With the blind draw pointing to a start at the 149-pound weight class, senior Clint Sponseller got the match off right and senior Drew Lashway finished it at 141 as Kent State dominated Ohio 29-6.
With the match starting with Sponseller, you would hardly have known the fifth-year senior has not wrestled in over a month. Sponseller jumped out in the first period with two takedowns and added an escape and the riding point for the 6-1 win over the Bobcats Kevin Christensen. Thanks to Sponsellers performance in his final appearance at the M.A.C. Center, KSU was up 3-0 after one.
A senior known for his overtime matches, it was fitting Eric Chine went to extras at 197. With both wrestlers getting escapes in regulation, it all came down to three overtime periods. When neither wrestler got the takedown in the first, Chine chose bottom and quickly escaped to go up 2-1.
However, the most exciting point of the match came in the third overtime.
Chine, needing to ride Ohio's Chris Iammarino out for the win, did just that. It looked as if Iammarino would square the match with seconds remaining, but Chine picked him up and slammed him to the mat for the win. Kent State held a 13-6 edge after six.
Senior Jermail "Gentle Giant" Porter stepped to the mat at 285 and was anything but gentle. Porter and OU's Justin Powell danced around for the match's first 2:30 before Porter got the late takedown to take a 2-0 lead.
In the second, Porter made Powell pay for choosing defense. Twice, Porter titlted Powell for three back points and rode him for the entire period to lead 8-0 after two. In his final stanza at the MAC Center, Porter added two takedowns and the riding point for a 13-2 major. KSU led 17-6.
The final match of the night belonged to senior Drew Lashway. Lashway was patient with his shots to begin the match, but he got a hold of Germane Lindsey in the final seconds for the takedown and 2-0 lead and pushed the advantage to 3-0 with a second-period escape.
In the third, Lashaway showed the faithful why he is a potential All-American. Lindsey cut the lead to two with an escape from bottom. Lashaway would counter with the match-clinching takedown and won 5-2 to give Kent State a 29-6 win and a perfect 4-0 record at the M.A.C. center this season.
Despite the spotlight on the seniors, redshirt freshman Dustin Kilgore, sophomore Nic Bedelyon and redshirt juniors Danny Mitcheff and Obie Simpson made their presence known.
With the match squared at 6-6 after four, Kilgore put the Flashes up for good with a major at 184. Kilgore struck with a takedown to begin the match, but OU's Erik Schuth quickly countered with an escape and takedown of his own. However, as he has done all season, Kilgore reversed Schuth to regain the lead. Schuth would escape to knot the match at four after one.
The second spelled doom for Schuth as Kilgore won the period 5-1. Starting from the bottom, Kilgore quickly escaped and added the takedown for the 7-4 lead. Schuth would then tap for injury time and then escaped on the restart, but Kilgore added another takedown before the end of the period for the 9-5 lead after four. In the third, Kilgore netted three more takedowns and the riding point for the 16-8 major win and put the Golden Flashes up for good.
Coming off a tough match at Buffalo, Bedelyon wasted no time in exciting the home crowd. In the first, Bedelyon struck with a takedown and added five back points for the commanding 7-0 lead. In the second, the Bobcat's Tim Silvers chose down and Bedelyon made him pay. Bedelyon got the tilt to build a commanding 9-0 lead before the pin at 4:09.
Mitcheff patiently waited for his shots at 133 and took them when they came in the second. Danny started down in the second and added the escape for 3-0 lead. In the third, Mitcheff added a takedown and the riding point gave Mitcheff a 6-1 win.
With the match squared at 3-3 going into 165, Simpson wasted no time in winning his fifth-straight dual. Simpson got two first-period takedowns and never looked back in a 5-2 win.
Kent State will have to make the quick turnaround when the wrestle Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti Sunday at 4 p.m.
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