Flashes to Host MAC Championships Saturday & Sunday
Kent State's M.A.C. Center will play host to the 2014 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships this Saturday and Sunday. The conference's largest tournament in the last 32 years will feature 90 wrestlers competing for 10 individual titles. Increasing its membership to nine teams this season, the MAC initially earned 41 automatic bids to the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Following what may have been the toughest regular season schedule in program history, 10 Golden Flashes have their sights set on automatic bids to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City. Familiar foes from dual meets will be standing in Kent State's way, including No. 5 Northern Iowa, No. 9 Missouri and No. 25 Central Michigan.
The final individual NCAA coaches' rankings featured 49 MAC wrestlers, including the No. 1 spots at 133 and 149.
Live streaming video on both days can be seen with a subscription on Flowrestling. Live audio with updates on every match can be heard free on Golden Flashes Radio on iHeartRadio with Ty Linder and Matt Miller. Live scoring can be followed on trackwrestling.com.
Action begins at noon on both Saturday and Sunday. The semifinals are slated for Saturday at 4 p.m., while the championship round will be Sunday at 1:20 p.m.
Prior to taking redshirts last season, junior Tyler Small and sophomore Ian Miller won 2012 MAC titles in Athens. Small earned shutout victories in both his semifinal and final matches on the way to a 141-pound crown. Miller coasted to a 12-3 major decision in his 149-pound final.
Junior 174-pounder Caleb Marsh (17-8) has won his last five matches, including three wins over Top 30 opponents in that span. Following a 3-0 finish at the NWCA National Duals on Feb. 16-17, Marsh was named MAC Wrestler of the Week. His 8-7 decision over No. 8 Tanner Weatherman helped the Golden Flashes to 19-16 upset of Iowa State. Since Jan. 11, Marsh is 11-3 with five wins over Top 30 opponents.
Seedings and Potential Matchups
Eight Golden Flashes earned Top 7 seeds for this weekend and will begin action in the quarterfinal round. Ian Miller (24-4) earned the No. 1 seed in a 157-pound bracket filled with seven wrestlers ranked in the Top 33. Miller's only career MAC loss came on a medical default against Central Michigan's Luke Smith, who earned the No. 2 seed.
After going 5-2 in MAC duals, sophomore 149-pounder Michael DePalma (21-17) earned the No. 3 seed. DePalma is likely to face Northern Iowa's Tyler Patten in the quarterfinals, who he defeated on Feb. 9.
Sophomore Cole Baxter (22-15) is the No. 4 seed at 197, after going 5-3 in MAC duals. In the quarterfinals, Baxter will likely face Eastern Michigan's Nick Whitenburg, who he defeated 5-2 on Jan. 31. Baxter may have a chance to avenge close losses against No. 1 seed Phil Wellington (Ohio) and No. 3 seed Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois).
Sophomore Mack McGuire (24-12) is the No. 4 seed at 133, which carries five NCAA qualifying spots. McGuire went 5-3 in MAC duals, suffering a pair of close losses to the No. 2 and 3 seeds. He is likely headed for a quarterfinal matchup with Missouri's Mike Manley, who he defeated 4-2 on Feb. 21.
Juniors Tyler Small (21-5) and Caleb Marsh are each No. 5 seeds in brackets carrying five automatic bids. Small recently lost an overtime match to Missouri's Lavion Hayes, who will likely be his quarterfinal opponent. Like Small, Marsh also went 5-3 in MAC duals. Marsh's last loss came against his likely quarterfinal opponent Cody Caldwell (Northern Iowa) in match that was tied 1-1 late in the third.
Junior Tyler Buckwalter is the No. 5 seed at 165 pounds. Buckwalter is 4-1 at home this season. His only loss came against Central Michigan's Nick Becker, who will likely be his quarterfinal opponent.
Redshirt freshman Mimmo Lytle is the No. 7 seed after going 3-5 in conference duals. Lytle's biggest MAC win came against Northern Iowa's Blaize Cabell who is the No. 4 seed and No. 27 in the nation.
Sophomores Del Vinas and Cory Campbell are each expected to compete in the opening round at 125 and 184 respectively for the right to wrestle the top seed in the quarterfinals.
Last Season & Tournament History
Last year in Buffalo, the Golden Flashes claimed three of the MAC's 30 automatic NCAA bids and later earned three more at-large bids at the 2013 NCAA Championships. Dustin Kilgore became a four-time MAC champion and gave Kent State at least one individual champion for the eighth straight season. Missouri burst onto the scene last season, winning the team title by a 48-point margin with four individual crowns.
Since the MAC Championships began in 1952, Kent State has won 10 tournament title, including six straight from 1977-82 under Head Coach Ron Gray. The Flashes have finished second 26 times, including seven of the last eight seasons. Central Michigan has won 14 of the last 16 tournaments.
In The Rankings
Kent State, Ohio and Old Dominion were all in the receiving votes category of the final NWCA Coaches Poll, giving the MAC six of the nation's Top 31 teams. The Golden Flashes are No. 25 according to WrestlingReport.com and No. 28 in the Media Dual Impact Index. Seven Flashes were among the Top 33 in the final NCAA Coaches Panel.
No. 21 Mack McGuire- 133
No. 24 Tyler Small- 141
No. 27 Mike DePalma- 149
No. 5 Ian Miller- 157
No. 27 Caleb Marsh- 174
No. 10 Sam Wheeler- 184
No. 32 Cole Baxter- 197
Quick Shots
Tyler Small owns 96 career victories. Kent State does not have a single senior competing this weekend. The Golden Flashes have now finished in one of the top three spots in the MAC regular season standings in nine straight seasons. Ian Miller is tied for fourth place among Kent State's career pin leaders with 29. Six of Kent State's dual wins were by 15 points or more. Nine of the Flashes' losses came against teams ranked in the Top 16 of the final coaches poll. Two of those losses came on tiebreakers.
Up Next
The NCAA will release the remaining 4-5 at-large selections in each weight class and brackets for the 2014 NCAA Championships on Wednesday, March 12. Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena will host the three-day tournament from March 20-22.
Kent State's M.A.C. Center will play host to the 2014 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships this Saturday and Sunday. The conference's largest tournament in the last 32 years will feature 90 wrestlers competing for 10 individual titles. Increasing its membership to nine teams this season, the MAC initially earned 41 automatic bids to the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Following what may have been the toughest regular season schedule in program history, 10 Golden Flashes have their sights set on automatic bids to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City. Familiar foes from dual meets will be standing in Kent State's way, including No. 5 Northern Iowa, No. 9 Missouri and No. 25 Central Michigan.
The final individual NCAA coaches' rankings featured 49 MAC wrestlers, including the No. 1 spots at 133 and 149.
Live streaming video on both days can be seen with a subscription on Flowrestling. Live audio with updates on every match can be heard free on Golden Flashes Radio on iHeartRadio with Ty Linder and Matt Miller. Live scoring can be followed on trackwrestling.com.
Action begins at noon on both Saturday and Sunday. The semifinals are slated for Saturday at 4 p.m., while the championship round will be Sunday at 1:20 p.m.
Prior to taking redshirts last season, junior Tyler Small and sophomore Ian Miller won 2012 MAC titles in Athens. Small earned shutout victories in both his semifinal and final matches on the way to a 141-pound crown. Miller coasted to a 12-3 major decision in his 149-pound final.
Junior 174-pounder Caleb Marsh (17-8) has won his last five matches, including three wins over Top 30 opponents in that span. Following a 3-0 finish at the NWCA National Duals on Feb. 16-17, Marsh was named MAC Wrestler of the Week. His 8-7 decision over No. 8 Tanner Weatherman helped the Golden Flashes to 19-16 upset of Iowa State. Since Jan. 11, Marsh is 11-3 with five wins over Top 30 opponents.
Seedings and Potential Matchups
Eight Golden Flashes earned Top 7 seeds for this weekend and will begin action in the quarterfinal round. Ian Miller (24-4) earned the No. 1 seed in a 157-pound bracket filled with seven wrestlers ranked in the Top 33. Miller's only career MAC loss came on a medical default against Central Michigan's Luke Smith, who earned the No. 2 seed.
After going 5-2 in MAC duals, sophomore 149-pounder Michael DePalma (21-17) earned the No. 3 seed. DePalma is likely to face Northern Iowa's Tyler Patten in the quarterfinals, who he defeated on Feb. 9.
Sophomore Cole Baxter (22-15) is the No. 4 seed at 197, after going 5-3 in MAC duals. In the quarterfinals, Baxter will likely face Eastern Michigan's Nick Whitenburg, who he defeated 5-2 on Jan. 31. Baxter may have a chance to avenge close losses against No. 1 seed Phil Wellington (Ohio) and No. 3 seed Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois).
Sophomore Mack McGuire (24-12) is the No. 4 seed at 133, which carries five NCAA qualifying spots. McGuire went 5-3 in MAC duals, suffering a pair of close losses to the No. 2 and 3 seeds. He is likely headed for a quarterfinal matchup with Missouri's Mike Manley, who he defeated 4-2 on Feb. 21.
Juniors Tyler Small (21-5) and Caleb Marsh are each No. 5 seeds in brackets carrying five automatic bids. Small recently lost an overtime match to Missouri's Lavion Hayes, who will likely be his quarterfinal opponent. Like Small, Marsh also went 5-3 in MAC duals. Marsh's last loss came against his likely quarterfinal opponent Cody Caldwell (Northern Iowa) in match that was tied 1-1 late in the third.
Junior Tyler Buckwalter is the No. 5 seed at 165 pounds. Buckwalter is 4-1 at home this season. His only loss came against Central Michigan's Nick Becker, who will likely be his quarterfinal opponent.
Redshirt freshman Mimmo Lytle is the No. 7 seed after going 3-5 in conference duals. Lytle's biggest MAC win came against Northern Iowa's Blaize Cabell who is the No. 4 seed and No. 27 in the nation.
Sophomores Del Vinas and Cory Campbell are each expected to compete in the opening round at 125 and 184 respectively for the right to wrestle the top seed in the quarterfinals.
Last Season & Tournament History
Last year in Buffalo, the Golden Flashes claimed three of the MAC's 30 automatic NCAA bids and later earned three more at-large bids at the 2013 NCAA Championships. Dustin Kilgore became a four-time MAC champion and gave Kent State at least one individual champion for the eighth straight season. Missouri burst onto the scene last season, winning the team title by a 48-point margin with four individual crowns.
Since the MAC Championships began in 1952, Kent State has won 10 tournament title, including six straight from 1977-82 under Head Coach Ron Gray. The Flashes have finished second 26 times, including seven of the last eight seasons. Central Michigan has won 14 of the last 16 tournaments.
In The Rankings
Kent State, Ohio and Old Dominion were all in the receiving votes category of the final NWCA Coaches Poll, giving the MAC six of the nation's Top 31 teams. The Golden Flashes are No. 25 according to WrestlingReport.com and No. 28 in the Media Dual Impact Index. Seven Flashes were among the Top 33 in the final NCAA Coaches Panel.
No. 21 Mack McGuire- 133
No. 24 Tyler Small- 141
No. 27 Mike DePalma- 149
No. 5 Ian Miller- 157
No. 27 Caleb Marsh- 174
No. 10 Sam Wheeler- 184
No. 32 Cole Baxter- 197
Quick Shots
Tyler Small owns 96 career victories. Kent State does not have a single senior competing this weekend. The Golden Flashes have now finished in one of the top three spots in the MAC regular season standings in nine straight seasons. Ian Miller is tied for fourth place among Kent State's career pin leaders with 29. Six of Kent State's dual wins were by 15 points or more. Nine of the Flashes' losses came against teams ranked in the Top 16 of the final coaches poll. Two of those losses came on tiebreakers.
Up Next
The NCAA will release the remaining 4-5 at-large selections in each weight class and brackets for the 2014 NCAA Championships on Wednesday, March 12. Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena will host the three-day tournament from March 20-22.