HAMPTON, Va. - The Navy wrestling team (1-4) capped off day two of the Virginia Duals on Saturday with a 27-21 victory over Kent State (0-6, 0-2) and a 28-12 loss to Oklahoma (6-3, 0-1). The Mids trailed 18-8 against the Golden Flashes but outscored them 19-3 in the final five bouts to earn their first victory, as well as take a 2-1 lead in the all-time series.
 
Dual 1: Navy 27, Kent State 21
Despite suffering three losses by fall, Navy rebounded by winning four of the final five bouts to claim a 27-21 victory over Kent State for its first dual win of the season. Navy earned victories at 133, 141, 165, 174, 184 and 197 pounds, which included a fall, tech fall and major decision.
 
Navy started in a 6-0 hole after 14th-ranked Jake Ferri pinned Navy's Matthew Ricci (125-pounds) in 2:12 but Navy responded with back-to-back victories to take its first lead. Brendan Ferretti (133-pounds) defeated Brendon Fenton by a 5-3 decision and 14th-ranked Josh Koderhandt (141-pounds) scored Navy five points on a 20-4 tech fall victory over Landen Hacker to give Navy an 8-6 lead.
 
The Golden Flashes answered Navy's two wins with two of their own, scoring 12 points on a pair of fall wins at 149 and 157 to take a double-digit lead. Kent State could have potentially sealed the match in the 165-pound bout but 25th-ranked Enrique Munguia was injured in the previous match and Navy earned a medical forfeit victory to claim six points.
 
Sammy Starr (174-pounds) followed up with another six points by a fall victory over Michael Ferree in 2:44 for his fifth career win by fall. David Key (184-pounds) extended Navy's lead to 23-18 with a 6-1 decision over Tyler Bates, setting up Navy's team captain Jacob Koser with an opportunity to seal Navy's first win of the season. Koser did just that with a 15-2 major decision over Blake Schaffer to claim the Mids' first dual win.
 
Navy vs. Kent State Results
125 | #14 Jake Ferri fall Matthew Ricci (Navy), 2:12 // Navy 0, Kent State 6
133 | Brendan Ferretti (Navy) dec Brendon Fenton, 5-3 // Navy 3, Kent State 6
141 | #14 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) tech fall Landen Hacker, 20-4 // Navy 8, Kent State 6
149 | #32 Kody Komara fall Kaemen Smith (Navy), 3:59 // Navy 8, Kent State 12
157 | Ethan Barr fall Devon Deem (Navy), 2:08 // Navy 8, Kent State 18
165 | Geno Quodala (Navy) med forfeit #25 Enrique Munguia // Navy 14, Kent State 18
174 | Sammy Starr (Navy) fall Michael Ferree, 2:44 // Navy 20, Kent State 18
184 | David Key (Navy) dec Tyler Bates, 6-1 // Navy 23, Kent State 18
197 | #29 Jacob Koser (Navy) major Blake Schaffer, 15-2 // Navy 27, Kent State 18
285 | Jacob Cover dec Ryan Catka (Navy), 7-4 // Navy 27, Kent State 21
 
Dual 2: Oklahoma 28, Navy 12
The Mids had a much tougher opponent against Oklahoma in its final matchup of the day and Oklahoma used its early wins to defeat Navy 28-12. Oklahoma claimed victories at 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165 and 285 pounds.
 
Grant Treaster (125-pounds) started the match facing Oklahoma's highest-ranked wrestler, 11th-ranked Joey Prata, but only suffered a 4-0 decision loss to prevent Oklahoma from scoring early bonus points. Ferretti stood toe to toe with 30th-ranked Wyatt Henson but Henson managed to win by a 4-3 decision thanks to riding time to give the Sooners a 6-0 lead.
 
Oklahoma took control of the match with two fall wins and a major decision over the next three bouts to take a 22-0 lead. Despite the score in Oklahoma's favor, the competitiveness only went up with four of the final five matchups going into overtime. Val Park (165-pounds) fell by a 6-4 decision in sudden victory but Starr answered with a 9-7 decision over Tate Picklo in sudden victory to get Navy on the board. Starr entered the third period trailing 5-1 but scored six points to force overtime, where he used a takedown to claim his second win of the day.
 
Key added six points to Navy's score with another upset victory, defeating 31st-ranked Keegan Moore by fall in 1:08 (Moore is ranked 31st in 197-pound weight class). With Navy still down on the scoreboard, coach Cary Kolat gave freshman Jacob Lucas (197-pounds) an opportunity to wrestle in his first dual. Lucas used a takedown in sudden victory to defeat Seth Seago by a 3-1 decision for his first career dual win. The dual was concluded with a thriller between 19th-ranked Josh Heindselman and 20th-ranked Grady Griess. Heindselman managed to edge Griess by a 2-1 decision in TB-1 to cap off the dual.
 
Key had the top performance at the Virginia Duals for the Mids, finishing 3-0 with a pair of wins against nationally ranked wrestlers. Key is 4-0 in duals this season and now 14-3 in his career. Ferretti, Lucas and Quodala earned their first career dual victories and Starr went 2-2 in Hampton to claim his second and third career dual victories. Griess ended with a 2-1 record to claim his third and fourth dual wins.
 
Navy vs. Oklahoma Results
125 | #11 Joey Prata dec Grant Treaster (Navy), 4-0 // Navy 0, Oklahoma 3
133 | #30 Wyatt Henson dec Brendan Ferretti (Navy), 4-3 // Navy 0, Oklahoma 6
141 | #30 Mosha Schwartz fall #14 Josh Koderhandt (Navy), 1:34 // Navy 0, Oklahoma 12
149 | #13 Mitch Moore fall Kaemen Smith (Navy), 0:35 // Navy 0, Oklahoma 18
157 | Jared Hill major Chase Caprella (Navy), 14-1 // Navy 0, Oklahoma 22
165 | Alejandro Herrera-Rondon dec Val Park (Navy), 6-4 SV-1 // Navy 0, Oklahoma 25
174 | Sammy Starr (Navy) dec Tate Picklo, 9-7 SV-1 // Navy 3, Oklahoma 25
184 | David Key (Navy) fall #31 Keegan Moore, 1:08 // Navy 9, Oklahoma 25
197 | Jacob Lucas (Navy) dec Seth Seago, 3-1 SV-1 // Navy 12, Oklahoma 25
285 | #19 Josh Heindselman dec #20 Grady Griess, 2-1 TB-1 // Navy 12, Oklahoma 28
 
Up Next
Navy opens conference action with its longest rival Lehigh next Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Alumni Hall. The 103rd all-time meeting between the two programs will be streamed on ESPN+.