Senior Nic Bedelyon wrestled his last match for Kent State on March 17, and ended his career as one of the most successful wrestlers in the university’s history.

Bedelyon placed sixth in the 125-pound weight class bracket at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo. He finished his career as one of only three Kent State wrestlers to earn All-American honors twice.

Bedelyon’s sixth-place finish ties him for the second highest finish by a Kent State wrestler at the NCAA Tournament in the last 27 years. Only 2011 national champion Dustin Kilgore placed higher in that time span.

In the first round of the tournament on March 15, Bedelyon earned a 13-2 major decision over Iowa State’s Cory Finch. The fifth-year senior trailed 2-0 after the first period, but he turned the tide in the second period and controlled the rest of the match.

Bedelyon looked sharp in the second round and finished strong in a 10-7 win over Hofstra University’s Steve Bonnano. With the match tied at six after two periods, Bedelyon scored an escape and a takedown to take the lead for good.

On March 16, Bedelyon defeated Illinois’ Jesse Delgado 8-5 in a dramatic quarterfinal match to become a two-time All-American.

Trailing 4-1 in the first period against Delgado, Bedelyon spun away for an escape point and took Delgado down to tie the match at four. Neither wrestler could gain an advantage in regulation, and the match went into overtime.

In the first sudden victory period, Bedelyon appeared to score a takedown on Delgado, which would have earned Bedelyon the victory. However, the referees determined that Bedelyon did not have full control of the hold and overturned the call.

The match continued into a second overtime period, and Delgado scored an escape point to take a 5-4 lead. With time running out, Bedelyon turned a reversal and earned a near fall for a four-point swing that would prove to be the match-winning move.

Bedelyon advanced to the semifinals and faced Iowa’s Matt McDonough, who won a national championship in 2010 and was the national runner-up in 2011. Bedelyon was able to score a reversal and a takedown in the match, but McDonough proved too much, defeating Bedelyon 15-7.

In his first match on March 17, Bedelyon matched up against Minnesota State’s Zach Sanders in a consolation semifinal match. Bedelyon scored a reversal in the second period, but Sanders took Bedelyon down three times in the match to earn a 9-4 win.

Bedelyon suffered a 6-4 overtime loss to Stanford’s Ryan Mango in the fifth-place match. Bedelyon owned a 3-0 lead going into the third period, but Mango battled back and scored a takedown with 15 seconds left to force overtime.

In the sudden victory period, Mango took Bedelyon down to the mat for two points and the win.

Bedelyon ends his senior season with a record of 32-7. His 113 career victories ranks sixth in the history of the program.

Contact Tim Dorst at [email protected].