Kent State University
NCAA
NCAA Wrestling Championships Preview
3/17/2021 11:47:00 AM | Wrestling
ST. LOUIS, MO- Four Kent State wrestlers head west this weekend for the 2021 NCAA Championship at the Enterprise Center in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Jake Ferri at 125 pounds, Kody Komara at 149 pounds, Andrew McNally at 174 and Colin McCracken at 197 all qualified through the MAC Tournament or at-large selection.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Jake Ferri-125 pounds
Record: 13-2 overall
NCAA Qualification: Finished third in the 125-pound bracket at the MAC Tournament
Seed: 20th
Opponent: 13th seed Liam Cronin of Nebraska. The senior is 7-3 on the year and earned an at-large bid after a 9th place finish at the Big-10 championships.
First Match: Part of the first wave of matches that start Thursday morning, coverage starts on watch ESPN and ESPN U at 11 a.m. Eastern. Ferri is scheduled to wrestle on mat three.
Kody Komara- 149 Pounds
Record: 12-6 overall
NCAA Qualification: Finished fourth in the 149-pound bracket at the MAC Tournament
Seed: 29th
Opponent: 4th-seed Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State in the opening round. Lewallen won the Big-12 title this season and comes into the tournament at 16-1 on the year.
First Match: Part of the first wave of matches that start Thursday morning, coverage starts on watch ESPN and ESPN U at 11 a.m. Eastern. Komara's mat has not been assigned.
Andrew McNally-174 Pounds
Record: 10-1 overall
NCAA Qualification: Won the 174-pound bracket at the MAC Tournament, defeated Peyton Mocco of Missouri
Seed: 6th
Opponent: Dakota Howard of Virginia Tech, who finished the season at 5-5. One of those five losses came against McNally, who defeated Howard 13-8 as part of the Kent State vs Virginia Tech dual held at West Virginia back on January 10th.
First Match: Part of the second wave of matches that start Thursday morning, coverage starts on watch ESPN and ESPN U at 2 p.m. Eastern. Â McNally's mat has not been assigned.
Colin McCracken- 197 Pounds
Record: 8-5 overall
NCAA Qualification: Received an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament
Seed: 29th
Opponent: 4th seed A.J. Ferrari. Ferrari won the Big-12 title and is 15-1 on the season. Both share a loss to West Virginia's Noah Adams.
First Match: Part of the second wave of matches that start Thursday morning, coverage starts on watch ESPN and ESPN U at 2 p.m. Eastern. McCracken's mat has not been assigned.
KENT STATE AT THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
The Golden Flashes have an extensive history in the NCAA wrestling tournament. The Golden Flashes' first qualifier came in the 1929 tournament. Kent State first scored in the tournament in 1939 and have scored in the championships 60 times overall. That is good for 20th all time and tops amongst Mid-American Conference schools. Kent State's best finish was in 1942, placing fifth. The Flashes have also scored in every tournament since 1998.
Kent State has hosted the NCAA Championships on two occasions, once in 1963 and again in 1967. Recently, the Golden Flashes have had success in the championships. In 2018, Kyle Conel went from the wrestle-in match to a third-place finish at 197 pounds. Conel beat the 8, 9, and 1 seed along the way to a spot on the podium.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
The NCAA will be streaming every match through the watch ESPN app. The link on the Kent State wrestling page links to the ESPN "multi-mat" view. The NCAA will also provide live stats via Track Wrestling and that link is also on the wrestling schedule page.
Players Mentioned
