Jan. 26, 2007
Kent, OH - Northern Illinois started the match with three consecutive victories giving the Huskies an early 9-0 lead, but couldn't hold on as No. 21 Kent State (13-1, 2-0) won six of the last seven matches en route to a 22-12 overall victory on Friday night. The Huskies now hold a 3-3 overall record and are 2-1 in MAC competition.
Head Coach Dave Grant said,"I thought our guys hustled really hard tonight, our conditioning was good, when we worked our style we capitalized on some opportunities."
NIU's Johnny Galloway, ranked as high as 9th nationally and 1st in the MAC, certainly capitalized on his opportunities in the opening match of the night as he soundly defeated KSU's Sli Bostelman with an 11-5 decision at 165 pounds. Galloway is now 12-1 overall and 3-0 in MAC competition.
Danny Burk, ranked third in the MAC at 174 pounds, followed up Galloway's impressive performance with a nail biting upset of KSU's Aaron Miller, ranked 2nd in the MAC. The 3-2 victory gave the Huskies a 6-0 lead in the match.
The Northern Illinois wrestlers kept rolling as Duke Burk, ranked as high as 17th nationally, defeated 20th -ranked Eric Chine with a 9-4 decision at 184 pounds. The win gave the Huskies a commanding 9-0 overall lead.
Kent States Ardian Ramadani escaped Nick McClones upset bid with a 3-1 victory at 197 pounds, then NIU's Dave Benner gave 20th-ranked Jermail Porter, the top ranked heavy weight in the MAC, all he could handle, but came up short as Porter prevailed 7-4. Even after the back-to-back losses the Huskies still led 9-6 with 17th-ranked Pat Castillo about to take the mat.
Castillo put the Huskies on the score board again with a 7-2 win over KSU's Chad Sportelli, ranked as high as 19th nationally at 125 pounds. Castillo improved his overall record to 17-11 and 3-0 in the MAC and gave NIU a 12-6 lead.
Even after NIU's Gralen Early went down 10-7 to Kent State's Danny Mitcheff, the Huskies still clung to a 12-9 lead with only three matches remaining, but KSU's Clint Sponseller, ranked 2nd in the MAC, pinned NIU's Justin Metcalf at the 4:24 mark to put the Golden Flashes up 15-12. In the following bout Jason McGee of Kent State came up with a 9-1 major decision over NIU's Will McDermott at 149 pounds giving the Golden Flashes a 19-12 advantage going into the last match of the evening..
In the final match of the night NIU's Kalen Knull, ranked second in the MAC at 157- pounds, lost in overtime to Kurt Gross, the top ranked wrestler in the MAC, leading to a 22-12 overall victory for Kent State.
NIU's next event is February 4, 2007 at 12 P.M. against Northern Iowa and Old Dominion at Cedar Falls, IA.
For more information please contact Matt Stiles at niuwrestlingsid@yahoo.com.
-NIU-
Kent State 22, NIU 12
165: #9 Johnny Galloway (NIU) def. Sli Bostelman (KSU) 11-5 dec. NIU 3-0
174:Danny Burk (NIU) def. Aaron Miller (KSU) 3-2 dec.NIU 6-0
184: #17 Duke Burk (NIU) def. #20 Eric Chine (KSU) 9-4 dec. NIU 9-0
197: #20 Ardian Ramadani (KSU) def. Nick McClone (NIU) 3-1 dec. NIU 9-3
285: #20 Jermail Porter (KSU) def. Dave Benner (NIU) 7-4 dec. NIU 9-6
125: #17 Pat Castillo (NIU) def. #19 Chad Sportelli (KSU) 7-2 dec.NIU 12-6
133: Danny Mitcheff (KSU) def, Gralan Early (NIU) 10-7 dec. NIU 12-9
141: Clint Sponseller (KSU) def. Justin Metcalfe (NIU) pin 4:24 (5-2) KSU 15-12
149 : Jason McGee (KSU) def. Will McDermott (NIU) 9-1 maj. Dec. KSU 19-12
157:Kurt Gross (KSU) def. Kalen Knull (NIU) dec. 6-1 O.T. KSU 22-12
