The Kent State wrestlers made it to the semi-finals of the National Duals Championship on Saturday, but they met their match when they got there.

After the Flashes defeated Rutgers 19-13 in the first round, they had little success against Minnesota, falling 35-3 to the Golden Gophers.

Minnesota, ranked No. 4 in the nation by the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll, controlled most of the dual, winning nine out of 10 matches against the Flashes. The Gophers earned a pin, a technical fall and three major decisions in the matchup.

Junior Mallie Shuster scored the only points for the Flashes against Minnesota with an 8-4 victory. He was also the only Kent State wrestler to go 2-0 for the day.

The Flashes started off well against Rutgers, as senior Nic Bedelyon earned an 11-0 major decision over the Scarlet Knights’ Vincent Dellafave. The dual went back and forth for awhile until Kent State got back-to-back victories from Shuster and senior Ross Tice.

With Kent State leading 16-13 going into the final match, senior heavyweight Brendan Barlow’s match against Rutgers’ Carl Buchholz went into overtime tied at two. In the second overtime period, Barlow scored a swift takedown for the 4-2 sudden victory, securing the win for the Flashes.

Bedelyon, who is ranked No. 4 nationally in the 125-pound weight class according to InterMat, suffered only his third lost of the season against No. 2 Zachary Sanders of Minnesota. Bedelyon’s only loses this season have come against higher-ranked opponents, one loss to Sanders and two losses to No. 3 Alan Waters of Missouri.

The Flashes were once again without freshman Ian Miller, who has missed the last four meets after being injured against Central Michigan. Senior Marcel Clopton fought hard in his place but went 0-2 for the day.

Kent State will go on the road again next week as they take on Clarion University in the last meet before the MAC Championships.

Contact Tim Dorst at [email protected] and @TimmyD_DKS.