No. 18 Kent State will be one of four NWCA Top 20 teams competing this weekend at the 11th Oklahoma Gold Tournament in Brockport, N.Y. Sixteen Golden Flashes will compete against eight other squads including No. 3 Ohio State, No. 13 Edinboro and No. 16 Oklahoma.

TOURNAMENT INFO: Saturday's action will begin at 10 a.m. in Brockport's Tuttle North Gymnasium with the championship round scheduled for 6 p.m. For more tournament information visit www.brockport.edu/athletics/wrestling.

LAST WEEK: KSU opened its season with a dramatic 20-18 comeback win over No. 24 Virginia Tech followed by a 22-15 victory over Chattanooga last Saturday in Blacksburg. The host Hokies won five of the first seven matches against KSU and led 18-7, before the late rally began. Dustin Kilgore's 9-6 triumph at 184 was followed by a 12-4 major decision from Adam Cogar (197) and a third period pin from Brendan Barlow (285). The Flashes also trailed Chattanooga 15-10, before Kilgore, Cogar and Barlow swept the last three matches.

HOKIE OPEN: A number of Golden Flashes also competed at the Hokie Open Sunday at the Salem Civic Center, led by redshirt freshman Chase Skonieczny, who went 4-0 at 141 pounds. Skonieczny pinned two opponents, including NCAA qualifier Mike Rappo of North Carolina. Barlow also notched his second pin of the weekend on the way to a third place finish. His only loss was a 3-2 setback to NCAA runner-up Konrad Dudziak of Duke. Redshirt freshman Keith Witt upset top-seeded and nationally ranked Bagna Tovuujav of George Mason en route to a fourth place finish at 174. Redshirt sophomore Ross Tice (157) was the Flashes' "iron man" on Sunday wrestling eight matches and chalking up six victories.

LAST SEASON: The Golden Flashes finished fourth of eight teams at the 2008 Oklahoma Gold Tournament. Nine KSU grapplers earned top six finishes, led by Dustin Kilgore, who won a championship at 184 pounds. Kilgore had a pair of first period pins, while competing in his first non-open tournament. Danny Mitcheff (133) was one of three Golden Flashes to place second. Obie Simspon (165) grabbed fourth place, while Ross Tice (157) was fifth.

100-WIN CLUB: With just one victory this weekend, fifth-year senior Danny Mitcheff (133) would become the ninth wrestler in Kent State history with 100 career wins. He would be the fourth KSU wrestler to reach the feat in the last two years (Kurt Gross, Jermail Porter, Eric Chine).

WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT BREAKDOWN

125- Sophomore Troy Opfer (1-2) led 12th-ranked Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech 6-4 late in the third period before falling in overtime last week. He is joined this weekend by redshirt freshman Stevie Mitcheff, who went 3-2 at the Hokie Open. Junior Nic Bedelyon will be out of action until at least January, while recovering from shoulder surgery.

133- Senior Danny Mitcheff went 2-0 with a major decision in dual competition last week, but was held out of the Hokie Open. He was ranked as high as seventh in national preseason polls and first in the conference. Mitcheff is joined by redshirt freshman Sean Collins, who went 3-2 at the Hokie Open.

141- Redshirt freshman Chase Skonieczny (4-2) won four straight matches at the Hokie Open, but did not participate in the finals. He tallied a pair of pins and a major decision on Sunday and earned his first national ranking (22nd) according to Division 1 College Wrestling.

149- Junior transfer Matt Cathell did not compete last weekend, but is expected to make his debut with the Golden Flashes Saturday after going 45-8 in two seasons at Delaware State. Cathell is ranked as high as 10th in national polls and was second in the MAC preseason poll. True freshman Tommy Sasfy earned a key dual meet win against Chattanooga last week and went 3-2 at the Hokie Open. Sasfy also stayed competitive with No. 15 Pete Yates of Virginia Tech, falling 4-1.

157- Redshirt freshman Mallie Shuster (2-0) made an immediate impact last weekend scoring a major decision victory against Virginia Tech and upsetting 16th-ranked Joey Knox of Chattanooga 7-5. Shuster is now ranked 17th by Divsion 1 College Wrestling. He won a combined 44 matches at college tournaments last season and was ranked fourth in the MAC preseason poll.

165- Redshirt sophomore Ross Tice (6-2) placed sixth at the Hokie Open last week at 157 pounds. Tice makes an experimental move up to 165 this week, where he will be on of three KSU wrestlers competing. Redshirt junior Sli Bostelman went 3-2 at the Hokie Open last week. Senior Obie Simpson also went 3-2 on Sunday and notched his first pin of the season. Finishes at upcoming tournaments could determine the starter in future dual meets.

174- Redshirt freshman Keith Witt won his first four matches at the Hokie Open, which included a pair of second period pins. He will be joined by redshirt freshman Casey Newburg, who went 3-2 with two wins by major decision. Redshirt junior Chris Estep, who was ranked third in the MAC preseason poll, suffered an injury at the Hokie Open and will not see action this week.

184- Redshirt sophomore Dustin Kilgore was recently ranked eighth by Divsion 1 College Wrestling after going 2-0 with a first period pin in duals last week. He also knocked off 17th-ranked Tommy Spellman of Virginia Tech 9-6. Repeating as Oklahoma Gold champion could be a more challenging task with No. 1 ranked Mike Pucillo of Ohio State in this season's bracket. Kilgore was the 2009 MAC Freshman of the Year after going 33-5 with a pair of NCAA Tournament wins.  

197- Redshirt freshman Adam Cogar (2-0) played a key role in both of the Flashes' dual meet wins and was held out of action at the Hokie Open. He was ranked fourth in the MAC's preseason poll after going 20-2 in college tournaments last season.

285- With his team trailing 18-14, redshirt sophomore Brendan Barlow came through with a clutch pin against the Hokies last Saturday and scored a takedown in overtime against Chattanooga. He pinned an opponent in only 13 seconds and earned a major decision win during his 3-1 finish at the Hokie Open. Barlow was ranked 24th by Divsion 1 College Wrestling and was picked second in the MAC preseason poll.

 DUAL STREAK

With a pair of victories last weekend Kent State extended its dual meet winning streak to nine. The Golden Flashes won seven straight duals to close out the 2008-09 season and resume dual competition on Dec. 13, hosting Michigan and Newberry.

UP NEXT

The Golden Flashes will return to the Empire State for the second time in as many weekends on Nov. 21 at the Body Bar Invitational. KSU finished second of 11 teams last season at Cornell University's Newman Arena.

APPROACHING 700 WINS

One of the winningest programs in NCAA history, Kent State is closing in on yet another milestone. The Golden Flashes need just seven more wins to become 12th school in Division I to reach 700 all-time victories.

MAC Rankings

125 - 1. Conor Beebe (CMU); 2. Nic Bedelyon (KSU); 3. Chris Jenkins (EMU); 4. Dan Bishop (UB).

133 - 1. Dan Mitcheff (KSU); 2. Scott Sentes (CMU); t-3. Tristen DeShazer (NIU); t-3. Kevin Smith (UB).

141 - 1. Pat McLemore (NIU); 2. Jeff Shutich (CMU); 3. Germane Lindsey (OU); 4. Chase Skonieczny (KSU).

149 - 1. Desi Green (UB); 2. Matt Cathell (KSU); t-3. J.J. Johnson (EMU); t-3. Tony D'Alie (CMU).

157 - 1. Steve Brown (CMU); 2. Bryan Deutsch (NIU); 3. Clay Tucker (OU); 4. Mallie Shuster (KSU).

165 - 1. Obie Simpson (KSU); 2. Tyler Grayson (CMU); 3. John Odeen (NIU); 4. John-Martin Cannon (UB).

174 - 1. Mike Miller (CMU); 2. Jacob Ison (OU); 3. Keith Witt (KSU); 4. Derrick Yant (NIU).

184 - 1. Dustin Kilgore (KSU); 2. Ben Bennett (CMU); 3. Nick Purdue (OU); 4. Brian Dieckhaus (NIU).

197 - 1. Jimmy Hamel (UB); 2. Eric Simaz (CMU); 3. Eric Schuth (OU); 4. Adam Cogar (KSU).

HWT - 1. Jared Trice (CMU); 2. Brandon Barlow (KSU); 3. David Wade (EMU) 4. Andy Hartshorn (OU).