Kent State University
Lock Haven
Kent State Wrestling To Host Lock Haven On Senior Night
2/18/2026 5:46:00 PM | Wrestling
KENT, Ohio- The Kent State Wrestling team will honor their senior class that has left an impact on the program on Thursday Night for a Senior Night dual. The Flashes will go up against Lock Haven with the first match set to begin at 7 P.M.
Last Time Out
The Kent State Wrestling team took to their home mat for third consecutive week on Friday night as they took on Central Michigan and Mercyhurst in two duals.Â
The Flashes were narrowly defeated in the final match in a 21-16 loss to Central Michigan, while the Blue and Gold showed their dominance in the second dual with a 45-3 win over Mercyhurst.
In the first bout, Ethan Barr had a big win over Cody Brenner(CMU) with a 16-1 Technical Fall to get the Flashes right back into the dual after the Chippewas jumped out to a sizable lead.
Nick Molchak(133) and Chris Earnest(165) both earned Major Decision victories over their opponents, while Blake Schaffer also scored an 8-4 win over Lucas Cochran(197), who is currently right behind Schaffer in the MAC Rankings.
The dual came down to the final bout of the night, as Central Michigan led 18-16 going into the 285-pound match. However, the Chippewas notched the final victory as Byran Caves took down Brentan Simmerman 5-0 in a battle of nationally-ranked wrestlers.
In the second meet of the day, the Flashes showed their dominance over the Lakers as they won nine matches. KSU recorded two falls as Ethan Barr(174) produced his ninth of the season in the first round over Brady Fitz. Freshman Jaiden Sarabia had the other fall for Kent State in his dual-debut in just 22 seconds.
Six Flashes won by Technical Fall which included Nico Calello(125), Ismael Ayoub(141), Keegan Knapp(157), Jake Jonker(184), Mason Higley(197) and Corey Boerio(285). Higley was impressive in his first dual in a Kent State singlet as Boerio secured his first dual victory of the season. Ty Deericks also defeated Keith Mincin in a 14-8 Decision.
Scouting Lock Haven
The Bald Eagles are coached by Scott Moore, the twin brother of Flashes Head Coach Josh Moore. The two meet-up for the sixth time dating back to Josh Moore's time at Cleveland State.
Lock Haven comes into the dual with a 12-4 overall record and 5-1 in the MAC. Within the last two weeks, the Bald Eagles have split duals with Rider and Edinboro. They are currently in second-place in the conference standings.
LHU excels in the lower weight classes as they will bring in three nationally-ranked wrestlers into Kent. Gable Strickland(133) is currently ranked 33rd in the country while Wyatt Henson(141) is ranked 20th in the nation and second in the MAC.
Lucas Kapusta(149) is the other nationally ranked wrestler coming in at 23rd. He is currently ranked third in the MAC and will be fighting for conference tournament seeding in the final week of the regular season.
Series History
Thursday will mark the 14th all-time dual-meeting between the Golden Flashes and the Bald Eagles as Lock Haven currently leads the series with a record of 9-4. The last Kent State victory over LHU came in 2014 by a score of 22-18.
Projected Lineups
Kent State vs. Lock Haven
125- Nico Calello(17-15) vs. Curtis Nelson/Alex ReedÂ
133- Nick Molchak(19-14) vs. No. 33 Gable Strickland/Patrick O'Keefe
141- Landen Duncan(10-13) vs. No. 20 Wyatt Henson/Hunter Gould/Jake Zaltsman
149- Nate Roth(12-10) vs. No. 23 Lucas Kapusta
157- Reese Stephen(10-10)/Keegan Knapp(19-9) vs. Nick Stampoulos/Chase Burke
165- Chris Earnest(14-6)/Ty Deericks(13-12) vs. Ousmane Duncanson/Nick Kunstek
174- Ethan Barr(21-10)/Braxton Quaintance(17-12) vs. Avery Bassett/Connor Wetzel
184- Ronnie Dimmerling(11-11) vs. Sam Gautreau/Cale Black
197- No. 28Â Blake Schaffer(21-7)/Mason Hilgey(17-12) vs. Tucker Hogan
285- No.21 Brentan Simmerman(13-9)/Corey Boerio vs. Kade Sottolano/Ethan Miller
Up Next
With the final regular season dual for Kent State coming on Thursday, the Golden Flashes will next turn their attention to the 2026 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships, taking place in Buffalo, New York, on March 6th and 7th.
Follow Kent State Wrestling
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Players Mentioned
