Lorain native and Elyria High graduate Danny Mitcheff (133) dropped a pair of close bouts in 133-pound action on Saturday, but he still came away with a sixth place finish — good for his first ever All-American selection in his fourth NCAA appearance.
"I feel great, right now I feel blessed, I thank God for everything he’s done for me," Mitcheff said. "It’s awesome. Knowing that all the hard work I’ve put in, finally paid off."

Mitcheff went 4-3 for the week and became the second Kent State wrestler since 1986 to place in the top six at the NCAA Championships.

He dropped his consolation semifinal bout 4-3 to Oklahoma State’s Jordan Oliver, the No. 4 seed. Oliver scored the opening takedown and led 2-1 after the first period.

Mitcheff then scored a second-period takedown in between Oliver escapes. Trailing 4-3, Mitcheff chose neutral for the third period. Oliver was warned for stalling before Mitcheff got in on a leg at the edge of the mat. Time expired as Mitcheff attempted to drag Oliver inside the circle.

Mitcheff (34-6) then lost to Wisconsin’s Tyler Graff, 5-3 in the fifth place bout. Graf claimed takedowns in the first and second periods, while Mitcheff earned three escapes.

"I lost to Frank Gomez (first loss), who ended up taking third. He’s a real tough wrestler," Mitcheff said. "After that, I had one more match to become an All-American and it was a real tough match. It came down to the last period. I got the takedown at the end of the period to win the match. I was so pumped after that. It was awesome."

He closed out his career at Kent State with 131 victories, the most in Golden Flashes’ history.

Kent State wrestling coach Jim Andrassy has been nothing but impressed with Mitcheff in his college career.

"I’ve been around wrestling a long time and I’ve never seen anyone quite like Danny," Andrassy said through a press release. "He’s the best wrestler we’ve had since I’ve been a part of this program. He’s a very special kid and you can’t replace someone like that. We’re going to miss him."

Despite coming up short of his goal of being a national champion, Mitcheff is happy with his All-American status and leaving Kent State as the all-time winningest wrestler in school history.

"I’m real happy," Mitcheff added. "I wanted to do a little better, but I’m still proud of what I’ve done. I’ve had a great career. I’m glad the way everything turned out. The All-American parade was real cool. It was pretty exciting and emotional. It’s my senior year and it’s all over after this. All the hard work finally paid off and I’m real proud of myself."

Lorain County native and St. Edward’s graduate Lance Palmer came up short of becoming the first ever Lorain County resident to become a NCAA Division I national champion when the No. 1-seeded Palmer lost to second-seeded Brent Metcalf, of Iowa, for the 149-pound national title on Saturday night in the D-I National Tournament at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Palmer lost 3-2 in an intense matchup against Metcalf. Metcalf was 5-1 in his career against Palmer going into the match with his only loss coming earlier this season.
Palmer defeated Penn State’s Frank Molinaro, 2-0, in the semifinals for his place in the final.

With his second-place finish, Palmer became the first four-time All-American from Lorain County since Amherst’s Jake Percival, who did from 2002-’05 while at Ohio University.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

National championship hopes came to an end for Lorain native and Elyria High graduate Danny Mitcheff on Friday night at the sold-out Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, wrestling for Kent State.

Mitcheff lost in the quarterfinals to defending national champion Michigan State’s Franklin Gomez, 5-2. Scoreless after one period, Mitcheff got caught in a second-period cradle and trailed 3-0 after two periods. Gomez then escaped early in the third before Mitcheff scored the only takedown of the match.

Mitcheff went 2-0 on Thursday and advanced to the quarterfinals during day one.
Mitcheff (32-3) dominated Stanford’s Justin Paulsen, scoring a 12-1 major decision. Mitcheff jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first period with a single leg takedown and a two-point turn on an arm bar. He added a takedown in the second and two more in third.

Despite not being able to fulfill his dreams of a national championship, Mitcheff can still make All-American status.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Elyria’s Danny Mitcheff has put a stamp on his college wrestling career — becoming the winningest wrestler at Kent State.

Mitcheff surpassed former all-time leader Alex Camargo last weekend, and is now the Golden Flashes all-time wins leader, as he defeated Central Michigan’s Scotti Sentes in the Mid-American Conference Championships for his 127th win.

"This lets me know that all the hard work that I put into the sport has paid off," said Mitcheff, who is currently 30-3. "I’ve been wrestling since I was 5 years old. I’m proud of myself and I’m glad I was able to break the record. It’s cool. As a freshman, it never crossed my mind. It was never a goal of mine, it just came along the way."

Mitcheff will now get his fourth shot at a national championship when he wrestles in the Division I tournament at Omaha’s Qwest Center March 16-18. The national tournament will be his fourth-straight appearance, and he has a goal of being an All-American, which is finishing in the Top 8 in the nation — something he has yet to accomplish.

"When I made it my freshman year, I went 2-2 and that gave me a lot of encouragement going into my next year." Mitcheff said. "My next year, I obviously wanted to do better each time. I didn’t get to All-American status my sophomore or junior year, but I just kept working hard. Now that it’s my senior year, I got the sixth seed and it’s definitely helped just to have been there three previous years. I don’t think I’ll be as nervous as I was in the past. I’m real excited and ready to get it on."

Mitcheff, who was also named Kent State Athlete of the Week for his performance, scored an impressive win over Sentes, avenging an earlier-season defeat. After falling to Sentes three weeks prior, Mitcheff scored single and double leg takedowns to give Mitcheff a 4-1 lead after the first period. Mitcheff began the second period with a quick escape of Sentes and countered with a takedown, giving him a 7-1 lead en route to a 8-2 win.

"I went out there knowing he’d be a tough opponent, the record wasn’t on my mind," Mitcheff said. "I was focused on winning and wrestling hard. I just wanted to work on things that me and my coaches have been working on."

The MAC Championship was his second-straight 133-pound title. He was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Wrestler for the second-straight season.

As a junior, Mitcheff finished 2-2 at the NCAA Championships, one win away from All-American status. He finished the season with a 23-8 record, including finishing second at the Oklahoma Gold and at the Body Bar before a fourth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle.

His sophomore season, he was given an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships for the second straight year and finished with a 30-9 record.

As a red-shirt freshman, he qualified for the NCAA Tournament at 133 where he went 2-2. He posted a record of 22-15, including 3-1 at the MAC Tournament to earn a second place finish and a wild card to the NCAA Tournament.

He was red-shirted his true freshman season and wrestled unattached, posting a 18-8 record.

At Elyria High School, he won a state title his senior year and was a three-time state qualifier wrestling under legendary coach Erik Burnett. He had a career record of 123-13, including a 38-1 mark as a senior.

"I’m proud of my career," Mitcheff said. "I didn’t accomplish everything, but I know I still have a chance this year to do some damage at the tournament. My goal was always to be a national champion and that’s what I’m working for. We’ll see how it turns out at the tournament."

Mitcheff will graduate in the spring with a degree in Human Movement Studies. He then plans to go to graduate school to get his masters degree in physical education. He also would love to coach wrestling someday, either at the high school or college level.

"I want to thank God first of all, my family for getting me through everything, and every coach that I’ve had — they’ve all played an important role."

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Top pictures is this season against Michigan;

bottom picture is from last season's NCAA tournament

(courtesty of Kent State's website)

Elyria’s Danny Mitcheff suffered his first two losses of his senior season, snapping a 17-match win streak at the Southern Shuffle on Dec. 30 and then losing in a 5-3 upset to Drexel’s Steve Mytych on Friday.

His loss to snap his 17-match win streak was to Minnesota’s Jayson Ness, in a 7-3 decision, giving him second place for Kent State, who finished in seventh among 31 teams at the Southern Scuffle.

This past weekend, Kent State (10-1) overcame an 18-4 deficit against Virginia Tech to cap off a perfect 3-0 day at the Virginia Duals Saturday in the Hampton Coliseum, defeating Ohio, 33-9, followed by a 27-9 bashing of Michigan and a 25-18 comeback victory over Virginia Tech.

Danny’s record is 21-2 on the season as he looks to return to the NCAA Championships.

Stay tuned for a College Insider on Danny's road back to the NCAA Championship.

swalker@MorningJournal.com