Central Michigan University Athletics
Wrestling Shoots For Fourth Straight MAC Title
11/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 8, 2001
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Young but experienced would be the perfect way to describe this the 2001-02 Central Michigan University wrestling team.
After winning their fourth straight Mid-American Conference regular season title last year, the Chippewas return nine starters from last season, but like last year, have only one senior on the squad.
"The sky's the limit with this team," said head coach Tom Borrelli. "We gained a lot of valuable experience last year with a young team, and that experience should be a great asset for us this season. We competed at a higher level than I expected last year, so it should be interesting to see how much we can improve this year."
Even though CMU won the MAC regular season title last season, its disappointing postseason performance last year has been a main motivating factor for this year's team. CMU finished second in the MAC postseason tournament and 32nd at the NCAA Championships.
"Our goal is to get back into the national spotlight after kind of falling out of it the last two years," said Borrelli. "Our goals are to win the both MAC titles, be a top ten team in the nation, have three All-Americans and a national finalist. These are high goals but I feel that we have the talent to reach them."
This year's team returns 13 lettermen, nine starters, five national qualifiers and two MAC champions. The returning MAC champions are: 141, Jason Mester (Mineral Point, Wis./So.) and 149, Tyler Morgan (Huber Heights, Ohio/So.). The returning national qualifies are: 133, Jordan Webster (Washington, Ill./Jr.), 197, Brett Faustman (Mason/Jr.), and heavyweight, Jack Leffler (Morris, Ill/Sr.). Leffler is the lone senior of the squad.
"These five guys all have gained the skills and experience that is necessary for success," said Borrelli. "I believe Jason can do great things for us and he has been motivated by his disappointing performance at nationals last season to improve and achieve to a higher level. Tyler is in the same position and both are on the verge of being All-Americans.
"Jordan gained a lot of experience last year being the runner-up at the MAC championships and going to nationals while Brett is a tough kid who will give us a lot of leadership. Jack has made some great improvements this offseason and being the only senior, we expect him lead this team."
The Chippewas look to replace national qualifier Ahmad Sanders at 125 with a group of young and talented athletes. Projected to start is redshirt Jason Borrelli (Mount Pleasant/Fr.) while Craig Shutich (Rockford/Fr.) and Kyle Stoffer (Olmsted Falls, Ohio/Fr.) will look to back him up with the possibility of one or both of them being redshirted.
"It will be tough to replace a great wrestler like Ahmad but we have a talented group of guys that can step up," commented Borrelli. "We would like to redshirt the both true freshmen. It may be tough for Jason to stay at 125 because he has always wrestled in the 133-pound weight class. We might have to have one of those true freshmen step in for him at some point so he can stay health and fresh for the end of the season."
Mark Rusz (St. Charles/Jr.) will battle at 133 after filling in for Webster last season when Webster was out with an injury.
"I think we are solid at this weight class," remarked Borrelli. "Mark filled in for Jordan when he was hurt last year and did a good job for us."
Derek Phillips (Grosse Pointe/Jr.), redshirt Billy Domako (Fenton/Fr.) and Justin Sinclair (Grand Rapids/Fr.), who will most likely be redshirted, add depth at 141 and may be used to fill in at other weight classes.
"This is a weight class that has a lot of depth," said Borrelli. "Derek is a solid wrestler for us who started for us at 157 last year when we had some injuries but he is better suited to be at 141. Billy and Justin are two kids who have a lot of talent and bright futures."
Joe Ray Barry (Mason/So.) and redshirt Adam Hopkins (Greenville/Fr.) will add great depth and talent to at 149.
"We have two solid wrestlers in Joe Ray, who is a strong wrestler and an excellent back-up, and Adam, a kid that is really starting to step up for us," said Borrelli. "These guys will really push Tyler and help him take the next step."
Russell Clark (Holt/Jr.), the starter last year until he got hurt midseason, and redshirt David Bolyard (Akron, Ohio/Fr.) will fight for the starting spot at 157. Brad Anderson (Grand Rapids/So.) was the starter last season and redshirt Tyler Hubert (Grand Ledge/Fr.) will add depth while Zemalor Pittman (Flint/Fr.) will most likely be redshirted.
"This is a competitive weight class and the competition between these guys should be great," commented Borrelli. "Russell and David will battle to see who will be the starter and both of them are excellent wrestlers who will push each other in practice. We hope to redshirt Brad since he wrestled as a true freshman last year and Tyler continues to improve and get better. Zemalor is a talented wrestler who I hope will do some great things for us down the road."
Kevin Carr (Warsaw, Ind./So.) comes down from 174 to 165 and is the projected starter. Redshirt Joe Weakley (Marshall/Fr.) will provide depth while last year's starter Mitch Hancock (Royal Oak/So.) had offseason knee surgery and will almost certainly be redshirted.
"Kevin is a kid who we think is on the verge of doing some great things," remarked Borrelli. "He came close to qualifying for nationals at 174 last year when he was better suited for 165. Joe is a hard-working kid who continues to improve."
The 174 and 184 weight classes are both up in the air. Jeff Pangborn (Durand/So.) and redshirt Russ Vanderheyden (Rockton, Ill./Fr.) will fight it out to see who wrestles at either spot and not to be counted out is redshirt Alex Lammers (Huber Heights, Ohio/Fr.). Al Stacilauskas (Escanaba/Fr.) and Mitch McCartney (Roseville/Fr.) will add depth at both spots.
"These two weight classes are the biggest question marks for us," said Borrelli. "Jeff and Russ both are excellent wrestlers for us and right now Jeff has the upper hand at 184 but things may change down the road. Alex will also be in there battling at 184. Al is one of the hardest workers we have and Mitch will continue to grow and learn."
Bill Stouffer (Lowell/Fr.), who transferred to CMU from Grand Valley State University, will challenge at the 197 after winning the club national title last season while at GVSU.
"Bill is a great kid and it will be interesting to see how he progresses this season and if he can perform at this level," said Borrelli.
Michael Moran (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Fr.) will challenge at 197 and heavyweight, and will possibly be redshirted.
"We are kind of undecided on what we want to do with Michael, on whether we want to make him a 197 or a heavyweight," remarked Borrelli. "Hopefully, we can redshirt him so it will give us some more time to decide."
This year's schedule is loaded from top to bottom with the Chippewas traveling around to country to compete in top national tournaments. The Chippewas battle in-state rivals, Michigan State and Michigan, and have major tournaments such as The Citadel, Reno and Midlands on the docket. Before starting their MAC schedule, CMU host its own tournament, the Hampton Inn "Duels," and travels to the National Duals, featuring the top 16 teams in the nation.
During their MAC season, the Chippewas host Ohio and Northern Illinois while traveling to Buffalo, Eastern Michigan and Kent State. CMU also competes at Edinboro, Princeton and Pennsylvania during the season.
"We really wanted to challenge our kids because I don't think we challenged them enough last season and it showed by our performance at the end," said Borrelli. "I think we have a schedule that will really push us to get better. The Michigan State and Michigan matches are important to us for bragging rights in the state. The Reno and Midland tournaments are important because it effects national ranking and national tournament seeding. The national tournament at Ohio State is an unofficial team national championship and, hopefully, we can perform well and show people how competitive we are.
"In the MAC, everyone's after us but I would rather be the chased like we are, then the chaser, which is everybody else in the MAC. I think that Ohio will be competitive as always. Kent State has a ton of talent and will challenge for the title. Northern Illinois is a team that could step up to the next level this year and battle for the title. Eastern Michigan and Buffalo are both teams that will challenge us and we can not overlook it."
