With Top 10 standouts Mack McGuire (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) and Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio) both out of the lineup, the Flashes had an uphill battle ahead of themselves.
"If you would have told me five hours ago that we'd go 2-0 with them out, I would have said it doesn't look good, but we'll give it our best effort," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "And I can't say enough about the effort of our guys today."
Tyler Buckwalter (Mill Hall, Pa.) went 2-0 on his Senior Day with a pair of dramatic victories against ranked opponents.
Buckwalter trailed CMU's Jordan Atienza 7-2 after the first period, but gradually worked his way back for an 11-9 win. Still trailing 9-8 with 30 seconds left, Buckwalter worked his scramble magic on an Atienza shot for his fourth takedown of the match.
Kent State caught a break with a forfeit at 125, but still needed an upset along the way to get to five wins against the Chippewas. Redshirt freshman Casey Sparkman (Massillon, Ohio) took that challenge head on with a 4-2 victory over No.11 Luke Smith. Sparkman's double leg takedown in overtime brought the Kent State fans to life.
A sudden victory period was also needed for the Flashes at heavyweight. Deadlocked at 1-1 after regulation, Devin Nye (Springfield, Ohio) took Newton Smerchek down to his back for a 7-1 decision.
One match earlier, redshirt freshman Kyle Conel (Ashtabula, Ohio) beat the first and third period buzzers for takedowns to secure his 6-3 win over Jackson Lewis. Conel went 2-0 on the day with an 8-3 decision over Edinboro's Vince Pickett, extending his winning streak to 15 matches.
Meanwhile, Kent State extended its season winning streak to nine as bonus points also made the difference against the Fighting Scots.
Buckwalter once again found himself in a third period hole (4-3), this time against Casey Fuller. A Buckwalter shot was fought off hard by Fuller, before twisting and turning yielded two points in the final 10 seconds.
Without the benefit of a forfeit against the Scots, the Flashes would need to find bonus points elsewhere if they were to split 5-5. Those bonus points came in the form of a first period pin by Stephen Suglio. With just over a minute left in the first period, Suglio lifted Billy Miller's leg high in the air. Miller attempted to roll out of it, but Suglio caught him on his back.
Back-to-back Edinboro wins tied things up 15-15 heading into the final bout at 141, which like many matches came down to the final seconds. Anthony Tutolo (Concord, Ohio) fought off a late flurry of attacks by Tyler Vath to hang on for a 6-5 win.
Senior Mike DePalma (Jeannette, Pa.) won his final match in the M.A.C. Center 5-1 over No. 17 Patricio Lugo. DePalma hustled around the corner for a takedown late in the second period to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
Jairod James (Bedford, Ohio) went toe-to-toe with No. 9 Mike Ottinger (CMU), but lost 1-0. James got in deep on a shot late in the third, but could not finish it off in time.
The Flashes' win against Central Michigan was just their third in the last 19 attempts.
After finishing 7-1 in conference duals, Kent State will head to Eastern Michigan March 5-6 for the Mid-American Conference Championships with NCAA bids on the line.
Kent State 18 Central Michigan 17
149: Justin Oliver (CMU) over Mike DePalma (KSU), dec. 7-4
157: Casey Sparkman (KSU) over Luke Smith (CMU), dec. 4-2 (SV)
165: Tyler Buckwalter (KSU) over Jordan Atienza (CMU), dec. 11-9
174: Mike Ottinger (CMU) over Jairod James (KSU), dec. 1-0
184: Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) over Cole Baxter (KSU), dec. 5-0
197: Kyle Conel (KSU) over Jackson Lewis (CMU), dec. 6-3
285: Devin Nye (KSU) over Newton Smerchek (CMU), 7-1 (SV)
125: Drew Dickson (KSU) won by forfeit
133: Corey Keener (CMU) Del Vinas (KSU), tech fall 17-2
141: Zach Horan (CMU) over Anthony Tutolo (KSU), dec. 8-2
Central Michigan 20 Edinboro 15
149: Colin Heffernan (CMU) over Patricio Lugo (EU), dec. 4-2 (SV)
157: Luke Smith (CMU) over Austin Matthews (EU), pin 3:32
165: Casey Fuller (EU) over Jordan Atienza (CMU), dec. 6-5
174: CJ Brucki (CMU) over Patrick Jennings (EU), dec. 8-3
184: Vic Avery (EU) over Jordan Ellingwood (CMU), dec. 3-2
197: Vince Pickett (EU) over Austin Severn (CMU), dec. 8-1
285: Billy Miller (EU) over Adam Robinson (CMU), pin 6:22
125: double forfeit
133: Corey Keener (CMU) Anthony Rivera (EU), maj. dec. 10-0
141: Zach Horan (CMU) over Tyler Vath (EU), maj. dec. 12-3
Kent State 18 Edinboro 15
149: Mike DePalma (KSU) over Patricio Lugo (EU), dec. 5-1
157: Austin Matthews (EU) over Casey Sparkman (KSU), 9-5
165: Tyler Buckwalter (KSU) over Casey Fuller (EU), dec. 5-4
174: Patrick Jennings (EU) over Mike Vollant (KSU), dec. 4-2 (SV)
184: Vic Avery (EU) over Cole Baxter (KSU), dec. 7-2
197: Kyle Conel (KSU) over Vince Pickett (EU), dec. 8-3
285: Stephen Suglio (KSU) over Billy Miller (EU), pin 2:08
125: Sean Russell over Del Vinas (KSU), dec. 7-4
133: Anthony Rivera (EU) Drew Dickson (KSU), dec. 5-2
141: Anthony Tutolo (KSU) over Tyler Vath (EU), dec. 6-5
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