Kent State University
MAC Championships
Rooney Captures MAC Title at 133
3/8/2020 5:38:00 PM | Wrestling
DeKALB, ILL- Tim Rooney became the first Kent State wrestler since 2015 to capture a MAC tournament title, highlighting the final day of the 2020 Mid-American Conference Championships.
In the championship bout at 133 pounds, Tim Rooney met Allan Hart of Missouri. The two had a back-and-forth bout earlier in the year, ending in a late Tim Rooney pin. This title match was wire-to-wire as well. After a scoreless first, Hart scored an escape to take a 1-0 second-period lead. Rooney looked to have scored a late takedown in the period, but the referees disagreed, and the call stood after a challenge. Rooney returned the favor early in the third with an escape, and it would stay 1-1 through regulation.
In the extra frame, Rooney shot at Hart, gaining leverage. The senior drove Hart back and into the mat for the takedown and the 3-1 championship victory. With the win, Rooney became the first MAC Champion from Kent State since Ian Miller in 2015 and the first since now assistant coach Danny Mitcheff did won in 2010. He also earned All-Mid-American Conference first team honors.
"This match mirrored the one that we had in our dual earlier in the year," Rooney said. "This is such a great feeling and what I have worked for over the last five years."
Andrew McNally was denied a title at 174 pounds, dropping a wild 10-9 decision to Jared Siegrist of Lock Haven. The match started innocently enough, with McNally getting an early takedown and Siegrist responding with an escape to make it 2-1 after one period. In the second, Siegrist took his first lead with a reversal only to have McNally tie it up with an escape of his own.
The third period is where things got crazy. After an early escape gave McNally back the lead, Siegrist responded with a takedown and a two-point near fall to grab a 7-4 lead. McNally rallied back with an escape and takedown of his own to knot the match at 7-7. Siegrist earned an escape to go up 8-7, only to have McNally earn another takedown and retake the lead 9-8 with eight seconds remaining. With the clock winding down, Siegrist reversed McNally to retake the lead, and the championship. Despite the last second defeat, McNally has punched his ticket to Minneapolis for the NCAA tournament. McNally also earned All-Mid-American Conference honorable mention for his efforts.
Colin McCracken got day two started for Kent State, taking on Ben Smith of Cleveland State for the third time this season. Smith had the early advantage, using an escape and take down to go up 3-0. McCracken slowly battled back, using two escape points to pull draw within one. In the final period, McCracken got two takedowns of Smith and outscored the Viking 4-2 in the final period to secure a 6-5 victory and march on into the consolation semis. McCracken got paired up with Landon Pelham of Central Michigan in the semis, losing by a first-period fall, dropping McCracken into the fifth-place match.
In the fifth-place match, McCracken was again paired against Dylan Reynolds of Edinboro, his opening round opponent. In a defensive match, the wrestlers traded escapes and the bout looked destined for overtime tied at one. With under 20 seconds left, McCracken saw an opening and secured a takedown to grab a 3-1 lead. A late escape for Reynolds was for naught and McCracken was victorious in the fifth-place bout.
With a first, second and fifth place earned on Sunday, Kent State finished the tournament with 51.5 team points, good for ninth place. Rooney and McNally will advance on to the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, McCracken will be in the discussion for an at-large berth at 197. There are 27 automatic qualifiers for the 33 spots for the 197 tournament, the at-large bids will be announced on Tuesday.
DAY ONE RECAP
Tim Rooney (133) and Andrew McNally (174) will wrestle for their respective Mid-American Conference titles to help lead Kent State after day one of the 2020 Mid-American Conference Championships.
Rooney went a perfect 3-0 on Saturday to punch his ticket to Sunday's title match, while Andrew McNally went 2-0 after a first-round bye. Both have already secured a spot in the NCAA tournament, with the conference receiving four bids in both weight classes.
Rooney had little trouble in the first two rounds, winning 9-3 and 6-3 to reach the semis where he met DJ Fehlman of Lock Haven, the second-seeded wrestler in the bracket. It was a very defensive bout, with both wrestlers only managing one escape point in regulation. The extra sessions proved similar as both wrestlers earned escape points. In the second overtime, Rooney managed a reversal to win 4-2 by sudden victory, advancing to Sunday's final.
After earning a first-round bye, McNally edged Kenny Moore of NIU, who had come into the match ranked sixth in the MAC. The third-ranked McNally ground out a 3-2 victory to move on to the semis. There he took on the MAC's second-seeded wrestler in Dean Sherry of Rider. McNally used a trio of takedowns and a couple of escapes to build a 10-6 lead. Sherry would close the gap to 10-8 but get no closer.
The full results of the tournament can be seen below.
125 Tomas Gutierrez (7-14) (1-2 in the Championships)
- Champ. Round 1 - Tomas Guitierrez (Kent Statewon by decision over Lucas Rodriguez (Edinboro) Dec 5-2)
- Quarterfinal - Drew Hildebrandt (CMU) won by decision over Tomas Gutierrez (Kent State) (Dec 4-0)
- Cons. Round 2 - Jonathan Tropea (Rider) won by decision over Tomas Guitierrez (Kent State) 7 (Dec 9-6)
133 Tim Rooney (26-9) (4-0 in the Championships)
- Champ. Round 1 - Tim Rooney (Kent State) won by decision over Andrew Marten (CMU) (Dec 9-3)
- Quarterfinal - Tim Rooney (Kent State) won by decision over Justin Patrick (Cleveland State) (Dec 6-3)
- Semifinal - Tim Rooney (Kent State) won in sudden victory - 2 over DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven) (SV-2 4-2)
- 1st Place Match - Tim Rooney (Kent State) won in sudden victory - 1 over Allan Hart (Missouri) (SV-1 3-1)
141 Cory Simpson (7-20) (1-2in the Championships)
- Champ. Round 1 - Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) won by decision over Cory Simpson (Kent State) (Dec 9-4)
- Cons. Round 1 - Cory Simpson (Kent State) won by decision over Alex Blake (Clarion) (Dec 6-2)
- Cons. Round 2 - Anthony Gibson (NIU) won by tech fall over Cory Simpson (Kent State (TF-1.5 4:58 (21-6))
149 Kody Komara (15-19) (1-2 in the Championships)
- Champ. Round 1 - Brock Mauller (Missouri) won by decision over Kody Komara (Kent State) (Dec 4-0)
- Cons. Round 1 - Kody Komara (Kent State) won by fall over Aaron Coleman (Bloomsburg) (Fall 6:31)
- Cons. Round 2 - Kenan Carter (ODU) won by decision over Kody Komara (Kent State) (Dec 4-0)
157 Brady Chrisman (9-16) (0-2 in the Championships)
- Champ. Round 1 - Justin Ruffin (SIU-E)won by major decision over Brady Chrisman (Kent State) (MD 13-1)
- Cons. Round 1 - Mason Kauffman (NIU) won by decision over Brady Chrisman (Kent State) (Dec 8-5)
165 Kade Byland (13-21) (0-2 in the Championships)
- Champ. Round 1 - Peyton Mocco (Missouri) won by tech fall over Kade Byland (Kent State) (TF-1.5 7:00 (16-1))
- Cons. Round 1 - Mike Bartolo (Clarion) won by decision over Kade Byland (Kent State) (Dec 9-6)
174 Andrew McNally (31-7) (2-1 in the Championships)
- Champ. Round 1 - Andrew McNally (Kent State) received a bye
- Quarterfinal - Andrew McNally (Kent State) won by decision over Kenny Moore (Northern Illinois) (Dec 3-2)
- Semifinal - Andrew McNally (Kent State) won by decision over Dean Sherry (Rider) (Dec 10-8)
- 1st Place Match - Jared Siegrist (Lock Haven) won by decision over Andrew McNally (Kent State) (Dec 10-9)
184 Shane Mast (17-13) (0-2 in the Championships)
- Champ. Round 1 - Corey Hazel (Lock Haven) won by decision over Shane Mast (Kent State) (Dec 10-3)
- Cons. Round 1 - Ben Cushman (Central Michigan) won by decision over Shane Mast (Kent State) (Dec 6-3)
197 Colin McCracken (24-16) (4-2 in the Championships)
- Champ. Round 1 - Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro) won by decision over Colin McCracken (Kent State) (Dec 5-2)
- Cons. Round 1 - Colin McCracken (Kent State) won by tech fall over Ramses Montalvo (GMU) (TF-1.5 5:32 (15-0))
- Cons. Round 2 - Colin McCracken (Kent State) won by major decision over Sam Schuyler (Buffalo) (MD 12-2)
- Cons. Round 3 - Colin McCracken (Kent State) won by decision over Benjamin Smith (CSU) (Dec 6-5)
- Cons. Semi - Landon Pelham (Central Michigan) won by fall over Colin McCracken (Kent State) (Fall 0:38)
- 5th Place Match - Colin McCracken (Kent State) won by decision over Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro) (Dec 3-2)
285 Spencer Berthhold (14-21) (1-2 in the Championships)
- Champ. Round 1 - Jon Spaulding (Edinboro) 26-8 won by major decision over Spencer Berthhold (Kent State) (MD 10-2)
- Cons. Round 1 - Spencer Berthhold (Kent State) won by fall over Trey Hartsock (Lock Haven) (Fall 1:18)
- Cons. Round 2 - John Kelbly (Cleveland State) won by fall over Spencer Berthhold (Kent State) (Fall 5:30)
Players Mentioned
