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KSU wrestlers roll past Buffalo

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Staff report
February 8, 2010

In what many expected to be a close Mid-American Conference battle, the Kent State grapplers ran away with another one, blasting Buffalo 31-6 on Sunday afternoon at the M.A.C. Center.

Showing signs of a well-conditioned team, the Golden Flashes claimed a pair of victories in overtime and two third-period pins.

“In every match we won, we were the aggressor,” KSU coach Jim Andrassy said.

That aggressive approach paid off for Marcel Clopton (149 pounds) and Adam Cogar (197), who were both competing in their first career MAC dual.

Clopton, a redshirt sophomore, trailed 5-3 in the third period before scoring a late reversal on Chris Conti. In overtime, Clopton converted on a single-leg takedown for the 7-5 victory.

“I didn’t wrestle my best,” Clopton said. “I’m not used to getting caught on my back so I had to come back from that. During the end of that third period I felt him getting weaker and weaker. And in overtime I knew there was no way he was taking me down.”

Cogar (17-6), a redshirt freshman, was matched against Jimmy Hammel, who entered the day 23-7 and ranked second in the MAC. Each wrestler earned an escape in regulation, but in overtime, Cogar wasted little time getting in deep on a single-leg on his way to a 3-1 win.

“I was especially glad to see Adam wrestle well,” Andrassy said. “He had been out sick for a while. And to come back from that and beat one of the best guys in the MAC really shows the kind of of potential he has.”

Cogar may have been sparked by the previous match, when Dustin Kilgore (184) pinned Josh Peters 19 seconds into the third period. While trying to score a takedown, Peters clung to Kilgore’s leg. Kilgore (27-1) simply let Peters have his leg and cradled him up for his 12th pin of the year.

“I’ve done that in pratice, but never in a match,” Kilgore said of the unorthodox cradle. “I go out there and try to intimidate him a little bit at first and maybe break his spirit. I hadn’t had a pin in a while and I felt really good out there today.”

The Flashes’ second pin came from heavyweight Brendan Barlow with 22 seconds left in the match. Barlow, a redshirt sophomore, was looking to build on his 7-2 lead with a tilt of Jason Weber. Trying to break free, Weber rocked himself flat to give Barlow (28-6) his fourth pin of the year.

Senior Danny Mitcheff (133) earned his 12th major decision of the season, an 11-2 victory over 19th-ranked Kevin Smith. Mitcheff (26-2) recorded takedowns in all three periods and turned Smith with an arm-bar tilt on his way to career victory No. 123.

“I was more aggresive this time,” Mitcheff said of defeating Smith for the second time this season. “I opened it up more and it felt good.”

Redshirt freshman Keith Witt (174) also improved to 2-0 in the MAC with a convincing 12-6 victory over Brian Sheehan. Witt (21-9) turned Sheehan twice in the second period, winning for the 13th time in his last 16 matches.

Redshirt freshmen Chase Skonieczny (141) and Mallie Shuster (157) also won by decision. Skonieczny’s three-point near-fall in the second helped him to a 6-4 win. Shuster had a pair of takedowns in his 5-2 victory.

Both of KSU’s losses were battles to the end. Sophomore Troy Opfer (125) fell to Dan Bishop 2-0 on a third-period takedown. Ross Tice (165) also surrendered a third-period takedown in his 4-2 setback against John-Martin Cannon.

•••

GYMNASTICS

Southern Utah 195.275, Kent State 193.625

Cedar City, Utah — The Golden Flashes were able to beat the Thunderbirds on floor, 48.725-48.700, but 19th-ranked Southern Utah claimed wins on every other event in a 195.275-193.625 win Saturday night.

Kent State falls to 3-2 on the season while Southern Utah remains perfect at 6-0.

Competing in only her second meet of the year, freshman Lindsay Runyan picked up her first event win of her career with a 9.800 on bars. Junior Christina Lenny finished third on vault with a 9.850 for the third consecutive meet.

“We’re very happy for Lindsay as she is swinging good on bars right now,” KSU coach Brice Biggin said. “She did a good job tonight.”

As close as the win was for Kent State on floor, Southern Utah took a similar advantage on vault 48.875-48.850. Lenny took third on the event, while junior Christine Abou-Mitri took fourth with a season high of 9.825.

The Thunderbird capitalized on a few Kent State miscues on bars with a 48.875-48.125 win. Runyan tied for first with three Southern Utah gymnasts, while Abou-Mitri and sophomore Erin Rothrock finished fifth with 9.750 routines.

On beam, Southern Utah took the top three scores and won the event 48.825-47.925. About-Mitri finished fourth with a 9.750.

Kent State was able to prevail on floor as Southern Utah took the top four spots but had to count a fall. Senior Sam Heydlauff finished fifth with a season-best 9.800 routine.

“Sam is a senior and she has done a great job on floor all season and she will be going in on beam next week. We already told her she has to get prepared,” Biggin said.

In the all-around, Elise Wheeler of Southern Utah won with a total of 39.425, winning every event on the night. Abou-Mitri came in second with a 38.950, total while Lenny was third with a 38.300.

 




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