Kent State University's Rachel Stypinski was awarded
co-freshman of the year and specialist of the year.

Kent State University's gymnastics team won its 12th Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday, March 21, in the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. The Golden Flashes finished in first place with a score of 196.375.

This title marks the first Kent State victory since 2009, as the Golden Flashes have now won all five titles while hosting the tournament (1981, 1988, 2001, 2008 and 2015).

Behind Kent State, Central Michigan, which was seeking its sixth straight title, took second with 196.275, a tenth off of the win. Western Michigan placed third (195.525), Eastern Michigan placed fourth (195.075), Bowling Green placed fifth (193.575) and Ball State and Northern Illinois tied for sixth place (193.200).

Kent State had team scores of 48.975 on vault, 49.150 on bars, 48.925 on beam and 49.325 on floor to come up with a total score of 196.375.

Leading Kent State on bars was Rebecca Osmer with a personal record of 9.900 for her first-place finish, which sealed the Golden Flashes victory. Following Osmer in a tie for third was Ali Marrero with a score of 9.850, and tying for sixth place was Kelsey Lawless with a personal record of 9.825.

Skyelee Lamano and Rachel Stypinski finished with a score of 9.900 to finish in a five-way tie for first. Jordan Hardison finished sixth with a 9.875, and Nicole Eastman tied for seventh with a 9.850. Scoring a 9.800 on the balance beam, Stypinski came in second. Hardison and Marrero followed in a tie for seventh with 9.800.

At the conclusion of the meet, Stypinski was awarded co-freshman of the year and specialist of the year.

Miller Earns Top Five NCAA Finish for Second Straight Season

Kent State junior Ian Miller turned in a top-five finish at
the NCAA Championships for the second straight season.

Kent State junior Ian Miller from Oak Harbor, Ohio, turned in a top-five finish at the NCAA Championships for the second straight season, closing out his three-day tournament run on March 21 inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Miller joined Dustin Kilgore, Nic Bedelyon and Don Horning as one of only four Golden Flashes to become two-time Americans.

Hampered by a knee injury suffered Friday night, Miller limped around the mat Saturday in a 13-4 loss to Nebraska's James Green. Miller then earned a forfeit victory over Minnesota's Dylan Ness in the fifth place bout.

Miller finished 5-2 for the tournament, going 20-5 on the season. He raised the Golden Flashes' program total of All-Americans to 25, including nine in the last seven seasons.

Kent State's seven straight years with an All-American is now the 11th longest active streak in the nation.
The Golden Flashes finished in the Top 30 of the team standings for the seventh straight season.

“It's going to take a few days to digest everything that's gone down," says Kent State wrestling head coach Jim Andrassy. "We've been evaluating things for about a month as far as the program. We have one of the hardest schedules in the country and that's part of the reason we've gotten so many (NCAA) qualifying spots over the years.

“But our goal isn't to just be a Top 25 Team,” Andrassy adds. “We want to be a Top 10 team. For us to make strides, we need to change some things. Most of the kids on our team … I love them like sons. But now we've got to figure out how to get the most out of them in every match down the final stretch of the season."

For more information about Kent State Athletics, visit www.kentstatesports.com.