For the Kent State men’s wrestling team, Friday night was a disappointing end to a disappointing season.

Headed into their meet against Central Michigan (15-4, 4-0 Mid-American Conference), the Flashes (7-15, 1-4 MAC) had not seen much good fortune as of late, ending on the losing end of their last five meets. The No. 8 Chippewas went on to defeat them by a score of 32-6.

The Chippewas took control of the meet early, winning the first four matches of the night. The Flashes then recorded their only victory of the night at 141-lbs., which saw Kent State’s Jason McGee record a pin fall victory over Central Michigan’s Brandon Carter at 2:38.

The Flashes were not able to sustain that momentum, however, as they proceeded to drop the final five matches of the night.

Even though the final score tells a different story, many of the matches ended up being nail-biters, with the Flashes conceding victory or fighting to even things up until the final moments of the match on more than one occasion.

The Chippewas recorded victories of 4-3 at 125-lb., 3-1 at 149-lb., 8-6 at 157-lb., 4-3 at 174-lb. and 5-4 at 184-lb. class. The 184-lb. match was the final match of the night, which saw Central Michigan’s Russ Vanderheyden come from behind to defeat Alex Camargo in a match that was decided by riding time.

Not all the matches on the night were hotly contested, however, as the Chippewas also recorded pin fall victories at the 197-lb. and heavyweight (285-lbs) classes.

The heavyweight match was especially significant as it was a meeting of two top-ten ranked wrestlers in Kent State Tomas Rodriguez and Central Michigan’s Bill Stouffer. Rodriguez’s loss in that match was his first defeat on the season in dual-match competition.

With the season at an end, the Flashes will have two weeks to rest and refocus their attention as Kent State is playing host to the 2005 MAC Wrestling Championship March 4-5 at the M.A.C. Center.

Contact wrestling reporter Colin Harris at [email protected].