Mid-American Conference

Friday, Jan. 16
Columbia at Buffalo, 7:00 pm ET (ESPN3)
Ohio at Kent State, 7:00 pm ET
Virginia Tech at Northern Iowa, 8:00 pm ET

Saturday, Jan. 17
Central Michigan at Missouri, 2:00 pm ET
Northern Illinois at SIU Edwardsville, 6:30 pm ET

Sunday, Jan. 18
Kent State at Edinboro, 1:00 pm ET
North Carolina State at Missouri, 1:00 pm ET
Ohio at Eastern Michigan, 2:00 pm ET
Old Dominion at American, 2:00 pm ET

Here is a preview of this weekend's MAC Wrestling action.

Buffalo:

Bulls Welcome Columbia To Alumni Arena For A Friday Night Dual

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York wrestling team (5-7, 0-3 MAC) returns to the Alumni Arena mat on Friday night at 7:00 pm as they host the Columbia Lions in a non-conference dual that will air live on ESPN3. Friday will be the Bulls' first home dual since December 14 when they played host to the Central Michigan Chippewas.

The Bulls host their first home dual in over a month on Friday night as they welcome the Columbia Lions to Alumni Arena for a 7:00 pm dual.  UB enters the dual with a 5-7 overall record and a 0-3 MAC record. The five wins this season are the most for the Bulls since the 2011-12 campaign when they won seven.  Columbia enters Friday's dual with a 0-1 record on the year as they lost their lone dual to nationally-ranked Lehigh. The Lions have also competed in three tournaments so far this season.

About Buffalo:  UB returns home for their first home dual in over a month as they last hosted Central Michigan at Alumni Arena on December 14, a 21-10 loss for the Bulls. The Bulls are coming off of a 1-2 weekend out west as they were defeated by Northern Iowa and South Dakota State while they picked up a decisive 45-3 win over Dakota Wesleyan for their fifth win of the season. UB has the youngest team in the country as they have five true freshman in their starting lineup to go along with just two seniors and three other underclassmen. Redshirt senior Max Soria leads the team with 17 wins on the season including a 8-3 dual meet record so far. UB owns a 5-7 record, their most wins since the 2011-12 season.

About Columbia:  Columbia travels to Buffalo for only their second dual meet of the season as they lost their first dual of the year to #11 nationally-ranked Lehigh by the score of 34-3. The Lions were last on the mat over two weeks ago as they recorded a 24th place finish at the Midlands Championships. Freshman Garrett Ryan recorded the highest finish for the Lions, seventh place, at 285-pounds. Ryan and fellow freshman Tyrel White currently lead the team with 13 victories each while Markus Scheidel is the lone Lion to earn a dual meet win on the season. Columbia earned a fifth place finish at the NY State Championships, one spot behind UB, but did pick up a win in their only matchup against a Buffalo grappler as Connor Sutton beat Justin Cooksey, 12-3, at 149-pounds.

UB Hosts Third Home Dual On Friday on ESPN3:  The Bulls return to Alumni Arena on Friday night for a dual against Columbia for their third of five home duals on ESPN3. The ESPN3 broadcast will be available on ESPN3 as well as the Watch ESPN app and will have live commentary with Kevin Sylvester (Play-by-play) and Eric Knuutila (Color). UB will be searching for their first home win of the season as they were defeated by MAC foes Kent State and Central Michigan so far at Alumni Arena.

Bulls Earn 1-2 Trip Out West:  Heading out west for their longest road trip of the season, the Bulls were able to post a 1-2 record out west last weekend in their second three-dual weekend of the season. UB started out the trip at MAC foe Northern Iowa on Saturday night and they were defeated 37-0 by the Panthers, dropping their conference record to 0-3 on the year. On Sunday afternoon, the Bulls came out strong against Dakota Wesleyan as they dominated from the first match until the last, winning 45-3. In their second dual Sunday against South Dakota State, the Bulls could not get anything going after back-to-back solid performances by Rocco Russo, winner by technical fall, and Justin Cooksey, winner by 8-3 decision. The Bulls fell 29-8 against the Jackrabbitts.

Five Wins And Counting:  With the youngest starting lineup in the country, the UB Bulls have notched five wins on the year, improving on their three win output during John Stutzman's first year as head coach. The five wins for the Bulls are more than the last two seasons combined and the most wins in a season since the 2011-12 campaign when Buffalo won seven duals. The Bulls have multiple winable duals down the stretch, making the seven win total from three years ago well in reach of this year's team.

Soria Continues To Lead Bulls In Victories:  Choosing to stay at Buffalo for his fifth season, Max Soria seems to have made the right choice as he improved to 17-5 on the season after a 1-2 mark this past weekend out west. After losing to #6 Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa on Saturday night, Soria took out his agression on Will Seydel of Dakota Wesleyan Sunday afternoon as he earned his sixth fall victory of the year in just over two minutes of action. Against South Dakota State, Soria battled hard but was not able to collect a victory as he was defeated by the score of 7-6. Soria leads all active Bulls in career wins (77), dual wins (32), takedowns (92) and riding time points (19). The team captain will aim to jump back into the national rankings on Friday as he will take on Johnson Mai of Columbia.

PROBABLE BUFFALO LINEUP
125: Max Soria, R-Sr.
133: Sean Peacock, Fr.
        Blake Retell, Fr.
141: Jason Estevez, R-Fr.
        Rocco Russo, Fr.
        Colt Cotten, Fr.
149: Justin Cooksey, Fr.
157: Alex Smythe, Fr.
165: Rrok Ndokaj, R-So.
        Derek Holcomb, Fr.
174: Muhamid McBryde, Sr.
        Wally Maziarz, R-Sr.
184: Brett Perry, Fr.
197: Joe Ariola, R-Fr.
        James Benjamin, So.
285: Mike Silvis, R-Fr.

PROBABLE COLUMBIA LINEUP
125: Johnson Mai, Jr.
133: Angelo Amenta, Jr.
141: Jacob Macalolooy, Fr.
149: Connor Sutton, Jr.
157: Markus Scheidel, So.
165: Tyrel White, Fr.
174: Shane Hughes, Sr.
184: Zack Hernandez, Jr.
197: Matt Idelson, Sr.
285: Garrett Ryan, Fr.


Central Michigan:

Chippewa Wrestlers Head South for Two Duals; CMU will face third-ranked Missouri on Saturday

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan wrestling team will look to tally its fourth consecutive duel meet victory as they head south to take on Southern Illinois Edwardsville on Friday night.

The Chippewas, 4-4 overall and 3-0 in the Mid-American Conference, are coming off a huge 19-14 league win at Ohio and are aiming to keep the momentum going before facing third-ranked Missouri on Saturday afternoon.  CMU coach Tom Borelli said his Chippewas and SIUE, which is 3-11, are similar.

"They're kind of like us," Borelli said. "They're young and have a lot of young kids in their lineup just as we do, so it's an opportunity for us to gauge ourselves against someone who is kind of doing the same things we are."

The Chippewas feature the only two nationally ranked wrestlers in Friday's matchup. Junior Zach Horan is ranked 14th at 141 pounds and freshman Colin Heffernan is 18th at 149, according to intermatwrestle.com.

Horan, who has recorded a pin in two of his last three matches, is 10-4 on the season. Heffernan, who upset ninth-ranked Tywan Claxton of Ohio on Saturday, is 13-8.

On Saturday, the Chippewas return to MAC competition at Missouri, which is 13-0, has won a school-record 17 consecutive dual meets, and is coming off a 27-9 road win over fourth-ranked Cornell.

"They're a really good team," Borelli said. "In my opinion they are the best duel meet team in the country. Most of their guys as individuals are ranked pretty high nationally, so if we can knock off some of those guys, it's really going to help us going forward."

One of the most notable matchups of the afternoon will be at 141 where Horan will take on sixth-ranked Lavion Mayes, who is 21-0 this season.

Eight Tigers who are expected to be in the lineup on Saturday are ranked, highlighted by J'Den Cox, the defending national champion at 197; Alan Waters, No. 2 at 125; and Drake Houdashelt, an All-American last season who is ranked fifth at 149.

The Chippewas will have several opportunities on Saturday to show where they stack up against one of the best teams in the nation, and they will go into the meet with a nothing-to-lose mindset, Borelli said.

"Anything we do against them is going to help us as far as down the road with conference rankings and national rankings, so that's the way we have to look at it going forward," he said.

Brent Fleetwood, Cody LeCount, Jordan Ellingwood, CJ Brucki and Adam Robinson join Horan and Heffernan as the Chippewas who go into the weekend sporting winning records.

Fleetwood (125) is 9-8, LeCount (157) is 13-5, Ellingwood (174) is 7-6, Brucki (184) is 9-6, and Robinson (heavyweight) is 10-5. CMU's Tyler Keselring is 8-8 at 133, while Jordan Wohlfert is 9-9 at 165.

Eastern Michigan:

Eagles host Ohio on Sunday at 2 pm ET

Eastern Michigan will remain at the Convocation Center Sunday, Jan. 18 for their second Mid-American Conference dual of the 2014-15 season when they go up against Ohio University. First bout is slated for 2 p.m.

For fans that are unable to make it out to the dual, the match will be broadcast on Eastern's live webstreaming service Eagle All-Access. Fans will be able to watch the dual as well as get play-by-play from former EMU wrestlers J.J. Johnson and Drew Lesko. Subscriptions for Eagle All-Access start at just $6.95 and can be purchased at EMUEagles.com/watch.


Kent State:

Flashes Host Ohio Friday; Visit Edinboro Sunday

After racking up 6,000 miles on bus trips this season, Kent State (5-7, 1-1) welcomes the opportunity to wrestle in front of its home crowd Friday night.  Archrival Ohio (4-3, 0-2) comes to the M.A.C. Center in a key Mid-American Conference dual at 7p.m. Two days later, the Golden Flashes will visit No. 15 Edinboro (8-4) at McComb Fieldhouse.

Live Video, Audio and Scoring:  Live video of the dual with Ohio can be seen free on KentStateSports.com. All of Kent State's home wrestling duals can be heard live on Golden Flashes Radio with Ty Linder through iHeartRadio.  Live scoring can be followed on TrackWrestling.

The Rivalry:  Dubbed in recent years as "The Grudge Match," the series dates back to 1929 and escalated into a rivalry just a few years later after Bobcat graduate Joe Begala took over as Kent State's head coach.  The Golden Flashes lead the all-time series with Ohio 45-24, but the Bobcats earned a 21-16 victory last season in Athens, snapping Kent State's streak of nine straight victories.

Returning winners from last year's dual includes Mack McGuire, Tyler Small and Ian Miller.  The last time the teams met at the M.A.C. Center (2013), Kent State won seven matches on the way to a 26-11 victory, including wins from McGuire and Caleb Marsh.  Ohio's last win in Kent came in 2005. 8383

Dual Success:  Since Head Coach Jim Andrassy's third season (2005-06), the Golden Flashes have gone 125-57-1 in dual meets and 38-12-1 in MAC dual meets.  Kent State has won its home opener in each of the last six seasons.

The Opponents:  Ohio is No. 3 in the January MAC rankings, with six Bobcats in the MAC's Top 3 spots.  Ohio placed third at the Navy Classic this season with individual titles from Tywan Claxton (149) and Cody Walters (174).  Last week, the Bobcats earned a convincing 42-5 victory over Clarion, winning 9-of-10 matches.

Edinboro is No. 5 in InterMat's Tournament rankings.  Three Fighting Scots (A.J. Schopp, Mitchell Port, Dave Habat) are ranked in the Top 3.  The Scots have notable dual meet wins over No. 10 Lehigh, No. 16 Michigan and No. 23 West Virginia.  Edinboro recently settled for fourth place in the Gold Bracket of the Virginia Duals.

Quick Shots:  Kent State is No. 20 according to InterMat's Tournament Rankings and tied for No. 18 in Wrestling Insider NewsMagazine's Tournament Power Index.  The Flashes are also No. 21 according to Wrestling Report.
Six Flashes are currently ranked in the Top 28 spots according to Wrestling Report.
Junior Tyler Buckwalter has won each of his last seven dual meets.
Senior Tyler Small has won three open tournaments this season (EMU, Mercyhurst, Ashland).  Small recently passed Nick Nemeth for fourth place with 123 career victories at Kent State.
Junior Ian Miller ranks fourth among Kent State's career pin leaders with 31.
Junior Mike DePalma leads the squad with 10 bonus-point victories this season.

Last Time Out:  With a number of starters out with injuries, Kent State settled for a 1-3 finish at the Virginia Duals inside the Hampton Coliseum Jan. 9-10.  The Golden Flashes topped The Citadel 23-9, but dropped matches to No. 6 Virginia Tech, Arizona State and Chattanooga.

Tyler Buckwalter went 4-0 on the weekend, while Mack McGuire and Cole Baxter each went 3-1 with a pin.  Baxter's pin came against Virginia Tech's Jared Haught, who was No. 15 according to WrestlingReport. Tyler Small finished 2-1.

History vs. Edinboro:  Edinboro leads the all-time series with Kent State 6-4, including victories in each of the last two seasons.  The Scots have won three of the four meetings in Edinboro, including a 20-19 nail-biter in 2013 that featured a pair of overtime bouts.  Last year in Kent, Ian Miller, Caleb Marsh and Cole Baxter all earned victories.

Projected Lineup vs. Ohio
125: Zac Hassan (8-10) or Sebastian Arroyo (1-2) vs. Del Vinas (9-17)
133: Kagan Squire (10-7) vs. Mack McGuire (20-8)
141: Joel Shump (9-9) vs. Tyler Small (27-5)
149: Tywan Claxton (19-2) vs. Mike DePalma (16-10)
157: Spartak Chino (12-6) vs. Andrew Candiello (2-9), Ian Miller (5-2) or Nate Valentine (7-13)
165: Harrison Hightower (17-6) vs. Tyler Buckwalter (18-11)
174: Cody Walters (20-1) vs. Jerald Spohn (19-15) or Mike Vollant (7-15)
184: Andrew Romanchik (19-8) vs. Charlie Keenan (9-8)
197: Phil Wellington (14-5) vs. Cole Baxter (14-6)
285: Zach Parker (9-9) or Jesse Webb (7-11) vs. Mimmo Lytle (20-12)

Projected Lineup vs. Edinboro
125: Kory Mines (22-6) vs. Del Vinas (9-17)
133: Anthony Rivera (3-8) vs. Mack McGuire (20-8)
141: Mitchell Port (24-0) vs. Tyler Small (27-5)
149: Dave Habat (23-1) vs. Mike DePalma (16-10)
157: Kasey Burnett-Davis (11-8) vs. Andrew Candiello (2-9), Ian Miller (5-2) or Nate Valentine (7-13)
165: Casey Fuller (14-10) vs. Tyler Buckwalter (18-11)
174: Patrick Jennings (21-8) vs. Jerald Spohn (19-15) or Mike Vollant (7-15)
184: Vic Avery (19-6) vs. Charlie Keenan (9-8)
197: Vince Pickett (12-12) vs. Cole Baxter (14-6)
285: Warren Bosch (10-15) vs. Mimmo Lytle (20-12)

Up Next:  Kent State takes another long road trip next weekend, beginning with a Saturday matchup against NC State in Raleigh.  The next day, the Golden Flashes head to Norfolk, Va., for a Mid-American Conference dual at Old Dominion.

In the Rankings:
Amateur Wrestling News
15. Mack McGuire (133)
4. Ian Miller (157)
20. Caleb Marsh (174)

InterMat
17. Mack McGuire (133)
2. Ian Miller (157)
15. Caleb Marsh (174)

W.I.N.
16. Mack McGuire (133)
2. Ian Miller (157)
17. Caleb Marsh (174)

WrestlingReport
14. Mack McGuire (133)
27. Tyler Small (141)
2. Ian Miller (157)
19. Caleb Marsh (174)
26. Cole Baxter (197)
28. Mimmo Lytle (285)

The Open Mat
6. Ian Miller (157)
18. Caleb Marsh (174)


Missouri:

Wrestling Set To Begin 5-Dual Homestand This Weekend; Tigers welcome Central Michigan on Saturday and North Carolina State on Sunday

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 3 Mizzou wrestling team returns home this weekend, as they welcome Central Michigan and North Carolina State to the Hearnes Center. Saturday's Mid-American Conference (MAC) showdown with Central Michigan begins at 12 p.m. (CT), while Sunday afternoon's contest against the Wolfpack is set for a 1 p.m. (CT) start.

Additionally, at Sunday's dual against North Carolina State, fans that present a ticket from either the Jan. 15 Mizzou women's basketball game vs. South Carolina or Jan. 17 Mizzou men's basketball game vs. Tennessee will receive free admission.

This weekend marks the first of five consecutive home matches for the Tigers. Both duals will be live streamed online at MizzouNetwork.com. Fans can also follow the action on TrackWrestling.com and Twitter (@MizzouWrestling).  Check-in to MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media, by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter (@MizzouWrestling).

Mizzou In Midst Of Historic Run:  Tiger Style picked up their second road top-10 victory of the season last weekend at No. 4 Cornell. The impressive 27-9 win against the Big Red moved Mizzou to a perfect 13-0 record this season. Dating back to last season, the Tigers have accumulated 17 consecutive dual triumphs, marking the longest winning streak in program history.

Three Unbeaten Tigers Remain:  Redshirt sophomore Lavion Mayes, redshirt senior Alan Waters and sophomore J'den Cox all earned victories last weekend at Cornell to maintain their unblemished records for the 2014-15 season. Mayes enters this weekend at 21-0 and ranked No. 5 in the country, Waters improved to 19-0 with a No. 1 ranking and Cox sits at 20-0 with a No. 1 ranking to his name as well.

Cox Improves Nation's Best Winning Streak:  The Columbia, Mo. native's 11-0 major decision win at Cornell pushed his personal winning streak to 40 matches. Currently, that number stands as the longest winning streak in the entire NCAA. On the season, Cox has seven wins against ranked opponents with two of those coming at heavyweight.


Northern Illinois:

NIU Meets SIU Edwardsville In State Capital Clash

DEKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois University wrestling team wraps up a four-meet road trip this weekend in the state capital against in-state rival SIU Edwardsville.  The dual between the Huskies and Cougars is set for a 6 p.m. start inside the Prairie Capital Convention Center.

"We wrestled them in the earliest part of the season and I don't think we had a very good day that day," said NIU Head Coach Ryan Ludwig. "They did beat us on that particular day, but they wrestled well and we didn't. That's the bottom line and that's what counts in the columns. We need to bring a renewed energy to that dual and I think it is going to be a tight scrap again."

NIU broke in the new year Jan. 9 with a 29-6 loss against Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Junior Andrew Morse (Alto, Mich./Lowell) and Trace Engelkes (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) scored wins for the Huskies, but three bonus-point wins and an early 16-0 lead helped push the Panthers to the win.

This weekend, the Huskies will take on an SIUE squad that has struggled as of late. Since the two teams' last meeting in November, the Cougars have gone 2-9, but have dropped meets against the likes of Purdue, Indiana, South Dakota State, Ohio, Missouri and Appalachian State.

Live results are available on TrackWrestling.com 

NIU Projected Lineup
125: Derek Elmore
133: Danny Carlson
141: Tyler Argue OR Sal Annoreno
149: Austin Culton
157: Andrew Morse
165: Shaun'Qae McMurtry OR Dylan Dobzanski
174: Trace Engelkes OR Bryce Gorman
184: Quinton Rosser
197: Shawn Scott OR Alec Brown
285: Arthur Bunce

SIU Edwardsville Projected Lineup
125: Open
133: Patrick Myers
141: Angelo Silvestro
149: Karsten Van Velsor
157: Erik Travers
165: Connor McMahon
174: Jake Residori
184: Derek Nagel
197: Jake Tindle
285: Chris Johnson

Scouting SIU Edwardsville:  SIU Edwardsville maintains a 3-11 record coming into the weekend. The Cougars, who match up with MAC foe Central Michigan Friday in Edwardsville before making the trip north to Springfield Saturday, defeated the Huskies, 20-18, on Nov. 9 during the Illini Quad in Champaign. Meanwhile, their other two victories in 2014-15 came against Clarion and Division III Manchester. SIUE is led individually by junior Jake Residori, who has a 15-8 record with four pins and a major decision to his credit. In the overall series, the Huskies have a 26-3-1 edge and had won 21-straight duals in the series prior to their loss earlier this season.

State Capital Showdown:  Saturday's dual between NIU and SIU Edwardsville will be a unique showdown between two in-state rivals in the state capital. The meet is being held in conjunction with the Jon Davis Kids Open - one of the largest youth tournaments in Illinois - in an effort to promote wrestling in central Illinois. In addition, it will be the fourth different neutral-site meeting between the two teams since 2005, as they've also faced off in Park Forest, Illinois, in 2005; Bloomington, Indiana, in 2011 and Champaign, Illinois, earlier this season.

Just In Time:  Redshirt sophomore Trace Engelkes had one remarkable win Friday at Northern Iowa. After trailing UNI's Curt Maas 4-1 entering the second period and 6-4 with the clock winding down in the third period, the Winnebago, Illinois, native got the tying takedown with five seconds left to send the bout into overtime. In the extra session, Engelkes repeated his feat and scored an 8-6 win.

Rumblin' on the River:  While NIU's starters were taking on Northern Iowa Friday night, nine Huskie redshirts and reserves were competing at the "Flash" Flanagan Open in Dubuque, Iowa. Of the group, eight placed at their respective weights, including Steve Bleise taking first at 149 and Austin Repp earning top honors at 165. Additionally, Sal Annoreno claimed third place at 141 pounds and Bryce Gorman finished fourth at 174.

Up Next:  The Huskies return home for their first home meet in over a month Friday, Jan. 23, when they host the Ohio Bobcats as part of a combined event with the NIU gymnastics team. Just two days later, NIU heads south to face the #3 Tigers of Missouri.


Northern Iowa:

Wrestling Hosts #6 Virginia Tech on Military Apprecation Night

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI's dual with No. 6 Virginia Tech Friday will feature two matchups with top-15 wrestlers.  Virginia Tech expects to wrestle six wrestlers ranked in the top 20, while UNI has three.

“Up and down their lineup, they are pretty strong,” head coach Doug Schwab said of Virginia Tech. “We’ll have our guys prepared, and our guys are excited.”

UNI’s All-American No. 6 Dylan Peters has the opportunity to avenge a loss to No. 4 Joey Dance, who was fourth at last year’s NCAA tournament in the 125-pound weight class.

“Dylan Peters gets to wrestle a kid who has beaten him twice,” said Schwab. “There are not many guys out there who have beaten him multiple times. So he is looking forward to that match.

Dance has given Peters’ his only bonus point loss of his career, pinning Peters in 3 minutes, 20 seconds at the Cliff Keen Invite this season. Peters also lost 10-8 to Dance at the 2014 NCAA national tournament.

“You can point to a lot of matches and say that this match is important, but they are all important,” said Schwab. “Heavyweight will be a good matchup, but 125 is a big one – for seeding for nationals and a lot of reasons. When a guy beats you, you want to show him it won’t happen again.”

Heavyweight No. 15 Blaize Cabell has the series advantage over the Hokies’ No. 7 Ty Walz having beat him at the 2013 Cliff Keen Invite last season, 9-7.

Both Cabell and Walz are NCAA qualifiers. At Cliff Keen this year, Cabell took eighth, and Walz was second.

Cooper Moore has the ranking advantage at 165 pounds. No. 12 Moore is expected to face unranked Chad Strube, a junior who was second at the Hokie Open this year.

“I’m excited to have a full house,” said Schwab. “We appreciate the fans who have come out, but I want that place buzzing.”

PROBABLE LINEUPS - VT vs. UNI:
125: #4 Joey Dance, sophomore (20-2) vs. #6 Dylan Peters, sophomore (15-2)
133: #18 Kevin Norstrem, redshirt freshman (15-9) vs. Leighton Gaul, redshirt freshman (7-10)
141: #3 Devin Carter, senior (21-3) vs. Jesse Etherington, redshirt freshman (8-4) / Jake Hodges, redshirt freshman (9-9) / Tyler Willers, sophomore (10-7)
149: #13 Sal Mastriani, redshirt sophomore (18-7) vs. Gunnar Wolfensperger, sophomore (17-5)
157: Jake Spengler, freshman (1-3) vs. Jarrett Jensen, junior (15-8)
165: Chad Strube, redshirt junior (6-7) vs. #12 Cooper Moore, sophomore (14-3)
174: #9 Zach Epperly, sophomore (14-3) vs. Kyle Lux, junior (9-8) / Curt Maas, sophomore (18-4)
184: Austin Gabel, redshirt junior (11-8) vs. Cody Caldwell, junior (12-2)
197: Jared Haught, redshirt freshman (13-11) vs. Cody Krumwiede, junior (13-9) / Basil Minto, senior (16-7)
285: #7 Ty Walz, redshirt sophomore (20-4) vs. #15 Blaize Cabell, junior (17-4)


Ohio:

Bobcats head to Kent for Rival Competition; Ohio competes for first MAC win

Athens, Ohio – The Ohio wrestling team (4-3, 0-2 MAC) will travel to Kent, Ohio to take on the Golden Flashes on Friday evening in the M.A.C. center, beginning at 7 p.m.  In their last meeting, Ohio defeated rivals Kent State in a from-behind 21-16 triumph at the Ohio University Convocation Center.

Notable Entries:
• No. 10 Cody Walters (Macedonia, Ohio) will be competing for his 15th consecutive win, adding onto his team-high 20-1 overall record. His last time on the mat, the redshirt junior posted a 3-0 decision against Central Michigan’s Jordan Ellingwood.
• No. 17 Phil Wellington (Euclid, Ohio) will be competing to improve his 6-1 duel record as well as earn his third-consecutive triumph.
• Following a loss in his last appearance, No. 10 Tywan Claxton (South Euclid, Ohio) holds a 19-2 record and is undefeated in tournament competition. The redshirt junior will be looking to improve on his 5-2 duel record.
• No. 19 Harrison Hightower (Strongsville, Ohio) currently holds a 17-6 record and will be competing for his seventh-consecutive victory. The redshirt junior has racked up a team-high six pins this season.
• In his last outing, Spartak Chino (Wheaton, Ill.) picked up a decision in overtime, improving his overall record to 12-6. The redshirt junior will be competing for his third-consecutive win and to add onto his 5-2 duel record.

The Competition:  Kent State holds a 5-7 record and is 1-1 in MAC play. They are home to three ranked wrestlers in the form of No. 17 Mackenzie McGuire (133), No. 2 Ian Miller (157) and No. 15 Caleb Marsh (174).  In their last outing, the Golden Flashes fell to Chattanooga, 27-9, in the Bronze Bracket finals of the Virginia Duals.

Up Next for the Bobcats:  Ohio will continue their road trip as they take on Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich., beginning at 2 p.m.

Ohio’s Probable Lineup:
125: RS Fr. Zac Hassan (8-10) or So. Seabastian Arroyo (1-2)?
133: Jr. Kagan Squire (10-7) ?
141: RS Fr. Joel Shump (9-9)?
149: RS Jr. No. 9 Tywan Claxton (19-2)?
157: RS Jr. Spartak Chino (12-6)?
165: RS Sr. No. 20 Harrison Hightower (17-6)?
174: RS Jr. No. 11 Cody Walters (20-1)?
184: RS Jr. Andrew Romanchik (19-8)?
197: RS Jr. No. 17 Phil Wellington (14-5)?
HWT: Fr. Zach Parker (9-9) or Fr. Jesse Webb (7-11) 


Old Dominion:

Monarchs Face American On Sunday, Jan. 18

Old Dominion will be back in action on Jan. 18 when they travel to American to take on the Eagles at 2:00 p.m.  Coming off a 3-1 showing, including two wins over top-25 teams at the 35th annual Virginia Duals, the Old Dominion Monarchs jumped to No. 20 in the USA Today / NWCA Coaches Poll. ODU is also ranked in the top-25 in five other polls.

The Monarchs defeated No. 3 (Division II) Nebraska-Kearney and took down No. 25 Bucknell on day one of the duals, advancing to the gold semifinals. On the second day, ODU faced No. 6 Virginia Tech in the semifinals. The match went down to the wire, as whomever won the heavyweight bout would win the match. The Monarchs lost that bout by a very narrow 3-1 decision, falling to the sixth-ranked team in the country by a 19-15 margin. ODU faced No. 10 Edinboro in the third-place match and came out on top and defeated the Fighting Scots to claim the programs first win over a top-10 team.

Three wrestlers went a perfect 4-0 at the event, featuring three nationally ranked grapplers. No. 2 Jack Dechow, No. 14 Tristan Warner and No. 22 Kevin Beazley all accomplished the feat.

Seven wrestlers are also garnering national recognition at their weight class. Listed below are the current rankings.  For an in depth look to everything Monarchs Wrestling, make sure to follow the team on Facebook, Twitter (@ODUWrestling) and YouTube and on ODUsports.com. Fans can join in on the conversation by using the hashtag #ODUWREST.

Team Rankings:
Intermat TPI – No. 18
WIN Magazine TPI – No. 18
Wrestling Report – No. 18
Flowrestling – No. 20
USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll – No. 20.
Intermat Dual Meet – No. 21

Brandon Jeske – 125 lbs.: Intermat – No. 20; Wrestling Report – No. 26

Chris Mecate – 141 lbs.: Intermat – No. 10; WIN Magazine – No. 11; Wrestling Report – No. 12; AWN – No. 12; The Open Mat – No. 13; Flowrestling – No. 13

Lenny Richardson – 149 lbs.: Wrestling Report – No. 12; Flowrestling – No. 12; Intermat – No. 14; WIN Magazine – No. 14; AWN – No. 15; The Open Mat – No. 16

Tristan Warner – 165 lbs.:  AWN – No. 14; Wrestling Report – No. 15; Intermat – No. 15; The Open Mat – No. 15

Jack Dechow – 184 lbs.:  AWN – No. 2;  Wrestling Report – No. 2; WIN Magazine – No. 3; The Open Mat – No. 3; Intermat – No. 4; Flowrestling – No. 4

Kevin Beazley – 197 lbs.:  Wrestling Report – No. 22

Jake Henderson – 285 lbs.:  Wrestling Report – No. 29