Kent State wrestling sent four of their own to the Enterprise Center in St. Louis last weekend to compete in the NCAA National Wrestling Championships. Seniors Andrew McNally and Jake Ferri both saw some success, but neither advanced past the quarterfinals. The Iowa Hawkeyes finished atop the pack, earning their first ever national championship win.  

McNally got into the quarterfinals with an overtime victory over Austin Murphy of Campbell at 174. Tied at four, McNally scored a takedown with under 30 seconds left to win 6-4.

McNally faced Carter Starocci of Penn State University in the quarterfinal round, but ultimately fell in a 6-3 decision. Starocci earned a takedown within the first two minutes and McNally never recovered, down 5-0 late in the match.  

In the consolation round, McNally lost to Rutgers University’s Jackson Turley 7-5 in a chance to qualify as an All-American.   

Ferri dominated his competition on Thursday to earn a spot in the weekend’s action, earning five takedowns against Zurich Storm of Campbell University. Ferri won the decision 13-5.

Ferri was eliminated early in the day Friday, facing off against Eric Barnett of the University of Wisconsin. His only points of the match came from a takedown late in the match, but it wasn’t enough as he fell in a 6-2 decision.  

Other Flashes Kody Komara and Colin McCracken were eliminated on Thursday night. Komara went up against Oklahoma’s Mitch Moore at 149 and lost by fall. McCracken lost an opening round match to Oklahoma State’s AJ Ferrari 17-2, then battled hard against Max Shaw of North Carolina.  

Despite cutting the lead to 4-3 with an escape late in the match, McCracken was eliminated from contention after dropping to Shaw by a 5-3 decision.  

Ferri finishes his 2020-21 season with a record of 14-4, while McNally finishes at a 12-3 record.  

Mason Lawlor is a sports reporter. Contact him at [email protected].