KENT, Ohio – The lightweights gave the Gannon men's wrestling team a fast start, and heavyweight
Matt Long (Corry, Pa./Union City) gave the Golden Knights the victory over Division I Kent State on Friday.
Long threw Josh Boggan to his back and eventually pinned him 2:18 into their 285-pound match, giving Gannon six points and tying the dual at 19 in the final match at Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. With the score tied, the dual went to criteria, and Gannon picked up a bonus point and a 20-19 win by virtue of more falls, 1-0, since Long had the only pin of the dual.
The victory moved Gannon's dual-meet record to 2-1 under first-year head coach
Tom Boyd. Kent State dropped to 0-7.
Gannon's lightweight wrestlers gave the Golden Knights a fast start against the Golden Flashes. GU 125-pounder
Hunter Robison (Edinboro, Pa./Saegertown) opened with a narrow 5-4 decision over Kent's Adan Benavidez.
Jerry Echevarria (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) followed with another close decision, as he edged Matt Eliis 3-2 at 133 pounds. That gave Gannon a quick 6-0 lead.
After a major decision by Kent State's Billy Meiszner, Gannon's
Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) turned in one of GU's most impressive victories of the day. Ryan claimed a 15-2 major decision over Kaden Setzer to extend Gannon's lead to 10-4.
After another win by Kent State at 157, Gannon's
Nick Coreno (Willoughby, Ohio/Lake Catholic) picked up the Knights' fourth win of the dual with a 4-2 decision over Aaron Ferguson at 165 pounds. That gave Gannon a 13-7 lead.
Kent State then hit the strongest part of its lineup. Aidan Faria claimed a major decision at 174, and Kyle Snider used a late takedown to take an 8-5 win over Gannon's
Andrija Ivanovic (Tuttlingen, Germany/Otto Hahn Gymnasium) at 184. Those two wins pushed the Golden Knights into the lead, 14-13.
At 197 pounds, Blake Schaffer registered Kent's most dominant win of the afternoon, a 21-4 technical fall that extended the Golden Flashes' lead to 19-13.
However, Long was up next at heavyweight. He already was the Gannon Chick-fil-A Athlete of the Week after picking up two pins in a combined 57 seconds in duals last weekend. So, his teammates knew that Long was capable of delivering the clutch fall.
Long built an early 10-3 lead against Boggan, but he was looking for the pin, and with 42 seconds to go, he got it. With 1:20 to go, Long threw Boggan to his back, and he spent the next 38 seconds getting in position for the winning fall. When the official slapped the mat, Gannon had beaten its Division I opponent by a point.
GANNON 20, KENT STATE 19
125: Hunter Robison (Edinboro, Pa./Saegertown) (GU) over Adan Benavidez (KENT) (Dec 5-4)
133: Jerry Echevarria (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) (GU) over Matt Ellis (KENT) (Dec 3-2)
141: Billy Meiszner (KENT) over
Caleb Chaves (Odenton, Md./Arundel) (GU) (MD 15-3)
149: Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) (GU) over Kaden Setzer (KENT) (MD 15-2)
157: Keegan Knapp (KENT) over
Ethan Richner (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area High) (GU) (Dec 6-2)
165: Nick Coreno (Willoughby, Ohio/Lake Catholic) (GU) over Aaron Ferguson (KENT) (Dec 4-2)
174: Aidan Faria (KENT) over
Caleb Butterfield (Erie, Pa./McDowell) (GU) (MD 14-6)
184: Kyle Snider (KENT) over
Andrija Ivanovic (Tuttlingen, Germany/Otto Hahn Gymnasium) (GU) (Dec 8-5)
197: Blake Schaffer (KENT) over
Anthony Glessner (Middletown, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) (GU) (TF 21-4 5:25)
285: Matt Long (Corry, Pa./Union City) (GU) over Josh Boggan (KENT) (Fall 2:18) (GU Tiebreaker 1.0)
*Dual was tied 19-19, but Gannon won on criteria of most falls (1-0).
