"Every dual we had a different guy step up and get it done this weekend," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "The way we lost to Missouri (34-12) the last time, really made this a good day. We had four different guys that lost to them the first time and won today."
Barlow was among the four that lost the first time around. In his second period Saturday night, Barlow pancaked Devin Mellon to mat for the difference-making takedown in his 3-2 victory.
"Their guy took a bad shot at the edge and Brendan did a real good job of taking advantage of it," Andrassy said.
Also getting revenge in the form of an upset was sophomore Brandonn Johnson (Middletown, Md.), who downed No. 10 Patrick Wright 4-1. Johnson trailed 1-0 after two periods, before converting a switch for a reversal and a two-point tilt.
Also playing the role of underdog was junior Stevie Mitcheff (Lorain, Ohio). Mitcheff was 0-7 in dual meets heading into Saturday, but it didn't stop him from going 2-0 on the day with a 4-3 victory over Missouri's Eric Wilson.
The other Kent State grappler to overcome an earlier loss against Missouri was freshman Ian Miller (Graytown, Ohio), who went 4-0 on the weekend. Miller defeated No. 12 Kyle Bradley (Missouri) 7-3 and earned his second major decision of the weekend, with a 14-4 win over Brennan Brumley (ODU).
Junior Casey Newburg (Union, Ohio) and sophomore Tyler Small (Littlestown, Pa.) also had perfect 4-0 weekends. Newburg halted Old Dominion's 13-point rally with his second major decision of the weekend, an 11-3 victory over Billy Curling. Newburg then scored a comfortable 6-1 triumph over Missouri's Dorian Henderson. Small blanked No. 19 Nick Hucke (Missouri) 5-0.
"Tyler just keeps on plugging away," Andrassy said. "A year ago, who would have thought he'd be where he is right now. He's really consistent and really hard to wrestle."
The Flashes won 6-of-10 matches against both Old Dominion and Missouri and were not far from taking eight matches from the Tigers. Senior Ross Tice (Brookfield, Ohio) surrendered a takedown with 10 seconds left to drop a 5-4 decision against Zach Toal and senior Nic Bedelyon (Lewistown, Pa.) fell to No. 3 Alan Waters 7-5 in overtime.
"I felt like Nic really outwrestled him and just let it get away in overtime," Andrassy said. "I feel like he's the better wrestler, he just needs to put together a whole match against him."
Kent State led Old Dominion 13-0, but the tide turned when John Nicholson (157) got the Monarchs on the board with a 3-1 victory over junior Mallie Shuster (Newville, Pa.).
With his team up by just one point heading into the final match, Barlow also sealed the first team victory of the day with a 9-1 major decision over Matt Tourdot. Barlow drove Tourdot directly to his back on a double leg shot and jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening period.
Kent State was without 197-pound starter Keith Witt (Oak Harbor, Ohio), but replacement Ryan Buckner (Elmore, Ohio) is a "workhorse" according to Andrassy.
The Golden Flashes (8-4, 1-0 MAC) will resume conference duals on Friday, Jan. 20 visiting rival Ohio.
Semifinal: Kent State University defeated Old Dominion University 21-16
125 - Nic Bedelyon (Kent State) over Jerome Robinson (Old Dominion) Dec 4-0
133 - Stevie Mitcheff (Kent State) over Scott Festejo (Old Dominion) Dec 8-5
141 - Tyler Small (Kent State) over Justin LaValle (Old Dominion) Dec 8-3
149 - Ian Miller (Kent State) over Brennan Brumley (Old Dominion) Maj 14-4
157 - John Nicholson (Old Dominion) over Mallie Shuster (Kent State) Dec 3-1
165 - Tristan Warner (Old Dominion) over Ross Tice (Kent State) Maj 11-1
174 - Te Edwards (Old Dominion) over Brandonn Johnson (Kent State) Pin 1:17
184 - Casey Newburg (Kent State) over Billy Curling (Old Dominion) Maj 11-3
197 - Joe Budi (Old Dominion) over Ryan Buckner (Kent State) Dec 1-0
HWT - Brendan Barlow (Kent State) over Matt Tourdot (Old Dominion) Maj 9-1
Final: Kent State University defeated Missouri 18-14
125 - Alan Waters (Missouri) over Nic Bedelyon (Kent State) Dec 7-5
133 - Stevie Mitcheff (Kent State) over Eric Wilson (Missouri) Dec 4-3
141 - Tyler Small (Kent State) over Nicholas Hucke (Missouri) Dec 5-0
149 - Ian Miller (Kent State) over Kyle Bradley (Missouri) Dec 7-3
157 - Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) over Mallie Shuster (Kent State) Maj 13-4
165 - Zach Toal (Missouri) over Ross Tice (Kent State) Dec 5-4
174 - Brandonn Johnson (Kent State) over Patrick Wright (Missouri) Dec 4-1
184 - Casey Newburg (Kent State) over Dorian Henderson (Missouri) Dec 6-1
197 - Brent Haynes (Missouri) over Ryan Buckner (Kent State) Maj 8-0
HWT - Brendan Barlow (Kent State) over Devin Mellon (Missouri) Dec 3-2
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