March 8, 2008

Updated Brackets

KENT, Ohio - - The first round of the MAC Tournament proved to be a successful one for the Ohio wrestling team, as five Bobcats are still alive in their respective weight classes.

Kevin Christensen (Springfield, Ohio) won both of his first two bouts at 149 pounds and will face Central Michigan's Brandon Carter today for the MAC title.

The sophomore defeated Kent State's Clint Sponseller with a 3-1 decision in the first round and pinned NIU's Kalen Knull in 3:51 in the second round. If Christensen defeats Carter he will be crowned league champion and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA National Championship and if he stumbles in the final he will get a chance to take on the consolation bracket champion for the runner-up position.

Quentin Keyes (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), at 133 pounds, will compete for the consolation title after winning two of his first three bouts. The redshirt freshman upset Eastern Michigan's No. 15 ranked Sean Clair in the opening round of the tournament with an 8-6 overtime decision.

He lost to Kent State's No. 19 Dan Mitcheff, 4-1, in the second round but rebounded with a 7-1 decision against Buffalo's Joe Wilson. He will square-off with Central Michigan's Conor Beebe for the chance to battle either NIU's Pat Castillo or Mitcheff for runner-up.

Jacob Ison (Batavia, Ohio) and Germane Lindsey (Cincinnati, Ohio), who both received first-round byes, will also battle for the right to be runner-up in their respective weight classes.

Ison dropped his first match against CMU's No. 4 ranked Brandon Sinnott, 12-3, but defeated EMU's Derek Foore 7-1 in his first bout in the consolation bracket.

Ison will battle KSU's Chris Estep in the consolation bracket today while Sinnott and NIU's Duke Burke square-off for the 174 pound title. The winner of Ison's and Estep's bout will take-on the loser of the championship match.

Lindsey followed a similar path as Ison, dropping his first match but rebounding with a second match victory. The freshman lost to KSU's No. 17 Drew Lashaway, 7-6, in his first match and then defeated Buffalo's Andrew Stella, 6-2, in his first match in the consolation bracket. He will wrestle CMU's Eric Kruger today for the right to battle the loser of the championship match - Lashaway and NIU's Pat McLemore - for runner-up.

The final Bobcat still alive is Chris Iammarino at 197 pounds. The freshman lost to Buffalo's Jimmy Hamel in the first round but beat John McClure from Eastern Michigan, 4-2, in his second match. He will square-off against Hamel once more for a chance to wrestle in the runner-up finals.

As a team the Bobcats currently are tied for fourth with Eastern Michigan. Both schools have earned 19.50 team points. Central Michigan - the regular season MAC Championships - are currently in first with 57.00 points and Kent State sits in second with 50.50 team points.

While five Bobcats are still competing, five others have been eliminated. To be eliminated a wrestlers has to lose two bouts.

Heath Allen (Bellefontaine, Ohio), Kent Smith (Bowling Green, Ohio), and Tim Samson (Toledo, Ohio) all lost their first two bouts while Clay Tucker (Martins Ferry, Ohio) lost his first bout, won his second, but lost his third.

Weigh-in took place this morning at 11:00 a.m. with matches to begin at noon with runner-up matches following at 2 p.m.

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Joe Waltasti is the media relations contact for Ohio wrestling. He can be reached at waltasti@ohio.edu.