Ross McFarland doesn’t stop moving. In the Hofstra University wrestling room, the graduate student is constantly mobile. He doesn’t look tired or gassed from training; no, he looks fresh all the time and sticks out like a sore thumb in a room filled with panting and heaving. McFarland has started this season on a tear, winning Undefeated through dual meets, he leads the team in wins. He attributes this partly from switching his weight class from 174 pounds to 184 pounds.

“Now that I’ve gone up a weight, they’re all bigger guys so they are just naturally slower,” McFarland said. “From the matches I have wrestled so far, I’m just so much faster than the guys. I’ll be in and have them on their butt before they even realize, honestly, and I love that feeling.”

Hofstra first-year head coach Jamie Franco, who served on the coaching staff from 2016 to 2023 as an assistant, attributes much of the success to a change in overall approach towards the sport. The switch had allowed McFarland to focus on what is most important.

“I think his main focus now is how he gets better every day wrestling and a lot less focus on just going through the motions to get his weight down,” Franco said. “He’s always been one of the hardest workers on the team. I think we’ve seen a big difference there, where his energy levels never sacrifice now, which is awesome.”

With the move to a more natural weight, McFarland can prioritize his skillset in practice over his weight management, which has shown volumes in his matches.

“Technique and quickness are so much more important,” McFarland said.  “You can take a guy down four times and he doesn’t even know he’s being taken down, and that is what’s happened in a lot of matches.”

McFarland redshirted his first season, wrestling unattached and putting together a 4-3 record at 165 pounds. The next four seasons he wrestled at 174 pounds as the starter for a combined 34-30 record. Despite going 12-8 last season, McFarland saw his fair share of struggles at 174 pounds.

“I’m 6 ‘1”, I have a big frame, [and] we always knew I could fill out and be an 184-pounder,” McFarland said. “It’s been in the works for years. This past year, [there were] two dual meets where I stepped off the scale and I was very very sick; I couldn’t hold any food or drinks down. It ended up being that the weight cut was too hard for me.”

The departure of former head coach Dennis Papadatos led to associate head coach Ernest James taking the helm. He saw McFarland struggle with his weight firsthand and urged McFarland to move up.

“When [James] was our interim head coach, he said I should go up to [184 pounds] and I told him I’d been thinking about it for years,” McFarland said. “Instead of prioritizing running and cardio, I was prioritizing lifting more this summer. I did get bigger; I gained about 15 pounds of solid muscle. Now that I’ve got down to a normal weight, I’m feeling good.”

As the current head coach, Franco feels similarly on the matter, believing McFarland operates better at this weight because nothing is lingering over him.

“He’s able to operate at full speed all week,” Franco said. “Where in the past, I’ve seen him come in and he’s just 10 [pounds] over or 12 [pounds] over, and the weight is just bearing over him every day. The main focus is ‘How do I get down the weight’ instead of ‘How am I gonna get better at wrestling and get ready for this match?’”

While wrestling at a more natural weight has helped in the training process, McFarland also gives props to his dedication to recovery. He goes as far as to deem himself an “ice bath addict,” as he’s fallen in love with the process, partly because of Franco.

“I feel like in the new age of wrestling there is a big emphasis on recovery,” McFarland said. “As much as hard work, it’s like 50/50. [Franco] does a great job at busting our butts in the wrestling room and then you have to prioritize recovery. My favorite thing is the ice bath. I ice bath every day. I love it, we had a mandatory ice bath on day one. We’re gonna have more of it in the future, and it’s great for our bodies.”

McFarland’s success also comes from his mindset around practice. It has molded how he trains, which in turn has paid dividends on the mat. He recognizes that between cutting weight and training there is a unique mental battle needed to achieve greatness in the sport.

“It’s very hard,” McFarland said. “I swear being a wrestler is 90% mental, 10% physical. I have to wake up at 6 a.m. … sitting on the wall 10 minutes before practice [and] knowing I’m going to have to kill myself for the next hour and a half is the mental side of it. Like knowing you have something hard in front of you but taking the path of most resistance.”

As a team captain, McFarland has seen the younger guys on the team spare their efforts in practice. He always preaches to them that taking the right path is the key to greatness.

“People always try to take the least resistance, cut corners and stuff,” McFarland said. “Ross McFarland goes the long way. Once you believe that, it becomes easy and that’s how I learned and it’s become easier for me, even though it’s hard every day, it’s an easy decision. [If] I’m taking the hard choice and doing that 365 days a year, it becomes an easy choice. So, the hard work doesn’t even mean anything to me anymore. I know I’m going to do it and I know I’m going to choose to do it.”

McFarland’s mindset has been ever present in his final season, as his wins so far have come in dominant fashion. He recently defeated Ohio State University’s Gavin Bell, who was ranked No. 29 in the nation at the time. To most, beating a nationally ranked wrestler would be a huge accomplishment, but McFarland’s perspective on rankings differs from the norm.

“When it comes to matches and wrestling guys, I actually don’t [care] if they are ranked [or] if they’re number one in the country,” McFarland said. “You know they go to bed with a pillow like I do; they have two legs like I do. I’m going to give it to whoever.”

With this season being his last, McFarland is dialed in on beating his competition, giving it all in his last dance.

“I might not ever get that feeling of competition again after this year,” McFarland said.  “It’s scary to know that this could be my last chance at competition in the sport that changed me. So, I want to wrestle [in] as many matches as I can and I want to punch people in the face immediately and just show what I’ve known I’ve always been capable of.  I’m going to go out there and take you down first. I’m going to escape and nobody can stop me.”

Photos courtesy of Ethan Albin