Kyle Mosher and Ross McFarland left it all on the mat as the Hofstra University wrestling team concluded their season and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships on March 21. Mosher went 2-2 on the weekend, making it to the second day of the tournament, while McFarland went 0-2.
As the 16th seed at 165 pounds, Mosher’s first match was against 17th seed Noah Mulvaney of Bucknell University. Mulvaney’s injury defaulted out from his Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championship match against Mosher on March 8.
Mosher made quick work of Mulvaney, earning a takedown just seconds into the match. In the second period, Mosher caught Mulvaney on his back and pinned him at 3:29. The win guaranteed that he would compete on the second day of competition.
Mosher’s win put him up against Pennsylvania State University’s Mitchell Mesenbrink, the number one seed. Mesenbrink dominated the match, scoring takedown after takedown on Mosher. In the second period, Mosher earned a reversal and had the 2024 NCAA Championship runner-up on his back for a split second, but ultimately lost by technical fall 22-6.
On day two, Mosher’s first match in the consolation bracket was against 15th seed Nicco Ruiz of Arizona State University. Mosher’s unorthodox style was at play, with him maneuvering his way to a reversal for his first points of the match after being taken down in the first period. Mosher took bottom in the second period, flipping over Ruiz to get around for another reversal. Locking his arms around Ruiz’s head and shoulder in an assassin hold, Mosher took him to his back and pinned him at 3:50.
In Mosher’s final collegiate wrestling match, the ninth seed Cam Steed of the University of Missouri proved to be too much, pinning him at 2:15.
At 184 pounds, McFarland entered the tournament as the 27th seed and had a tough first-round match-up against sixth seed Chris Foca of Cornell University. McFarland earned the first takedown of the match but was held scoreless for the remainder of the bout. Foca earned reversals in the first and second periods, and a riding time point at the end of the match to win by decision 5-3.
In the consolation bracket, McFarland fought hard against 22nd seed Donnell Washington of Indiana University. Washington scored two takedowns in the first period which proved to be the difference makers. McFarland escaped from both takedowns with the score at 6-2 at the end of the first period.
In the second period, McFarland escaped again only to be taken down once more. Diving for the feet, McFarland earned a reversal and racked up riding time for the remainder of the second period, making the score 9-5.
McFarland once again started the period with an escape. After a series where he was awarded a point for a penalty on Washington and was put on top, Washington escaped and withstood McFarland’s flurry of last-second attacks to win the match by decision 10-8.
McFarland ended his season with a 16-9 record and finished his Hofstra career with a 47-47 record. Mosher was 19-10 on the season and his two wins were the most by a Hofstra wrestler in the NCAA Championships since 2021.
