Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Place Sixth at Midlands
12/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
EVANSTON, Ill. - Mike Miller's runner-up finish at 174 pounds helped lead Central Michigan to a sixth-place finish at the Midlands Championships Tuesday night.
Miller won his first five matches at the tournament, including a 6-3 decision over No. 1 seed Jay Borschel (Iowa) in the semifinals, before meeting American's Mike Cannon in the finals. Cannon scored a takedown in the first period of the championship bout, but Miller evened the score with a pair of escapes. Cannon began the third period in the bottom position and took a 3-2 lead with an escape 20 seconds into the period. Following a scramble in the match's closing seconds, Miller was initially credited with a takedown at the final horn. A brief discussion among the officials ensued, and the takedown was eventually waved off.
Miller is CMU's highest individual place finisher at Midlands since Wynn Michalak won the 197-pound title in 2005.
Iowa, on the strength of three individual champions and two runners-up, won the team title with 156.5 points. The Hawkeyes edged runner-up Iowa State, which had five individuals finisher runner-up and tallied 153.5 team points.
Two other Chippewas began the day in the semifinals: Scotti Sentes at 125 and Steve Brown at 149 pounds. Sentes, seeded sixth, fell to No. 2 seed and eventual champion Brandon Precin (Northwestern) in the semis, 5-0. Sentes then split a pair of wrestleback matches to finish fourth.
Brown, the fifth seed at 149 pounds, dropped a 9-4 decision to defending national champion Brent Metcalf (Iowa) in the 149-pound semifinals. Brown was then defeated in the first tiebreaker, 6-5, by American's Kyle Borshoff in his first wrestleback match before topping David Cheza (Michigan State), 9-3, in the fifth-place bout.
Also competing in the semifinals Tuesday was Tony D'Alie, who was competing unattached. He was defeated by Iowa's Alex Tsirtsis, 8-1, in the 141-pound semis, then split a pair of wrestleback matches to finish fourth. D'Alie, who did not count in CMU's team score, was not seeded in the 141-pound bracket.
Conor Beebe (eighth, 133 pounds) and Vince DiDona (eighth, 184 pounds) also earned spots on the medal stand for CMU.
CMU returns to dual meet action Saturday, visiting Michigan State at 1 p.m. The Chippewas have won seven straight duals against MSU.
CMU's 2008 Midlands Place Finishers
Scotti Sentes - 4th - 125 pounds
Conor Beebe - 8th - 133 pounds
Tony D'Alie - 4th - 141 pounds*
Steve Brown - 5th - 149 pounds
Mike Miller - 2nd - 174 pounds
Vince DiDona - 8th - 184 pounds
* D'Alie did not count in CMU's team score
2008 Midlands Top Ten Teams
1. Iowa - 156.5
2. Iowa State - 153.5
3. Missoui - 121.5
4. Wisconsin - 98.5
5. Northwestern - 88.5
6. Central Michigan - 83
7. Purdue - 82.5
8. American - 57.5
9. Maryland - 56
10. Illinois - 54
