Wildcats Roar Spoils Golden Flashes Fast Start at Boilermaker Challenge
Matthew Lofton, Kent State Athletic Communications
November 17, 2008
Kent State began the day with 32-10 and 30-12 wins over Tennessee-Chattanooga and Campbellsville. However, Northwestern crashed the party with a 21-8 win as the Golden Flashes finished 2-1 on the day at the 2008 Boilermaker Challenge hosted by Purdue.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Kent State began the day with 32-10 and 30-12 wins over Tennessee-Chattanooga and Campbellsville. However, Northwestern crashed the party with a 21-8 win as the Golden Flashes finished 2-1 on the day at the 2008 Boilermaker Challenge hosted by Purdue.
After the matches, Kent State head coach Jim Andrassy talked about missed chances against Northwestern. "We didn’t capitalize on some things against Northwestern that we could have. Overall, we wrestled well, but we need to tighten up certain things in our matches. We compete against good teams like Northwestern but we have to wrestle better than we did in our last match."
The Golden Flashes came out and threw a 16-0 haymaker against 28th-ranked UT-Chattanooga and the Mocs could never recover. Sophomore Nic Bedelyon and the Mocs Demetrius Johnson battled through a scoreless first period at 125 before Bedelyon took control and eventually recorded his first fall of the year in 5:29.
Redshirt junior Danny Mitcheff extended the lead with a 10-2 win over Steve Hromada. Fifth-year senior Drew Lashaway (141) and redshirt junior Jeremy Depoy (149) extended the lead to 16-0.
The Mocs would not throw in the towel. With decisions at 157 and 165 and a major decision at 174, UT-Chattanooga found themselves in the match down 16-10. However, redshirt freshman Dustin Kilgore slammed the door shut on UTC with his third first period pin of the year (1:09).
With the match all but over, a pair of fifth-year seniors provided the exclamation points for the Golden Flashes. Eric Chine recorded a major decision at 197 and Jermail Porter ended the match with a pin in 46 seconds for the final 22-point margin.
In the second match of the afternoon, Kent State swept all eight matches wrestled in a 30-12 win. The Golden Flashes were so dominate, the Tigers only recorded 13 points in eight matches (nine escapes and two take downs). Kilgore and Bedelyon recorded tech falls at 125 and 184 while Lashway and fifth-year senior Chad Sponseller won major decisions.
For the final 30-12 margin, Porter, fifth-year senior Clayton Stark and redshirt junior Obie Simpson all won decisions. Kent State did not contest 174 and 197.
“Chattanooga was a nice win. They did not wrestle some of their guys, and I don’t know why. It would have been nice to face some of their guys but it is what it is," said Andrassy
Against Northwestern, the Golden Flashes were successful at staving off major decisions but could not gain an advantage over the 11th-ranked team in the nation. Bedelyon at 125 looked like he may control the match early, but a late takedown in the first period by Brandon Precin led to a 5-0 Wildcat victory.
Momentum looked as if it might swing back to KSU with Mitcheff’s 5-1 victory at 133, but six-straight decisions by the Wildcats clinched the dual. 13th-ranked Kilgore tried to end the run at 184 but third-ranked Jake Hibbert held on for the 6-3 win.
Despite the tough match against Northwestern, Chine and Porter fought hard and won in the final two weight classes for KSU. Chine was the aggressor early at 197 and held on for the 11-6 win while Porter recorded five takedowns and more than two minutes of riding time in a 11-7 victory.
Kent State returns to action next Saturday (Nov. 22) when it travels to Ithaca, N.Y., for the Body Bar Tournament. Last season, Mitcheff and Lashaway won the championship at 133 and 141 respectively.
Results vs. UT-Chattanooga
Results vs. Campbellsville
Results vs. Northwestern
Kent State Stats To Date