Injury forces Ian Miller to sixth place finish

NEW YORKIt's been a constant shadow for Ian Miller for more than five years.Whether it's the 2011 Oak Harbor graduate's doing, or completely out of his hands, something has always seemed to happen to the redshirt senior Kent State wrestling standout.Friday night, Miller appeared to tweak his knee midway through an NCAA wrestling championship semifinal match at 157 pounds against defending national champion Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) — which was won in overtime by Martinez.Saturday morning, it was determined the damage was too extensive for Miller to continue in the placement rounds at Madison Square Garden in New York, as he medically forfeited his final two matches to officially finish in sixth place.Miller closes his career at Kent State with a record of 128-17 as one of just two three-time All-Americans in program history.Prior to the 2016 NCAA championships, less than 200 wrestlers in the 85-year history of the tournament had finished with at three All-American placements.A former state champion and two-time state finalist for Oak Harbor, Miller's 128 wins is tied for third place in KSU history, while he ranks fourth in career pins. He's the only Kent State grappler to finish in the top six at the NCAA championships in program history.As a true freshman in 2012, Miller qualified for the NCAAs, finishing with a 1-2 record. He redshirted the next season, and came back at 157 in 2014 with a fourth-place finish that included a win over defending NCAA champion Derek St. John from powerhouse Iowa in the consolation rounds.As a redshirt junior in 2015, Miller wrestled his way to the quarterfinals as the No. 7 seed at 157, where a fateful matchup with Cornell's Brian Realbuto awaited. He took an 8-4 lead into the final minute, but Realbuto made a furious rally to force overtime, where he won it with a takedown.However, it was determined soon after that Miller was not awarded an escape point late in the third period, and should have won the match in regulation. Despite outcries from the fans of the sport on social media, the NCAA released a statement saying the decision couldn't be overturned after the fact.Miller rebounded to go 2-1 in the consolation rounds, but again suffered a knee injury while securing a fourth-place finish for a second straight year.This season, Miller was taken down just once all season prior to the tournament, but battled injuries much of the year and didn't wrestle a full schedule.Still, he took a 19-0 record and No. 3 ranking nationally into the Mid-American Conference championships on March 5 at Eastern Michigan, where he was looking to become just the eighth four-time MAC champion in conference history.Miller was leading his semifinal match 2-1 early in the second period when he hit his head hard on the mat. He requested regular injury time, but it was changed to concussion time. He passed a concussion test on the mat, but it was ruled by a doctor despite his protests that he couldn't wrestle again until he underwent x-rays — which also meant a default to a sixth-place finish.Because of his past status and high rankings, Miller was still awarded an at-large berth in the NCAA championships this weekend, and was seeded fourth.He opened the tournament with a 9-4 decision over Aaron Walker (The Citadel), then returned to the quarterfinals with a resounding pin of Iowa's Edwin Cooper in just 1:10. In the quarters, he gritted out a 6-3 win over Michigan's Brian Murphy to earn a rematch with the defending champ Martinez.He took an early lead on the No. 1-ranked Illinois wrestler, but trailed 4-3 midway through the third and final period before briefly taking the lead with a takedown. Martinez quickly tied with an escape, then Miller just missed another takedown with under 22 seconds remaining, sending the match to OT, where Martinez won by countering a duck under attempt by Miller and turning it into two points for the 7-5 win.Miller gestured and grabbed his knee several times in the match, but wrestled through it in nearly pulling off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. But after testing out the injured knee prior to Saturday's action, it was decided Miller wouldn't be able to wrestle through the injury.Kent State's Ian Miller, a 2011 Oak Harbor graduate, clutches his knee during the second period of Friday night's 157-pound NCAA championship semifinal match against Illinois' Isaiah Martinez at Madison Square Garden in New York.Kent State's Ian Miller, a 2011 Oak Harbor graduate, has his arm raised in victory after pinning Iowa's Edwin Cooper Thursday night at the NCAA wrestling championships held at Madison Square Garden in New York.Kent State's Ian Miller, a 2011 Oak Harbor graduate, celebrates his 6-3 win in the 157-pound NCAA championship quarterfinals against Michigan's Brian Murphy Friday afternoon at Madison Square Garden in New York.Kent State's Ian Miller, a 2011 Oak Harbor graduate, waits for the start of his 157-pound NCAA quarterfinal match against Michigan's Brian Murphy Friday afternoon at Madison Square Garden in New York.Kent State's Ian MIller pins Iowa's Edwin Cooper during a second-round match at 157 pounds Thursday night at the NCAA wrestling championships at Madison Square Garden in New York.Kent State's Ian Miller, a 2011 Oak Harbor graduate, takes down Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) during their 157-pound NCAA semifinal match Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.Kent State's Ian Miller, a 2011 Oak Harbor graduate, narrowly misses securing a 2-point takedown with under 20 seconds remaining in Friday's NCAA championship semifinal against defending champion Isaiah Martinez (Illinois). The match went to overtime, where Martinez won, 7-5.Kent State's Ian Miller, a 2011 Oak Harbor graduate, waits for his NCAA championship semifinal match against Illinois' Isaiah Martinez to begin Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.Kent State's Ian Miller leaves the mat following his 6-3 NCAA championship quarterfinal win over Michigan's Brian Murphy Friday afternoon at Madison Square Garden in New York.