EDINBORO, Pa. (Jan. 18, 2015) – The Edinboro wrestling team returned to McComb Fieldhouse for its first home dual match in over a month and treated the home fans to an impressive 27-12 win over Kent State on Sunday afternoon. Edinboro, ranked fifth in InterMat's Tournament Rankings and 15th in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, snapped a two-match losing streak while improving to 9-4. The Golden Flashes, ranked 20th in InterMat's Tournament Rankings, fell to 6-8.
 
Both teams were missing key wrestlers due to injury. It was a somewhat maligned upper weight class, fueled by some key coaching strategy by head coach Tim Flynn, that keyed the victory.
 

With the match tied at 12-12, Edinboro ran off wins in the final four weight classes, just the second time that had occurred all year. Patrick Jennings held on for a 4-3 decision over Mike Vollant at 174 lbs. to give Edinboro the lead for good. Vollant tied the match at 3-3 with just four seconds remaining but Jennings owned 1 minute, 38 seconds in riding time for the winning point. Jennings improved to 22-8 with the win.
 
Flynn then went unconventional, inserting Nick Mitchell at 184 lbs. and moving Vic Avery up to 197 lbs. Mitchell made the move pay off as the redshirt sophomore jumped out to an 8-1 lead over Jerald Spohn (20-16) and then held on for a 14-9 decision.
 
Mitchell, now 11-1, had a pair of takedowns and three nearfall points to gain a commanding lead early in the second quarter. He still led 8-4 after two periods, but Spohn would close to 8-7 with an escape and takedown. A tiring Mitchell picked up an escape, then added a takedown for an 11-7 lead with 55 seconds to go.
 
Spohn's reversal closed the match to 11-9, but Mitchell was granted the escape with 40 seconds to go. He clinched the match with a scrambling takedown near the edge of the mat with 14 seconds to go.
 
That win gave Edinboro an 18-12 lead. Avery clinched the match while competing at 197 lbs. for the first time. The redshirt junior, who came in ranked 13th at 184 lbs., won an 8-1 decision over Cole Baxter thanks to takedowns in each period. Avery gave Edinboro a sixth wrestler with 20 wins as he improved to 20-6, while Baxter fell to 14-8.
 
Warren Bosch put an exclamation point on the win as the undersized redshirt junior took Mimmo Lytle down near the edge of the match and pinned Lytle just 45 seconds into the bout. The fall was the seventh of the season for Bosch as he snapped a five-match losing streak while boosting his record to 11-15. Lytle is now 21-12.
 
Kory Mines opened the match with a 2-1 decision over Del Vinas at 125 lbs. Ranked 17th, Mines won thanks to a 1 minute, 11 second advantage in riding time. He is now 23-6. Kent State would grab its lone lead of the afternoon as 17th-ranked Mack McGuire won a 12-3 major decision over Anthony Rivera (3-9) at 133 lbs.
 
Mitchell Port continued his impressive season as the second-ranked wrestler at 141 lbs. remained undefeated at 25-0 with a fall at 2:56 over Tyler Small, a two-time national qualifier who fell to 27-7. Port registered his ninth fall of the season and thrd in his last four matches.
 

Second-ranked Dave Habat and former Fighting Scot Michael DePalma hooked up in the most entertaining match of the day at 149 lbs. In a bout that featured numerous scrambles, Habat claimed a hard-earned 4-3 decision as he rode out DePalma in the third period to secure riding time. Following a scoreless first period, Habat used an escape and takedown to go ahead 3-0, but DePalma would escape and then take Habat down with 15 seconds left in the second period.
 
Habat boosted his record to 24-1 while dropping DePalma to 16-12. The redshirt junior tied teammate A.J. Schopp for 11th place in career wins with a 122-25 record. Port is just a step behind as he is tied for 13th with a 121-15 career ledger.
 
Kent State's Ian Miller, ranked second at 157 lbs., moved to 7-2 with a 17-2 technical fall (7:00) over Kasey Burnett-Davis (11-9). When Tyler Buckwalter (20-11) won a 3-2 decision over Casey Fuller (14-11) at 165 lbs., the Golden Flashes had tied the match at 12-12, setting the stage for Edinboro's big finish.    
        
Edinboro returns to action this weekend with a pair of road matches, facing Rider in a key EWL matchup on Saturday, January 24, followed by another EWL match at Bloomsburg on Sunday, January 25.
                                                                                                                                                                
125 lbs. –- #17 Kory Mines (EU) dec. Del Vinas (KSU) 2-1                                               
133 lbs. -- #17 Mack McGuire (KSU) maj. dec. Anthony Rivera (EU) 12-3                                                
141 lbs. -- #2 Mitchell Port (EU) fall over Tyler Small (KSU) 2:56                                     
149 lbs. -- #2 Dave Habat (EU) dec. Michael DePalma (KSU) 4-3                  
157 lbs. – #2 Ian Miller (KSU) tech. fall Kasey Burnett-Davis (EU) 17-2 (7:00)                                         
165 lbs. – Tyler Buckwalter (KSU) dec. Casey Fuller (EU) 3-2                                                         
174 lbs. – Patrick Jennings (EU) dec. Mike Vollant (KSU) 4-3                         
184 lbs. – Nick Mitchell (EU) dec. Jerald Spohn (KSU) 14-9                                                            
197 lbs. – Vic Avery (EU) dec. Cole Baxter (KSU) 8-1                                        
Hwt. – Warren Bosch (EU) fall over Mimmo Lytle (KSU) 0:45                                       
 
RECORDS: -- Edinboro 9-4; Kent State 6-8