cover potentially will face a top-20 wrestler in Virginia Tech's John Borst.
About the Opponents
West Virginia is coming off a 4-12 season overall and 1-7 in the Big-12. Noah Adams is the headliner of their starters, going 32-0 last season. He was +59 in dual points last season including five falls.
Virginia Tech is a well-balanced team that has risen to a #9 ranking according to Wrestle Stat and defeated Campbell to open the year. They have five wrestlers in the top-20 of their respective ranking, according to Wrestle Stat. Headlining that group is Mekhi Lewis who is ranked second at 165 pounds and is 30-2 in his career.
Ohio and Kent State will meet on February 7th in their traditional MAC dual. Sunday's match-up serves as a way for both school's starting lineups to get extra matches in and help assure that wrestler's will be the qualifying standards for the national tournament.
Follow Along
As stated above, ESPN + will stream all of Sunday's matches. Additionally, Track Wrestling will be live tracking the matches. You can also follow the matches on Twitter @KentStWrestling as we will be updating matches and overall scores as the day goes on. All of the links are available on the Kent State Wrestling schedule page.
Looking Ahead
Kent State will be on the road again next Saturday, making the short trek north to take on Cleveland State. It will be the first MAC competition of the year for Kent State. The first match of the dual meet is set for 11 a.m.
Players Mentioned
