Cloud County Athletics
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - The quest for a second NJCAA National Title for Cloud County Community College sophomore wrestler Zach Ferris would come up a match short in what would become a third-place finish in the 197-pound weight class at the 2022 NJCAA National Championships inside the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Saturday.
As a team, Cloud County finishes with an 18th place finish and a total of 29 team points as all teams that have wrestlers competing in tonight's National Championship matches is ahead of CCCC in the team standings.
In the first 197-pound NJCAA semifinal match, third-ranked Ferris and second-ranked North Iowa Area's Jose Valdez would put on an encore to last year's double-overtime National Title match won by Ferris as the largest lead by either wrestler in the match would be two points. After giving up an early takedown to Valdez, Ferris would manage to get an escape and then turn around three seconds later to earn n a takedown that would allow the Chapman, Kansas native to get the riding time advantage for Valdez back under a minute. Valdez would get an escape to reclaim the lead 3-2 at the end of the first period as the coin flip would be won by Valdez leaving Ferris to choose the bottom position in his choice for the second period.
Ferris would not waste any time getting an escape, needing just six seconds into the period to reclaim the lead at 4-3. The rest of the second period would go scoreless as both wrestlers would see offensive chances turned away by the other as the third period would prove to be the deciding time in the match. Valdez would match the early escape from Ferris in the second after choosing bottom position to tie things up with 1:52 left in the match Tied up for nearly a minute of action in the third, Ferris would attempt a takedown in the final 20 seconds that would be successfully defended by Valdez and turn into an offensive opportunity for the NIACC wrestler as Ferris would be taken down with four seconds left in the match to suffer his first defeat in two years as the National Tournament.
Needing a short memory with a consolation semifinal match against fourth-ranked Michael Gasper of Clackamas College now in the fold, Ferris would get a first-period takedown before allowing an escape and then earning a stall warning on Gasper to lead 2-1 heading into the second. Ferris would win the coin toss and defer to Gasper who would choose bottom position that would lead to an escape with 1:38 left in the period that would tie things at 2-2. Getting a chance to choose bottom position and earn an escape, Ferris would see Gasper get hit with a second stall call and penalty point with 32 seconds left in the match as Ferris would secure an escape with 10 seconds left and avoid being taken down to hang on for a 4-3 decision as Gasper would earn a riding time point for the accumulated time in the match.
The third-place match for Ferris would come against eighth-ranked DeMarco Lee of Harper Community College which would be the fourth-consecutive ranked opponent for Ferris to face at the National Tournament. Going on the offensive, Ferris would earn takedowns in both the first and second periods while allowing three escapes to Lee to put things at a 4-3 lead for the sophomore heading to the third period as Ferris would choose neutral position. A takedown from Lee 30 seconds into the third would put Ferris in a 5-4 hole that he would work his way out of 30 seconds later and tie things up with 58 seconds left in the match and tied 5-5. With things now in neutral position, Ferris would work a single-leg takedown as Lee would be attempting to fend off the first attempt from Ferris who would not be awarded the two points until the final 15 seconds. As the clock would wind down in the final seconds, Lee would be able to make one last attempt at trying to turn Ferris and earn a reversal as time would run out and the call would stand following a challenge from the Hawks coaching staff to allow Ferris to take third.
With the third-place finish, Ferris becomes Cloud County's first two-time NJCAA All-American with third-team All-American honors this season for his third-place finish. In his career with Cloud County, Ferris would go 40-6 in a T-Bird singlet and would set the school record for wins at the National Tournament (nine) and career win percentage (86.9%) while finishing tied for second in career pins with teammate Jonny Crome (17).