Sports
Two Ohio Wrestlers Qualify for Nationals at MACs
By: Joseph Hennessy
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The Bobcats have two NCAA qualifiers, Shakur Laney at 125 and Noah Forrider at 141, after competing in the Mid-American Conference Championships on Sat., March 4. Although the team went 6-10 on the day, they have a chance to bounce back tomorrow and battle with some of the MAC’s best wrestlers.
The day started with Laney for the Green and White. A one-seed coming into the tournament, he had the opportunity to get his second NCAA bid, back-to-back. For his first match, he went up against Steven Simpson of Old Dominion. Simpson, who was 5-20 on the year before this match, could not dethrone the top-seed and lost 11-4. Laney moved to the semifinals where he went up against Eastern Michigan’s Noah Gonser. Fortunately for Ohio, Laney left the mat with his hand raised by the referee and received his NCAA tournament bid. He will compete Sunday in the 125 championship.
Next on the mat for Ohio was No. 3 Cam Kelly at 133. Kelly’s day didn’t start how he wanted it to as he lost in the quarterfinals 5-2 against Kent State’s Anthony Tutolo. The next opponent for Kelly was Old Dominion’s Alex Madrigal. Madrigal won 16-3. Kelly, who was a NCAA qualifier last year, still could get his bid through the ranking system of the NCAA.
At 141, Ohio had their second NCAA qualifier, Forrider who in his first match won 8-0. Forrider was 22-4 prior to that match. As for the semifinal match-up against Angel Velasquez of Northern Illinois, Forrider’s offensive attack and defensive awareness stayed intact. He won 6-0 and received his first NCAA tournament bid.
In the 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, and 197 weight classes, the Green and White witnessed losses. Kade Kowalski lost in the preliminary round and then lost in the next match, 7-0. Cullen Cummings lost in overtime 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Zach Wilson lost in the preliminary round. Sophomore Arsen Arshughyan fell 11-3 in the quarterfinals. Dontae McGee lost in the preliminary rounds also but later pinned his next opponent. Nate Hall was defeated in the preliminary then lost 14-4 in the next round.
At 285, Zach Parker battled to forget the Bobcat’s losses and attempted to punch his ticket to the NCAA tournament. In his first match, Parker fought hard and pulled away with a win, 3-2, and advanced to the semifinals. In the semis, Parker’s momentum was stalled and he could not pull away with a win. He left the mat with a 9-1 loss.
The Bobcats get a chance to battle and bounce back Sunday.