Kent State University
MAC Championships
McNally Captures 174 Crown, Three Qualify for Nationals
2/27/2021 7:56:00 PM | Wrestling
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ- Andrew McNally took home the title at 174 pounds and Jake Ferri (125) and Kody Komara (149) secured their place at the National Tournament, highlighting day two of the MAC Wrestling Championships.
Andrew McNally and Peyton Mocco of Missouri had an instant classic in the 174 pound title match. McNally struck first with an early takedown only for Mocco to counter with a reversal to ti the match up at two. McNally then worked an escape to take a 3-2 lead after the opening period. Things picked up in the second period as McNally had a pair of reversals. Mocco countered with a reversal of his own on the latter of the two from McNally and added a two-point near fall. Heading into the third period, McNally held a slim 7-6 edge. Mocco chose the down position in period three, hoping to get a quick escape to tie the match. McNally would not oblige, holding the advantage for well over a minute in the final period before a late escape from Mocco. That only briefly tied the title bout as McNally secured the riding time bonus. Mocco failed to score in the final 16 seconds after his escape and the riding time bonus gave McNally the 8-7 win and the title.
At 125 pounds, Jake Ferri used a pair of take downs in the consolation semis to defeat Josh Jones of George Mason 4-2. That put Ferri in the third-place match and a spot in the National tournament. In the third-place match, he met Jonathan Tropea of host Rider. In a wild first period, both wrestlers had a pair of take downs. Tropea had two escapes to Ferri's one and led 6-5 after the opening three minutes. Ferri quickly tied the match with an early escape in the second round, and added another two take downs. Ferri's second five-point period gave him a 10-6 lead heading into the final stanza. Ferri earned his fifth takedown of the match and tacked on two penalty points to grab the third-place match 14-9.
Kody Komara found himself in a similar situation as Ferri at 149 pounds. In the consolation semis, Komara jumped out early on Tyler Vath of Edinboro. Komara had a pair of take downs and a four-point near fall to run out to a commanding 8-2 lead after one period. Komara added to his lead in the second on an escape and didn't allow Vath to much of anything offensively. Komara took the second period 1-0 to lead 9-2 heading into the final two minutes. Komara closed things out in the third, using an early reversal to go up nine. Vath added some late offense including a last-second take down but Komara controlled the semi-final narrative in an 11-6 win. Komara matched up with Northern Illinois' Anthony Cheloni in the third-place match. A well-wrestled defensive struggle went to Cheloni. The NIU Huskie got a second-period escape and that was it, winning the third-place match 1-0. Despite the loss, Komara was awarded a spot in the 149 pound bracket at the National Tournament.
The Flashes finished the Championships in eighth-place overall. Missouri was heavily favored to win the team title and did so over second place Central Michigan and third-place and host Rider. Ferri, Komara and McNally now begin to prepare for the NCAA Tournament. This year's tournament will be held in Saint Louis from March 18-20.
