CLEVELAND -- Kent State junior Kyle Conel came into the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships with the goal of becoming an All-American, and despite the tough road, he accomplished that achievement with a crowd-pleasing performance in front of more than 18,000 fans inside Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
A junior from Ashtabula, Ohio, and Lakeside High School graduate, Conel earned a pin-fall victory over the No. 1 seed in the 197-pound division, Ohio State’s Kollin Moore, at the 1:30 mark of the first period in their quarterfinal matchup.
“It’s amazing,” Conel said in an exclusive interview with WKYC.com. “It’s a goal, and sometimes, at moments, it’s felt like a pipe dream. Obviously, today, I achieved that goal, and I’m ready to do more tonight, and hopefully, be wrestling in the National Championship tomorrow.”
.@KentStWrestling’s Kyle Conel talks about what it means to be an #AllAmerican after moving onto semifinals at #NCAAWrestling #Championships #KentState #GoldenFlashes @wkyc pic.twitter.com/PrxEFXOx1z
After a brief feeling-out period, Moore shot in for a takedown, but Conel stuffed the attempt. When both grapplers stood up, Conel got his arms under Moore’s and secured a takedown by throwing his opponent over his left leg.
Following the takedown, Conel kept his weight on top of Moore’s chest and earned the fall.
“Once he was on his back, I was not trying to let him up,” Conel said. “I just kept that body lock real tight.”
Not too bad for an athlete who spent a year away from the sport, and had to win a “wrestle-in” match in Cleveland just to join the full field at 197 pounds. Then, Conel had to win two other bouts to advance to the quarterfinals.
“One day, I was playing basketball with my brother, and he was like, ‘Hey, do you want to go to this MMA practice?’” Conel recalled. “I was like, ‘Ah, no.’ At that point, I had nothing to do with wrestling. I didn’t watch it. Nothing. I was like, ‘Okay, whatever. I’ll go.’ So I go, and the guy there, he starts talking to me. He’s like, ‘Oh, I know you. You’re from Kent State. I saw you wrestle at the NCAAs last year.’
“I started wrestling, and I’m like, ‘Okay, this is fun. Yeah, this is fun to me again. I miss it.’”
After just that one session, Conel reached out to Kent State assistant coach Matt Hill and fought his way back onto the team.
“I went to practice and was like, ‘Wow, I’m really thinking about this. I really want to think about coming back,’” Conel said. “As time went on, I got more happy about it. Then, at one point, I said, ‘Hey, what can I do to get back on the team?’
“He was really open arms with me, and I was really appreciative of that. Everything just fell into place. I’m so thankful for it.”
A post shared by Matt Florjancic (@mattflosports) on
Now an All-American, Conel is far from done, as he moves onto the semifinals for a matchup against the No. 5 seed in the tournament, Michel Macchiavello of North Carolina State, in front of the hometown crowd Friday night.
“It’s amazing to cement myself right now, and hopefully, do better tonight and tomorrow,” Conel said. “I’m excited. I’m very excited.”
