Kent State University
MAC Championships
McNally & Rooney Earn NCAA Bids
3/9/2019 4:52:00 PM | Wrestling
NORFOLK, Va. – Kent State will send two wrestlers to the NCAA Championships following a wild day two of the Mid-American Conference Championships inside Old Dominion's Ted Constant Center.
Sophomore Andrew McNally (184) and junior Tim Rooney (133) each finished above their seed to punch their ticket to Pittsburgh.
Rooney went 2-0 on the day for a third place finish. He defeated Central Michigan's Devin Perez 3-2 in the consolation semifinals. Rooney then topped No. 2 seed Mario Guillen (Ohio) 4-2 with a takedown in sudden victory 2 of the consolation finals.
"Tim's figured what he needs to do to win," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said of the many close bouts Rooney has been in this season. "He didn't make any mistakes today and showed he has the ability to be a really good wrestler."
McNally dropped his finals bout to No. 1 seed Dylan Wisman of Missouri 9-4. McNally scored a pair of takedowns in the second period to grab a 4-3 lead, but Wisman came back with two more takedowns of his own. With two NCAA qualifying spots available at 184, McNally then had to take on Central Michigan's Jordan Atienza in a true second place match.
Atienza led 6-4 early in the second period and got in on a shot, but McNally spun his leg around and threw Atienza on his back and claimed his 14th pin of the season. He finished 3-1 on the weekend with a pair of pins.
"It looked like a crazy move to us," Andrassy said. "But he can put guys on their back in so many different ways. He should be a top 16 seed at NCAAs and get a decent draw in the first round."
Sophomore Jake Ferri won his seventh place match at 125 pounds with a 19-7 decision over Gage Datlovsky (SIU Edwardsville).
The Flashes got another seventh place from sophomore Kade Byland, who topped Kevin Gschwendtner (SIU Edwardsville) at 174 pounds.
Sophomore 141-pounder Cory Simpson settled for a sixth place Saturday after pulling off the upset of the tournament on Friday. Senior Isaac Bast (165) also finished sixth following a win on Friday.
McNally and Rooney will head to PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh March 21-23 for the 2019 NCAA Championships.
Players Mentioned
