Kent State University
VMI
Kent State Drops Pair of Heartbreakers
12/8/2023 5:05:00 PM | Wrestling
KENT- The Golden Flashes had matches with VMI and Gannon go down to the wire, but the visitors prevailed both times with VMI winning 23-16 and Gannon getting a 20-19 tiebreak victory over the host Flashes.
Kent State opened with VMI on Friday afternoon, Adan Benevidez got the afternoon off on the right foot with a 9-5 decision. The freshman got a pair of takedowns and got the riding time bonus to earn the win. The Keydets then won the next three matches, taking a 13-3 lead. At 157, Keegan Knapp got a late takedown in the third period to win a 4-2 defensive battle. Aaron Ferguson got up early on Luke Hart with a takedown and used that to highlight a 4-1 to make it 13-9 VMI. Kyle Snider used a pair of takedowns in a 7-1 win and Blake Schaffer had four takedowns as part of a 18-4 major decision. That setup a 17-16 VMI lead heading into the heavyweight bout. Josh Boggan and Tyler Mousaw traded takedowns and near falls in a back-and-forth match but Mousaw got an advantage in the third period off a reversal and recorded a fall to secure the victory.
VMI 23 Kent State 16
125 Adan Benavidez (Kent State) over Anthony Burke (VMI) (Dec 9-5)
133 Dyson Dunham (VMI) over Matt Ellis (Kent State) (Dec 7-2)
141 Patrick Jordon (VMI) over Billy Meiszner (Kent State) (Fall 0:26)
149 Ryan Vigil (VMI) over Michael Lewarchick (Kent State) (MD 8-0)
157 Keegan Knapp (Kent State) over Josh Yost (VMI) (Dec 4-2)
165 Aaron Ferguson (Kent State) over Luke Hart (VMI) (Dec 4-1)
174 Braxton Lewis (VMI) over Ashton Breen (Kent State) (MD 14-1)
184 Kyle Snider (Kent State) over River Carroll (VMI) (Dec 7-1)
197 Blake Schaffer (Kent State) over Josh Evans (VMI) (MD 18-8)
285 Tyler Mousaw (VMI) over Josh Boggan (Kent State) (Fall 5:45)
In the night cap, Gannon got wins at 125 and 133 to take an early 6-0 lead. Billy Meiszner got Kent State on the board with a dominant 15-3 win, recording four takedowns in the one-sided victory. Knapp moved to 2-0 on the day with another grinder of a victory, getting two takedowns in a 6-2 win as the Flashes chipped into the Gannon lead. The Flashes made their charge at 174,184 and 197 with Aidan Faria, Kyle Snider and Blake Schaffer all picking up wins. Schaffer was particularly dominant, earning a technical fall in a 21-4 win. Schaffer had six takedowns and needed only 25 seconds in the third period to secure the win. That charge put Kent State up 19-13 going into the heavyweight bout. Matt Long used a takedown late in the first period and leveraged it into a fall, tying the score at 19. Each team had won five matches so the deciding point came down to the fall at heavyweight, giving Gannon the second tiebreaker and the victory.
Gannon 20 Kent State 19
125: Hunter Robison (GU) over Adan Benavidez (KENT) (Dec 5-4)
133: Jeremiah Echevarria (GU) over Matt Ellis (KENT) (Dec 3-2)
141: Billy Meiszner (KENT) over Caleb Chaves (GU) (MD 15-3)
149: James Ryan (GU) over Kaden Setzer (KENT) (MD 15-2)
157: Keegan Knapp (KENT) over Ethan Richner (GU) (Dec 6-2)
165: Nicholas Coreno (GU) over Aaron Ferguson (KENT) (Dec 4-2)
174: Aidan Faria (KENT) over Caleb Butterfield (GU) (MD 14-6)
184: Kyle Snider (KENT) over Andrija Ivanovic (GU) (Dec 8-5) 1
97: Blake Schaffer (KENT) over Anthony Glessner (GU) (TF 21-4 5:25)
285: Matt Long (GU) over Josh Boggan (KENT) (Fall 2:18)
(GU Tiebreaker 1.0)
Kent State has a quick turnaround, heading up to the day-long Cleveland State Open on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
