Cody Thorn
A year ago, Rylee Ferranti came two wins away from going to the state meet.
The Klein Oak sophomore not only made the Class 6A UIL State Wrestling Championship in Cypress on Feb. 18 and came home as the champion in the 185-pound division.
The sixth-ranked Ferranti won by a 5-2 decision over No. 1-ranked Faith Macharia of Keller Central. Macharia (36-3) led 2-0 after a first-period takedown but a three-point near fall in the second gave Ferranti (42-3) a lead she wouldn’t give up.
“She was great, she was great,” Ferranti said. “She was such a fun opponent. She was a hammer on top, oh my lord. The no. 1 thing was to wear her out in the second period, just keep her standing up and keep her stamina low.”
Ferranti learned last year to use her speed as she was an undersized wrestler in the 215-pound class. She would be giving up 40 pounds in some matches last season but with new weight classes this year, she went down.
That made moving opponents on the mat seem a little bit easier this year but the lessons from last year’s 32-9 season carried over this winter.
“I realized not every loss is a loss, it’s a learning process,” she said. “You did this wrong, so work on it during practice. You strive to be the best of the best.”
Two other Houston-area wrestlers joined Ferranti as state champions. Conroe The Woodlands’ Riley Rayome won the 107-pound title, while Conroe The Woodlands College Park’s Anna Vogt won 138…
