Kent State University
MAC Championships
Earnest And Schaffer Advance To MAC Finals As Flashes Turn In Impressive Day One At The MAC Championships
3/6/2026 10:13:00 PM | Wrestling
Buffalo, NEW YORK- The Kent State Wrestling team turned in an impressive Day one performance in the Mid-American Conference Championships in Buffalo, New York on Friday. Junior Chris Earnest(165) and senior Blake Schaffer(197) each pulled off big upset wins in the semifinals against top seeds to advance to their respective conference final bouts.
Earnest and Schaffer both received byes into the quarterfinals as Earnest won his first match over Chandler Amaker(Central Michigan) by a score of 11-1 in a Major Decision. Schaffer scored a win against a Central Michigan opponent of his own with a 4-1 victory over Luke Cochran.
In the semifinals Earnest matched-up with top-seeded Brock Woodcock(SIUE). After a defensive match, Earnest was able to dig deep to produce a two-point reversal as the buzzer sounded to give him a 4-3 win and send him to the finals.
Schaffer also had to come from behind in the final period of his semifinal bout. He scored two takedowns in the final minute to secure a victory over Brock Zurawski(Rider), avenging a loss to him earlier in the season to advance to the finals.
The Blue and Gold will have four other wrestlers who will compete in Day 2 on Saturday as Nick Molchak(133), Reese Stephen(157), Ethan Barr(174) and Brentan Simmerman(285) all have an opportunity to place in the top-six after staying alive with consolation victories.
Up Next
The Golden Flashes will return six wrestlers for Day 2 of the MAC Wrestling Championships on Saturday with Schaffer and Earnest fighting for a MAC Title. Action will begin at 11:30 inside Alumni Arena in Buffalo, New York.
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