Kent State University
Northern Illinois
Schaffer and Ferguson Post Wins against NIU, Flashes Rout Harper
12/19/2023 1:57:00 PM | Wrestling
DeKalb-Aaron Ferguson and Blake Schaffer picked up victories for the Golden Flashes against NIU and Kent State went undefeated against Harper College in the final two duals of the 2023 calendar year.
Kent State fell 37-6 to NIU and dominated Harper 44-6 in the nightcap.
Against NIU, Ferguson got the Flashes on the board at 165 pounds. Ferguson got a trio of take downs in his match with Tommy Bennett and added an escape and the riding time bonus to win a 11-9 shootout.
Schaffer earned his team best 17th win of the season, knocking off Sean Carroll 5-3. Schaffer got a first-period take down to grab an early lead and built a 4-0 advantage with a second period escape. Carroll did counter with his own take down but Schaffer escaped to go up two and a scoreless third period cemented the victory.
Following the match with NIU, the Flashes took down Harper College 44-6. The Flashes all seven matches that were competed, winning two more by forfeit. Highlighting the nightcap was Kyle Snider, winning his match at 184 pounds with a fall against Connor Lorden. Kent State added four victories by technical fall. Keegan Knapp pitched a 16-0 shutout at 157 pounds against Benny Butler and Waylon Wehler won 15-0 at 174 pounds versus Ali Adel. Aden Benevidez ended his match early in the third with a 18-1 victory against Chris Kish. Kaden Setzer posted the fourth tech fall with a 19-2 drubbing of Durya Minor. Josh Boggan and Matt Ellis each posted one-sided decisions, winning 13-8 and 7-0, respectfully.
Scores from the duals are listed below. The Flashes will return to action at the Franklin and Marshall Open in January. They will return to traditional duals on January 12th at the historic Virginia Duals.
Kent State 44, Harper College 6
125: Adam Benavidez (Kent State) over Chris Kish (Harper), TF 18-1, 5:12
133: Matt Ellis (Kent State) over Solomon Gilliam (Harper), Dec 7-0
141: Ethan Thompson (Harper) over unknown (Kent State), Forfeit
149: Kaden Setzer (Kent State) over Durya Minor (Harper), TF 19-2
157: Keegan Knapp (Kent State) over Benny Butler (Harper), TF 16-0
165: Aaron Ferguson (Kent State) over unknown (Harper), Forfeit
174 Waylon Wehler (Kent State) over Ali Adel (Harper), TF 15-0
184: Kyle Snider (Kent State) over Connor Lorden (Harper), Fall
197: Blake Schaffer (Kent State) over unknown (Harper), Forfeit
285: Josh Boggan (Kent State) over Oleg Simakov (Harper), Dec 13-8
Players Mentioned
