For the sixth time in seven contests, the Kent State wrestling team was defeated by the Ohio Bobcats when the teams took to the mats against each other.

For the sixth time this season, KSU has lost to a Mid-American Conference opponent — no in-conference wins have taken place for the Flashes this season.

And the worst of it all: For the 13th time in 14 matches this season, Kent State has been defeated in general.

All these come off the heels of Friday’s loss in the “Grudge Match” contest against OU. The Bobcats pushed the team’s losing streak this season to 12 games after the Bobcats took the 29-11 win in Athens.

Even with the losses piling up, some wrestlers on the Kent State team have emerged as stars this season. Only three wrestlers picked up wins against the Bobcats, and all three had two wins in the three-match weekend two weeks ago.

Wrestling in the 141-pounder match up, graduate student Jordan Decatur picked up the tech fall victory. The match lasted five minutes and 11 seconds, and Decatur had a big 21-6 advantage before the match was over.

The win gave the Flashes five points, but OU claimed the first two matches, so KSU still trailed.

Kent State took two more losses before getting on the board again with redshirt freshman Carson Miller. Miller pitched a 4-0 shutout in the 165-pounder matchup against his OU opponent. The victory by decision gave KSU three more points to its score, but OU was closing in on the victory.

In the 197-pounder matchup, junior Blake Schaffer claimed the win after KSU suffered a couple more losses.

Schaffer also won by decision, slightly edging his opponent out 10-8 with the win. With Decatur’s five-point tech fall and Miller and Schaffer’s three-point decision victories, KSU amassed 11 points.

OU won seven of the 10 matches between the teams, and earned 29 points, outscoring KSU by 18 points.

The three stars

This season, Decatur is having a great year as a graduate student who wrestled previously with Ohio State, a team that finished No. 3 in the country during his freshman year.

This time around, he has gone 13-7, the most wins for him in a season in his career.

He is tied with three other wrestlers for second on the team in total wins.

Miller is coming off an 8-4 record last season and has improved on his win mark. This season, he is 12-8 while wrestling in a higher weight class than last season.

Schaffer was one of the best wrestlers for Kent State last season, and he is continuing to wrestle as such this time around.

Last year, he went 25-11 all season while being ranked No. 84 in the nation. His winning percentage has dipped a smidge (69.4% last year to 64.29% this year), but he is now No. 77 in the country in his weight class.

With his 9-5 record this season, Schaffer has proven to be a winner, as he boasts a 46-38 overall record over three seasons.

Looking ahead

The team will stay on the road later this week, as the Flashes will take on Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant, Thursday at 7 p.m.

KSU will look to bounce back after falling behind to a 1-13 overall record this season. With the winless 0-6 record against MAC opponents, KSU finds itself in last in the MAC West Division.

Bloomsburg is the only other team without a conference win, but it is 0-7.

CMU is right in the middle of the West Division, third out of six teams, with a 4-1 conference record. While CMU is tied with OU in the division, CMU is in third with its 6-9 overall record.

The Chippewas are trending in the right direction, as they have won the last two games. They did, however, lose the four games prior to the new streak.

Since 2013, Kent State is 2-9 against CMU. Central Michigan has claimed the last five matchups, and the most points KSU has been able to score in those matchups is 15 points.

Kent State has only scored 15 points five times this season, while CMU has scored less than 15 points only three times this season.

The last time KSU beat Central Michigan was during the 2017-18 season.

Kent State will look to win its first road game of the season in seven attempts Thursday against a team that has only lost on the home mats once this season.

John Hilber is sports editor. Contact him at [email protected].