Fifth-year Seniors Lead The Way for the Golden Flashes at the Body Bar
Matthew Lofton, Kent State Athletic Communications
Nov. 23, 2008
Fifth-year seniors Drew Lashaway (141) and Jermail Porter (285) won their respective weight class while seven others placed as Kent State finished second with 115 points at the 2008 Body Bar Tournament hosted by Cornell. The Broncos of Boise State squeaked by the Golden Flashes with 125 team points.
ITHACA, N.Y. – Fifth-year seniors Drew Lashaway (141) and Jermail Porter (285) won their respective weight class while seven others placed as Kent State finished second with 115 points at the 2008 Body Bar Tournament hosted by Cornell. The Broncos of Boise State squeaked by the Golden Flashes with 125 team points.
"I thought we wrestled pretty well all day," said Kent State head coach Jim Andrassy. "The finals came and we didn’t wrestle as well as we are capable of but a lot of that is just because of the competition. Going into the finals, we were down to the 10th-ranked team in the country by two points. I cannot be upset about that. Like I said, we need to wrestle better in the finals. The better the competition gets, the harder it is to win. That is something we need to work on; beating the good kids and the wrestlers that are nationally ranked. We need to finish what we start."
Lashway successfully defended his title at 131 pounds with a perfect 5-0 record. The second seed, Lashaway cruised to the semifinals, where he met up with Cory Fish of Boise State. The match proved to be a classic match, as both wrestlers were tied at one with seconds remaining in the match when Lashway made his move for a takedown and a 3-1 win. Chris Davis of Sacred Heart kept it close throughout the match in the finals, but a few late takedowns gave Lashaway a 10-6 win and a repeat championship.
Porter won at 285, which proved to be an all-Kent State final. After a 9-4 and 6-3 win to reach the semis, Porter turned a battle against fifth-seeded Patrick Gilmore of Maryland into a major decision. Jermail held a slim 7-4 lead until a takedown and a near fall three pushed the gap to eight. Adding in the riding point, he won 13-4 and reached the finals.
At the bottom of the 285 bracket, redshirt freshman Brandon Barlow battled to the finals. He won the opening-round match 9-1 before three-straight 3-2 wins, including a 3-2 win over second-seeded Brett Correll of Buffalo.
With two Golden Flash grapplers in the finals, coach Andrassy made the decision to default Porter the win. After the meet, coach Andrassy explained the decision. “Barlow and Porter wrestle each other many times in practice. We did not want to risk a potential injury to either wrestler by having them face each other."
Redshirt junior Danny Mitcheff finished second at 133, finishing 2-1 against ranked opponents. His closest match came against eighth-seeded Whitt Dunning of Maryland, where Mitcheff battled to a 3-2 lead and rode Dunning out for the 4-2 win. However, Andrew Hochstrasser of Boise State ended his run at a repeat championship in the finals with a 7-3 win.
At 184, redshirt freshman Dustin Kilgore went 4-1 with two falls, a tech fall and a major decision. However, fifth-seeded Kirk Smith of Boise State won 13-5 in the finals.
Also placing for the Golden Flashes were sophomore Nic Bedelyon (4th, 125), fifth-year senior Clayton Stark (4th, 149), fifth-year senior Eric Chine (4th, 197), redshirt freshman Ross Tice (5th, 157) and redshirt sophomore Chris Estep (6th, 174).
Stark knocked off the seventh and the second seed at 149 to reach the semis.
"Lashaway just wrestled well the whole tournament as well as Jermail Porter and Brandan Barlow,"said Andrassy. "Our team as a whole just needs to take that extra step. We have come a long way over the years. This is the best we have ever done at this tournament.
"Now, we need to take that next step. We have the Southern Scuffle coming up and we need to take that next step to compete with those guys," added Andrassy.
The Golden Flashes take a three-week break before returning to action Sunday, Dec. 14, when they host Clarion in their home opener.
Final Brackets