Flashes Travel to Northern Illinois & Northern Iowa

Feb 7, 2014 by FloWrestling Staff

Heading down the final stretch of the regular season, Kent State takes a long weekend bus trip west, visiting Northern Illinois Saturday and No. 5 Northern Iowa Sunday. Coming off an 18-12 road win at Eastern Michigan, the Golden Flashes (9-8) sit in a tie for third place in the Mid-American Conference standings at 3-2.

Live Video

Live video Saturday can be seen free on niuhuskies.com, beginning at 4pm Eastern. Sunday’s video can be seen with a subscription on unipanthers.com, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern.

The Competition

No. 5 in this week’s coaches poll, Northern Iowa (9-0, 6-0 MAC) is one of just three undefeated teams in the nation. Six Panthers are currently ranked in the Top 20, while four are ranked No. 1 in the MAC. Senior 133-pounder Joe Colon is No. 1 in the nation. Last weekend, UNI downed Ohio 25-15 and South Dakota State 29-12. The Panthers finished fifth at this year’s Midlands Championships.

The Huskies (6-9) claimed a convincing 24-9 road win at Eastern Michigan last month. Senior heavyweight Jared Torrence is No. 3 in this week’s MAC rankings. Senior 133-pounder Nick Smith went undefeated (5-0) in MAC duals last season. Senior 174-pounder Matt Mougin won three matches at last year’s NCAA Championships. Saturday will be NIU’s final home meet of the season.

Dual Success & MAC Duals
Since Head Coach Jim Andrassy's third season (2005-06), the Golden Flashes have gone 118-45-1 in dual meets. Since the 05-06 season, Kent State has gone 36-9-1 in MAC duals. During that time, the Golden Flashes are unbeaten against the combination Eastern Michigan, Buffalo and Northern Illinois.

The Panthers are the second of three new opponents on the 2013-14 conference schedule. Kent State defeated Old Dominion 25-7 in December and will also take on Missouri (Feb. 21) for the first time in a conference dual this season.

History vs. Northern Illinois & Northern Iowa
Kent State leads the all-time series with Northern Illinois 20-5-2 with its last loss coming in 2005. Last season, the Golden Flashes took 7-of-10 matches in a 29-9 victory at the M.A.C. Center. Kent State’s returning winners include Caleb Marsh and Sam Wheeler. The last time the teams met in DeKalb, the Flashes came away with a 29-6 win two years ago.

Northern Iowa and Kent State will be competing in a dual meet for the first time in the history of the programs. The Panthers came to Kent last season for NWCA National Duals, but did not face the Flashes.

In The Rankings

This week, Kent State is No. 21 according to WrestlingReport.com, No. 25 according to InterMat, No. 28 in Takedown Wrestling’s Dual Impact Index and No. 33 in W.I.N.’s Tournament Power Index. The Flashes are also one of two schools in the NWCA (Top 25) Coaches’ Poll in the “receiving votes” category. Six Golden Flashes are ranked in this week’s Top 25 according to WrestlingReport and seven are in the Top 33. Six Flashes are in the Top 4 spots of the latest MAC rankings, putting Kent State in a tie for fourth in the MAC team rankings.

Sophomore Ian Miller is No. 5 in multiple polls. Sophomore Sam Wheeler is as high as No. 8 at 184 and Mack McGuire is as high as No. 19.

Quick Shots

The Golden Flashes have finished in one of the top two spots in the MAC regular season standings in each of the previous eight seasons.
Ian Miller is tied for fourth place among Kent State's career pin leaders with 29. His eight pins this season are 10^th most in Division I.
Six of Kent State’s dual wins are by 15 points or more.
Five of the Flashes’ losses have come against teams ranked in the Top 16 of the latest coaches poll.
Sam Wheeler has won 11 his last 12 matches and is 5-0 in MAC duals.
Michael DePalma has won five of his last six matches and is 4-0 in MAC duals.
Tyler Buckwalter earned his first win away from home last weekend at EMU.
Kent State defeated Eastern Michigan for the 30^th straight time.

On the Horizon- The Golden Flashes head to Columbus for the 14-team NWCA National Duals Feb. 16-17 inside St. John Arena.

Projected Lineup vs. NIU Saturday
125 – Nick Harrison (9-8) vs. Del Vinas (17-12) or Alfredo Gray (10-18)
133 – Nick Smith (6-8) vs. No. 21 Mack McGuire (21-8, 12-5 duals)
141 – Tyler Argue (12-12) vs. No. 21 Tyler Small (17-12, 9-8 duals)
149 – Rob Jillard (4-6) vs. No. 22 Mike DePalma (20-11, 10-6 duals)
157 – Andrew Morse (19-13) No. vs. T.J. Keklak (8-12)
165 – Shaun’Qae McMurtry (7-9) vs. Tyler Buckwalter (5-8, 5-6 duals)
174 – Matt Mougin (9-11) or Bill Chancey (8-5) vs. No. 25 Caleb Marsh (11-7, 10-5 duals)
184 – Caleb Busson (9-15) vs. No. 8 Sam Wheeler (26-4, 15-2 duals)
197 – Shawn Scott (17-10) vs. No. 32 Cole Baxter (19-11, 12-5 duals)
285 – Jared Torrence (14-12) vs. Mimmo Lytle (12-17, 5-12 duals)
Rankings from WrestlingReport.com

Projected Lineup vs. UNI Sunday
125 – No. 6 Dylan Peters (24-4) vs. Del Vinas (17-12) or Alfredo Gray (10-18)
133 – No. 1 Joe Colon (23-1) vs. No. 21 Mack McGuire (21-8, 12-5 duals)
141 – No. 13 Joey Lazor (12-3) or Levi Wolfensperger (21-6) vs. No. 21 Tyler Small (17-12, 9-8 duals)
149 – Tyler Patten (17-12) vs. No. 22 Mike DePalma (20-11, 10-6 duals)
157 – Jarrett Jensen (7-8) or Zach Witte (16-8) vs. T.J. Keklak (8-12)
165 – No. 12 Cooper Moore (20-5) vs. Tyler Buckwalter (5-8, 5-6 duals)
174 – No. 20 Cody Caldwell (13-8) vs. No. 25 Caleb Marsh (11-7, 10-5 duals)
184 – No. 5 Ryan Loder (7-0) vs. No. 8 Sam Wheeler (26-4, 15-2 duals)
197 – Jared Bartel (13-6) or Basil Minto (15-10) vs. No. 32 Cole Baxter (19-11, 12-5 duals)
285 – No. 27 Blaize Cabell (16-10) or Cody Krumweide (19-13) vs. Mimmo Lytle (12-17, 5-12 duals)
Rankings from WrestlingReport.com