Kent State University
NCAA
McNally Advances to Quarterfinals of NCAA Tournament
3/18/2021 10:30:00 PM | Wrestling
SAINT LOUIS, MO- Sixth-seeded Andrew McNally went 2-0 on Thursday to advance to the national quarterfinals and Jake Ferri split his two matches, highlighting day one for the Golden Flashes at the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
In his first match, Ferri took on 13th seeded Liam Cronin of Nebraska. The 20th seeded Ferri led 2-1 after the opening period thanks to a takedown with a minute remaining. Late in the second period, Ferri got his second takedown of the match and led 4-3 heading into the third after Cronin was credited with a pair of second-period escapes. The Cornhusker was able to flip the script late in the third. With Ferri leading 6-5, Cronin was able to secure a takedown that ultimately led to a pin with just 31 seconds left.
In the wrestle backs, Ferri met 29th seeded Zurich Storm of Campbell. Ferri took control of the match early on, recording three takedowns in the first period and led 6-2 after the opening three minutes. Ferri would go on to record five takedowns against Storm, limiting the Camel wrestler to only scoring by escaping after a takedown. The senior would add the riding time bonus and earning a major decision victory, 13-5. He moves on to the second round of wrestle backs on Friday morning where he'll face Eric Barnett of Wisconsin.
Kody Komara drew tough assignments on Thursday, opening with the four-seed Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State. Komara was able to escape the first takedown in the first period but got caught by the second as Lewallen advanced after the pin. In the wrestle back opening round, an earlier upset had Komara matched up with 13th seed Mitch Moore of Oklahoma. Moore caught Komara with a first-period takedown and secured the fall to move on to Friday morning.
Sixth-seeded Andrew McNally got off to a great start on Thursday in his opening round match with Cody Howard of Virginia Tech. McNally used three takedowns to build and 8-5 lead after two periods. In the third, a fourth takedown gave McNally the edge he needed. The senior leveraged the move into a fall at the 1:24 mark of the third. In the nightcap, McNally met Austin Murphy of Campbell. It was a defensive struggle early as McNally had a pair of escapes and Murphy a lone takedown through two periods. In the third, Murphy opened with an escape to take a 3-2 lead but McNally rallied with a takedown of his own to grab a 4-3 lead. A bit of bad luck followed as a medical timeout led to a restart and Murphy securing another escape to tie the match at 4-4 and forcing overtime. In the first overtime, McNally hit on a shot with about 30 seconds left, secured the takedown and the 6-4 victory. He will face Penn State's Carter Starocci in the quarterfinals on Friday morning.
Colin McCracken took on AJ Ferrari of Oklahoma State in the opening round at 197 pounds. The 29th seeded McCracken was able to record a pair of escapes in the match, but a pair of near falls proved too much to overcome. Ferrari earned the tech fall and McCracken would be matched up with North Carolina's Max Shaw in the wrestle backs. Shaw and McCracken would also get into a defensive struggle. Shaw secured two takedowns in the first period with McCracken escaping each time. After a scoreless second period, McCracken pulled within 4-3 after an escape out of the bottom start position. That would be as close as he would get as Shaw's defensive wrestling proved successful in a 5-3 decision with riding time.
Day two of the wrestling championships will begin on Friday starting at 11 a.m. eastern and can be seen on ESPN U and the Watch ESPN app.
Players Mentioned
