The Kent State wrestling team managed to win only three matches in each of its losses to two of the top Mid-American Conference teams this weekend.

The Flashes lost to first-place Central Michigan (6-0 MAC, 11-2 overall) 32-9 on Sunday and to fourth-place Ohio University (4-2, 8-3) on Friday.

Kent State is 3-4 in the conference and 5-7 overall, and is in eighth place. 

“They’re just better than us right now,” coach Jim Andrassy said after the Ohio match. “Our guys fought really hard, and they didn’t give up. To win a match like that you can’t give up close matches.” 

Fifth year Jake Ferri, KSU’s highest-ranking wrestler at second in the MAC, split his two matches. On his senior night Friday, he used his quickness and three takedowns to beat OU’s redshirt sophomore Oscar Sanchez 8-3. Sunday he had three takedowns in the third period to tie the match 7-7 but lost because CMU’s redshirt senior Brock Bergelin, who is ranked seventh in the conference, had more riding time.

“My last few matches I’ve had some good wins and some tough losses,” Ferri said Friday. “I felt like I haven’t been attacking as much recently as I normally did earlier in the season and last year. I like to push the pace and that’s why my boys call me the honey badger, I just keep going. I did a really good job at just keeping the pressure applied and not giving him a chance to do anything.”

“I’m trying to molly wop [to hit someone extremely hard] everyone. My style of wrestling has always been go-go-go, and that cannot change.”

Redshirt junior 165-pounder Brady Chrisman, who went into the weekend on a two-match winning streak, scored six takedowns in posting an 18-6 major decision over OU’s redshirt sophomore Kamal Adewumi. He lost to redshirt junior Tracy Hubbard 6-5 on Sunday. Hubbard is ranked seventh in the MAC; Chrisman was ranked ninth before his winning streak.  

Senior Colin McCracken won his fifth-straight match at 184 Friday against Ohio’s freshman Zayne Lehaman, posting a late takedown in a 4-1 decision. McCracken is ranked second in the MAC; Lehaman No. 6. McCracken did not wrestle Sunday.

“Colin had beaten their 184 earlier in the year, so we didn’t think it made sense for him to wrestle again today,” Andrassy said.

Redshirt junior Brendon Fenton had the match of the day for the Flashes on Sunday as he was able to get a reverse takedown and ride out sophomore Ja’Kerion Merritt for the whole third period. Fenton won 7-3.

“We had a match Friday and I ended up losing, which is not what I wanted,” Fenton said. “Today I wanted to go out there and get on my moves and score some points. I gave a tough ride at the end of the match.”

Other winners Sunday were redshirt junior Tyler Bates, who took down redshirt sophomore Cade Dallwitz 3-1 at 197, and senior Kody Komara, who had a takedown in all three periods and won 7-3 at 149 against redshirt junior Corbyn Munson, who is ranked fifth in the conference. Komara is ranked No. 6.

“We had a lot of close matches,” Andrassy said after Sunday’s match. “Ferri has beaten that guy before so that could have gone either way. The guys that all won today worked extremely hard. You won’t get any wins against this program if you don’t work hard.”

Kent State will next travel to Bloomsberg University for a 7 p.m. Friday match.

Noah Keeney is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].