Central Michigan University Athletics
NCAA Championships Up Next For Central Wrestling
3/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 20, 2002
NCAA Championships
Thursday, Friday and Saturday
March 21-23, 2002
Pepsi Arena, All Day
Albany, N.Y.
The 19th-ranked Central Michigan wrestling team (10-6, 5-0 Mid-American Conference) looks to obtain its season goals of three All-Americans and a top-ten finish at the NCAA Championships this weekend. CMU has qualified six wrestlers: 10th-ranked Jordan Webster (Washington, Ill./Jr.) at 133, Jason Mester (Mineral Point, Wis./So.) at 141, 19th-ranked Ty Morgan (Huber Heights, Ohio/So.) at 149, 17th-ranked David Bolyard (Akron, Ohio/Fr.) at 157, Tony Gansen (Belle Plain, Minn./Sr.) at 174, and Jack Leffler (Morris, Ill./Sr.) at heavyweight.
The tournament is being held at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y., on March 21-23. There will be six sessions at the championships, two per day. Central has finished in the top 20 three of the last four seasons and has had 10 All-Americans during that period, including Casey Cunningham's national championship in 1999.
Last year, the Chippewas came away with a disappointing tournament finish of 32nd place and no All-Americans. The Chippewas had five members compete: Ahmad Sanders at 125, Webster at 133, Mester at 141, Morgan at 149, and Brett Faustman (Mason/Jr.) at 197. Sanders came within one match of earning All-American honors.
Central completed a MAC sweep on the weekend of March 9-10 when it won the MAC tournament held at Eastern Michigan. Earlier in the season CMU wrapped up the MAC Championship by going 5-0 in conference duals. Central Michigan had two individual champions and all ten of its wrestlers finished in the top three. Winning individual titles were Jordan Webster at 133 and Jack Leffler at heavyweight.
Central Michigan Wrestling News and Notes
THE STREAK - The Central Michigan wrestling team has two impressive streaks that it continued this season. The first is the four straight MAC titles Central has won, which is tied for second best all-time for a CMU squad. The other streak is winning 24 consecutive duals in MAC competition. That is the longest conference winning streak in the nation with Minnesota next with 20 straight dual wins. Jack Leffler was a part of all four of those MAC championship squads and CMU won every MAC team dual he was a part of, winning 21 duals during his career.
INJURY UPDATE -The Chippewas have been battling the injury bug since the beginning of the season and the team is finally starting to get healthy. Returning MAC champion, Jason Mester (Mineral Point, Wis./So.), missed the first half of the season due to a knee injury. Kevin Carr (Warsaw, Ind./So.) missed half to season because of a torn ACL. Brett Faustman (Mason/Jr.) and Alex Lammers (Huber Heights, Ohio/Fr.) are both done for the season with knee injuries.
BACK-TO-BACK SQUARED - The Chippewa's success this season was not without recognition as CMU four wrestlers earned Mid-American Conference "Wrestler of the Week" honors. Jason Borrelli (Mount Pleasant/Fr.) got his CMU career off to an impressive start with "Wrestler of the Week" honors for the week of Nov. 17. The following week it was Kevin Carr (Warsaw, Ind./So.) who picked up "Wrestler of the Week." Later in the season it was David Bolyard's (Akron, Ohio/Fr.) turn as he picked up the honor for the week of Feb. 1. CMU earned the honor back-to-back again with Jordan Webster (Washington, Ill./Jr.) earning the honor the following week.
NEW CHIPPEWA IN TOWN - CMU got a new addition to its lineup over the holiday break with 174-pounder Tony Gansen (Belle Plaine, Minn./Sr.) joining the squad. Gansen wrestled at Oklahoma State before transferring to CMU. At Oklahoma State, he was a national qualifier his sophomore year, taking third at the Big 12 Conference tournament. He joined CMU with a 3-2 record this season after going a perfect 13-0 last year. He was the Minnesota "Wrestler of the Year" his senior season at Scott West High School, going 38-0 and winning a state title. He was a high school teammate of CMU volunteer coach Pat McNamara.
IN THE CLASSROOM - CMU has not only been successful on the mat during head coach Tom Borrelli's tenure, but also in the classroom. The Chippewas have never finished lower then 16th in the nation in team GPA and finished fifth last season. CMU also had three members earn Academic All-American honors. Jordan Webster (Washington, Ill./Jr.) and Brett Faustman both earned second team honors while Ty Morgan earned a honorable mention nod.
YOUNG GUNS - This year's squad is young, to say the least, with only two seniors on the squad. During this season, CMU has had as many as half its starting lineup filled by freshmen. Along with those five freshmen, three sophomores have started for CMU. CMU has only four juniors on the squad. The Chippewas also have eight members that are redshirting this season.
Central Michigan National Qualifiers
#10 Jordan Webster * 133 * Washington, Ill. * Community * Jr. * 24-8
Won the Mid-American Conference title at 133 pounds, going 3-0 in the tournament ... has won his last 11 matches ... went 5-0 in the MAC ... beat 11th-ranked Chad Hay of Illinois in sudden victory, 3-1 ... defeated then ninth-ranked Cory Ace of Edinboro twice, 8-7, at the National Duals and, 3-2, at a dual with Edinboro ... beat 17th-ranked Urijah Faber of UC-Davis, 3-2 ... defeated former eighth-ranked Ryan L'Amoreaux of Michigan State, 12-6 ... named MAC "Wrestler of the Week" for his win over Ace ... was 5-5 against ranked opponents ... 16-4 in tournaments this season.
Jason Mester * 141 * Mineral Point, Wis. * Mineral Point * So. * 9-6
Took second in the MAC tournament, going 3-1 and losing in the finals to Darnell Ruffin, 3-2 ... sat out the first half of the season due to injury ... was ranked as high as eighth before his injury ... has only competed in one tournament, the MAC Championships, so he only has a record of 3-1 in tournaments ... 2001 Fila junior national champion and placed ninth at junior worlds.
#19 Ty Morgan * 149 * Huber Heights, Ohio * Wayne * So. * 22-12
Took second at the MAC Championships, going 1-1 and losing to eighth-ranked Jake Percival of Ohio by a takedown with one second left, 10-9 ... led the team in takedowns with 71 ... lost to sixth-ranked Billy Maldonado of Iowa State in double overtime when he was called for stalling with three seconds left in the period ... took fourth at the MSU Open ... won The Citadel Invitational title at 149-pounds and took fifth place at the Reno Tournament of Champions ... named to the Hampton Inn "Duels" All-Tournament team ... 14-5 in tournaments this season with three falls overall.
#17 David Bolyard * 157 * Akron, Ohio * Springfield * Fr. * 21-12
Has had a successful freshman campaign and was selected by InterMat as an All-American Darkhorse at this year's NCAA Championships ... took second at the MAC tournament by beating then 15th-ranked Mike Tolar of Kent State in the semifinals before falling to sixth-ranked Scott Owens of Northern Illinois in the finals ... 4-1 in MAC duals this season ... started the season with a fifth-place finish at the MSU Open ... at the Open, he defeated 19th-ranked Mike Tolar of Kent State, 4-3 ... won The Citadel Invitational title at 157-pounds ... named to the Hampton Inn "Duels" All-Tournament team ... named MAC "Wrestler of the Week" for his performance against Northern Illinois ... lost on a late takedown to second-ranked Yoshi Nakamura of Penn, 5-3 ... 13-6 in tournaments and has recorded four falls this season.
Tony Gansen * 174 * Belle Plain, Minn. * Sr. * Scott West * 13-7
Transferred to CMU over the holiday break from Oklahoma State where he was a national qualifier as a sophomore ... Took second at the MAC Championships, going 3-1 ... beat then 13th-ranked Nick Passalano of Iowa State, 4-1 ... beat defending MAC champion Luke Moore of Ohio twice, both times 3-2 ... 4-1 in MAC competition with his lone loss coming in double overtime ... 6-3 in tournaments.
Jack Leffler * HWT * Morris, Ill. * Coal City * Sr. * 26-8
Won the MAC title at heavyweight by defeating No. 1 seed Jim Swetter in the finals, 4-2 ... 4-1 in MAC duals this season ... placed fourth at the MSU Open and won The Citadel Invitational title at heavyweight ... second at Reno with a win over 13th-ranked James Huml of Oklahoma State and a one-point loss by ninth-ranked Kellan Fluckiger of Arizona State in the finals ... beat then 10th-ranked Matt Feast of Penn ... 14-5 in tournaments with four falls overall.
