Kent, Ohio- Four consecutive victories from 141 to
165 lifted Kent State past Edinboro 22-15 Tuesday afternoon at the M.A.C.
Center. The Golden Flashes took 6-of-10 matches, including a first period
pin by freshman Ian Miller (Graytown, Ohio) in a battle of Top 25 teams.
The opening match at 125 was a pivotal win for the
Flashes. Junior Troy Opfer (Sandusky, Ohio) needed a third period
escape to force overtime and countered a Kory Mines shot in sudden victory to
score the winning takedown in a 6-4 decision.
“Troy didn’t wrestle his best match, but he
found a way to win,” Assisant Coach Josh Moore said.
Junior Stevie Mitcheff (Lorain,Ohio) scored an opening
takedown and a second period takedown against unbeaten A.J. Schopp, before
getting turned several times throughout the match and was eventually pinned.
With his team down 6-3, sophomore Tyler Small (Littlestown,
Pa.) evened up the team score with a 5-2 victory. Small was dominant in
the first period, using a quick takedown and a cradle to jump out to a
five-point lead.
“Tyler beating a guy that has about the same ranking
as him was a good win for us.” Moore said.
Miller then needed 1:15 to chalk up his fifth pin of the
season.
“I was moving my feet well and kept him
guessing,” Miller said of setting up a cement mixer. “I was
really nervous going in. I had a lot of people come to watch me
today,” the freshman said of his first home dual.
“Ian’s really explosive and
dangerous,” Moore said. “We think he can wrestle with anybody
in the country. He might be one of the best freshmen in any weight
class.”
Junior Mallie Shuster (Newville, Pa.) kept the ball rolling
with an 8-2 victory over Casey Fuller. Shuster notched takedowns in all
three periods.
Senior Ross Tice (Brookfield, Ohio) made it four straight
wins with a 5-2 decision over Ethan Saylor. Tice tallied the only
takedown of the match in the first.
Sophomore Brandonn Johnson (Middletown, Md.) found himself
in a scoreless battle after two periods at 174, before Chris Hrunka managed a
third period reversal and riding time.
In the eighth match, junior Casey Newburg (Union, Ohio)
sealed the Flashes’ victory with a convincing 13-2 major decision over
Victor Avery. Newburg nearly snuck in a pin on two different occasion
with a tilt.
No. 4 Chris Honeycutt was too much for junior Keith Witt
(Oak Harbor, Ohio) in a 7-0 loss. The Fighting Scots closed the dual with
two straight win as Ernest James pulled off a 5-3 overtime upset over senior
Brendan Barlow (Westerville, Ohio). Barlow got in on several shots
throughout the match, but could not convert on a takedown.
Kent State will prepare for its toughest tournament of the
regular season Dec. 2-3 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
125 Troy Opfer (Kent State) won in overtime over Kory Mines
(Edinboro) 6-4.
133 Aaron Schopp (Edinboro) won by pin over Steve Mitcheff
(Kent State) 6:36.
141 Tyler Small (Kent State) won by decision over Mitchell
Port (Edinboro) 5-2.
149 Ian Miller (Kent State) won by pin over David Habat
(Edinboro) 1:15.
157 Mallie Shuster (Kent State) won by decision over Casey
Fuller (Edinboro) 8-2.
165 Ross Tice (Kent State) won by decision over Ethan Saylor
(Edinboro) 5-2.
174 Chris Hrunka (Edinboro) won by decision over Brandonn
Johnson (Kent State) 3-0.
184 Casey Newburg (Kent State) won by major decision over
Victor Avery (Edinboro) 13-2.
197 Christopher Honeycutt (Edinboro) won by decision over
Keith Witt (Kent State) 7-0.
285 Ernest James (Edinboro) won in overtime over Brendan
Barlow (Kent State) 5-3.
Aaron Chimenti
Assistant Director, Athletic Communications
Kent State University
Contact for Football, Wrestling, Softball
