Kent State University
LIU
Flashes Head to Keystone State for Sunday's Clarion Quad
1/20/2024 10:00:00 AM | Wrestling
KENT- The Golden Flashes will head to the Keystone State on Sunday for the Clarion Quad, taking on the host Golden Eagles as well as Morgan State and LIU.
The quad will get started at noon with Kent State taking on Clarion in a Mid-American Conference dual. Clarion comes in ranked ninth in January's MAC wrestling rankings while the visiting Flashes rank 11th. The Golden Eagles are 2-1 in MAC duals, defeating Bloomsburg and George Mason and falling to Cleveland State. Kent State is 0-2 in MAC duals, dropping December road matches at SIU-E and Northern Illinois. Cameron Pine is ranked second at 184 pounds in the MAC rankings and is the wrestler to watch for Clarion. Blake Schaffer is fourth at 197 pounds and he's the top-ranked wrestler for the Flashes.
Kent State will also wrestle Morgan State and finally LIU after the conference dual. The Bears return to the mat this season for the first time since the program was discontinued after the 1996-97 season. Morgan State is 0-2 against MAC opponents so far this season, dropping duals to George Mason (36-6) and Bloomsburg (29-8). Jacob Marsh wrestles at 165 pounds and leads the Bears with 10 wins on the season. Kent State defeated Morgan State in their lone meeting back in 1995.
The Flashes have never faced LIU, who joined the Division-I ranks in the 19-20 season. They are 2-0 against MAC opponents, edging Buffalo 19-15 and defeating Bloomsburg 29-3. Devin Matthews leads the Sharks with a 12-6 record and starts at 141 pounds. Rhise Royster is LIU's lone ranked wrestler in the EIWA rankings, checking in 7th in the conference at 157 pounds.
Kent State's projected line-up is below. Sunday's dual with Clarion will stream on the subscription-based FloWrestling. Clarion radio will also cover the dual. Links to the Clarion dual are on the wrestling schedule page. The Flashes will stay on the road after a weekend off, traveling to Bloomsburg for a dual with the Huskies on February 3rd.
Adan Benevidez-125 -or- Nico Calello-125
Pablo Castro-133
Billy Meiszner-141
Matt Ryan-149
Keegan Knapp-157 -or-Dillon Carlson-157-or-Ethan Barr-157
Aaron Ferguson-165
Aj Burkhart- 174
Kyle Snider-184
Blake Schaffer-197
Josh Boggan-285-or- Brentan Simmerman-285
Players Mentioned
