Kent State University
Harper College
Kent State Opens MAC Competition at NIU Quad Meet
12/17/2021 12:59:00 PM | Wrestling
KENT, OHIO- The Golden Flashes hit the road this weekend and open up Mid-American Conference competition on Saturday against Northern Illinois as part of a quad-meet hosted by the Huskies.
Kent State will also take on Harper College and South Dakota State in addition to host Northern Illinois. NIU is ranked 13th and South Dakota State 14th in the last mid-major top-20 coaches' poll, Kent State is receiving votes. Harper College is a junior college in Palatine, Illinois.
The Golden Flashes will take on NIU first, with the wrestling starting at noon central, one eastern. Kent State will then face South Dakota State and Harper with a brief intermission in between each dual.
Northern Illinois was ranked third in the pre-season Mid-American Conference rankings. The Flashes and Huskies met last year as part of a round-robin meet in Kent, but no team score was kept.
Potential high-ranking matches to watch out for include Jake Ferri vs Bryce West at 125 pounds, that bout would feature the top-ranked (Ferri) and third-ranked (West) in the pre-season MAC rankings. The two have met once previously, back in 2019 with West taking a 4-3 decision. At 149 pounds, Kody Komara and Anthoiny Cheloni are scheduled to clash in what would be the fifth and sixth MAC wrestlers at 149 pounds. The two have met twice previously, Cheloni last won a 1-0 decision in the MAC tournament. The Huskies have the top-ranked wrestlers in the MAC at 165 pounds (Izzy Olejnik) and 184 pounds (Brit Wilson) and the second-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds (Mason Kauffman), giving the Flashes prime opportunity to move up in the rankings.
Kent State and South Dakota State have met only once, a Kent State win back in 2014. The two squads were both at the Cliff Keen Invitational early this season. Louis Newell will likely rematch with Clay Carlson, who is currently ranked fifth at 141 pounds according to Wrestle Stat, Carlson won their first match out in Vegas. Tyler Bates and Tanner Sloan will likely cross paths in the 197-pound class, Sloan won a narrow decision out in Vegas. In addition to Carlson and Sloan, the Jackrabbits have top-35 wrestlers at 165 pounds (Tanner Cook, #33), 174 pounds (Cade DeVos, #16) and 285 (AJ Nevills, #25).
Saturday's dual with Northern Illinois will air on the NIU streaming platform for a fee, the link is on the wrestling schedule page. The other duals will not be streamed, and no live stats will be provided for any match.
The Flashes will be fielding the line-up below for Saturday's matches.
125 Jake Ferri and Kade Orr | 133 Brendon Fenton |141 Louis Newell | 149 Kody Komara and Tyler Johnson | 157 Enrique Mungia and Bobby Pryhocki | 165 Najee Lockett and James Limongi | 174 Michael Ferree and James Limongi | 184 Colin McCracken | 197 Tyler Bates | 285 Jacob Cover and Brady Chrisman
Kent State will be back in action on Tuesday, traveling to Edinboro to take on the Scots for a 1 p.m. start.
Players Mentioned
