Feb. 13, 2009
KENT, Ohio - In a battle of two of the three teams atop the Mid-American Conference standings, the Ohio Bobcats fell to 22nd-ranked Kent State, 29-6, to suffer their first league loss on KSU’s Senior Night in the M.A.C. Center. Ohio falls to 8-7-1 on the year and 2-1 in conference, while the Golden Flashes improve to 11-4 and 3-0 to move to first in the MAC.
The dual began with the 149-pound bout between Ohio’s Kevin Christensen (Fairborn, Ohio) and Kent State’s Clint Sponseller. Sponseller, a senior, notched two takedowns in the first period and never relinquished the lead, winning a 6-1 decision to give the Golden Flashes an early 3-0 advantage.
The Bobcats responded in the next match when Clay Tucker (Martins Ferry, Ohio) defeated Ross Tice in a 9-3 decision, including two near falls, to end Tice’s six-match winning streak. Tice was ranked second in the league at 157 pounds, while Tucker was tabbed third in the latest MAC poll. Tucker improved his season mark to 17-14, leading Ohio in wins, while Tice fell to 16-13.
At 165 pounds, true freshman Steve Wilson (Marion, Ohio) was in the line-up for Ohio in only his fifth-career dual. Wilson kept it close but dropped a 5-2 decision to Obie Simpson, who improved to 15-12 on the year. Simpson’s win gave Kent State a 6-3 lead heading into the next bout.
Ohio tied the dual again when Jacob Ison (Batavia, Ohio) pulled out a close one over Chris Estep at 174 pounds. Ison won a 4-3 decision, earning the final point on riding time, to improve to 10-2 this year and drop Estep to 12-12.
The next bout featured Ohio’s Erik Schuth (Spencerport, N.Y.) and fifth-ranked Dustin Kilgore in a battle of the top-two wrestlers in the MAC at 184 pounds. In an eventful match, Kilgore ended Schuth’s five-match winning streak with a 16-8 major decision. Schuth hung in early but the match got away in the third period, dropping him to 10-3 on the season, while Kilgore moved to 26-3. With the win, the Flashes took a 10-6 lead halfway through the meet.
At 197 pounds, Chris Iammarino (Lyndhurst, Ohio), a sophomore, took senior Eric Chine to overtime but lost 2-1 in a tiebreaker. Chine, ranked first in the MAC at 197, is now 18-9 on the year, while Iammarino fell to 12-15. Kent State took a 13-6 lead with Chine’s victory.
Redshirt freshman Justin Powell (Youngstown, Ohio) faced a tough challenge in only his fourth collegiate dual, matched up against Kent State senior Jermail Porter, the fourth-ranked wrestler in the country at heavyweight. Porter dominated the match, winning a 13-2 major decision to put the Flashes ahead 17-6. Porter is now 24-1 this season, while Powell fell to 4-4.
Kent State won its fifth bout in a row when Nic Bedelyon pinned true freshman Tim Silvers (Eaton, Ohio) in 4:09 in the 125-pound match. Silvers is now 5-14, while Bedelyon improved to 21-7 on the season and gave KSU a 23-6 advantage.
At 133 pounds, Kent State brought out another ranked wrestler in No. 17 Dan Mitcheff to face Ohio’s Quentin Keyes (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio). After a scoreless first period, Mitcheff scored an escape and takedown in the second to take the lead and go on to win a 6-1 decision. He improved his season record to 19-8, while Keyes is now 14-11 for Ohio.
In the final bout, 12th-ranked Drew Lashaway, another KSU senior, defeated Ohio’s Germane Lindsey in a 5-2 decision to improve his record to 25-5, while Lindsey fell to 8-5.
Ohio returns to the mat tomorrow night, Feb. 14, to take on Eastern Wrestling League foe West Virginia (6-4-1, 3-0-1) in Morgantown at 7 p.m. ET. Live stats of the match will be available here.
Kent State 29, Ohio 6
149: Clint Sponseller (KSU) dec. Kevin Christensen (Ohio), 6-1
157: Clay Tucker (Ohio) dec. Ross Tice (KSU), 9-3
165: Obie Simpson (KSU) dec. Steve Wilson (Ohio), 5-2
174: Jacob Ison (Ohio) dec. Chris Estep (KSU), 4-3
184: #5 Dustin Kilgore (KSU) major dec. Erik Schuth (Ohio), 16-8
197: Eric Chine (KSU) dec. Chris Iammarino (Ohio), 2-1, TB
285: #4 Jermail Porter (KSU) major dec. Justin Powell (Ohio), 13-2
125: Nic Bedelyon (KSU) pins Tim Silvers (Ohio) in 4:09
133: #17 Dan Mitcheff (KSU) dec. Quentin Keyes (Ohio), 6-1
141: #12 Drew Lashaway (KSU) dec. Germane Lindsey (Ohio), 5-2
