On Saturday evening, Kent State’s wrestling team held a ceremony honoring its five seniors ahead of its match against Cleveland State.

Kade Byland, Lane Hinkle, Shane Mast, Tim Rooney and Cory Simpson were the five-man senior class that was applauded ahead of their dual with the local rival Vikings.

“They showed growth throughout the years,” coach Jim Andrassy said of his senior class.

Mast ended his home career on a high note, winning a 3-2 decision at 184 pounds. Junior Andrew McNally continued his positive season with a dominant 13-5 major decision for the Flashes. Sophomore Colin McCracken also jumped into the win column with a win at 197 pounds.

Sophomore heavyweight Spencer Berthold had a back-and-forth match against Cleveland State’s John Kelby. Kelby earned a fall against Berthold as time expired, and Kent State successfully challenged that the fall occurred after the buzzer sounded. However, the Flashes would be deducted a point for coming too far out on the mat to challenge the fall. Berthold battled back, but lost a 10-5 decision.

“At the end of the day, even if we would’ve won the match it would’ve felt like we lost,” Andrassy said. “We had two pretty big letdowns I thought.”

Junior Tomas Gutierrez and Rooney also suffered heart-breaking last-second losses. The Vikings were able to earn one-point victories in both of these matches.

At 165 pounds, Byland was able to secure one final home win, earning a 10-7 decision over Riley Smucker. Byland’s victory was not enough to push the Flashes over the hump, and the team was defeated 16-15 in their final home match of the season.

With the loss, the Flashes overall record slips to 6-10 in traditional duals and 2-5 in conference matchups. Next Sunday, the group is on the road to wrestle Central Michigan in a 2 p.m showdown.

“They just have to be more consistent,” Andrassy said. “Hopefully our younger guys can learn to be more consistent with their growth.”

Contact Nick Pedone at [email protected].