“You’re in for a world of pain,

Buffalo!” someone in the stands

yelled as Danny Mitcheff (26-2)

stepped onto the mat.

He was right.

At 133 pounds, Mitcheff won his

match, 11-2, leading the No. 17 Kent

State wrestling team (13-3, 2-0 Mid-

American Conference) to a 31-6 victory

over Buffalo (8-6-1, 1-2 MAC)

yesterday at the M.A.C. Center.

The senior, who is currently

ranked 10th in the nation, said he

felt the Flashes wrestled well. Many

wrestlers, including Mitcheff, had to

face off against opponents they have

wrestled earlier in the season.

“It’s always tough wrestling

guys in your conference because

they can scout you,” Mitcheff said.

“Everyone has the same opportunity,

though, so you just have to

go out there and wrestle as hard

as you can.”

Kent State coach Jim Andrassy

said he was happy with the

team’s performance after a weeklong

break.

“(In) pretty much every match,

we were the aggressor,” he said. “It

was a good team effort.”

Andrassy said the individual

who stood out the most to him was

freshman Adam Cogar (17-6). At

197 pounds, Cogar defeated Buffalo

junior Jimmy Hamel (23-7), 3-1, after

previously battling injuries and two

weeks of pneumonia.

“For him to come out and beat

one of the best kids in the MAC

just shows his real potential,”

Andrassy said.

Another high point in the match

was when sophomore Marcel Clopton

(6-4) defeated Buffalo freshman

Chris Conti 7-5 in overtime.

“When I was tied up, we were

both on our feet, and I’m thinking in

my head, ‘there’s no way he can take

me down,’” Clopton said. “I felt him

getting weaker and weaker. I knew

it was eventually going to come.”

Ranked fifth in the nation, sophomore

Dustin Kilgore (27-1) pinned

freshman Josh Peters in the opening

minute of the third period. The pin

was Kilgore’s 12th of the season.

“I really wanted to beat the

kid,” he said. “I haven’t had a pin

in a while. That definitely turned it

around for me.”

At 184 pounds, Kilgore felt his

aggressive wrestling style was the

key to his victory.

“Everyone goes out with a little

bit of fear in mind because it’s wrestling,

and you don’t know what’s

going to happen,” Kilgore said.

“Just go out there and try to intimidate

the guy, maybe break his spirit.

I just kept doing that, and I was able

to get the pin.”

Sophomore heavyweight Brendan

Barlow (28-6) also pinned his

opponent. Currently ranked second

in the MAC, Barlow pinned Bulls

senior Jason Weber in the third

period.

The team is now preparing for

its meet against Ohio on Friday.

Andrassy said the upcoming contest

is the Flashes’ biggest rivalry on

their schedule.

“We don’t get along with each

other very well,” Andrassy said. “I

want to go out there wrestling our

best and take care of business.”

Contact sports reporter Rachel

Jones at [email protected].