Central Michigan University Athletics
Seven Chippewas Advance to MAC Championships Finals
3/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
MOUNT PLEASANT - Central Michigan leads the team standings and boasts seven finalists after the first day of competition at the 2010 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships.
CMU sits atop the team standings with 54.5 points. Kent State is second with 44, and Buffalo sits third with 41.5.
Representing CMU in Sunday's finals will be Matt Steintrager (125 pounds), Scotti Sentes (133), Conor Beebe (141), Steve Brown (157), Tyler Grayson (165), Ben Bennett (174) and Jarod Trice (285). All seven were seeded No. 1 in their weight class.
Wrestling for third-place on Sunday for the Chippewas will be Tony D'Alie (149), Mike Miller (184) and Eric Simaz (197).
"At this time of year it's about getting your hand raised and continuing to advance," said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli. "We'd like to have seven champions and three thirds, with the three thirds having a chance to wrestle for true second. Our goal is to get 10 guys to nationals. If we can do that, the team race will take care of itself. We've got a tough day tomorrow, though."
Both Steintrager and Sentes won a pair of matches to advance to the finals at 125 and 133, respectively. Steintrager opened the tournament with a second-period pin of Eastern Michigan's Greg Egbert, then advanced with a 5-1 decision over Kent State's Troy Opfer in the semis.
Sentes earned a 10-3 decision over Northern Illinois' Tristen DeShazer in the first round, then edged Eastern Michigan's Sean Clair, 11-8, in the semifinals. Sentes, the defending MAC champion at 125 pounds, will meet Kent State's Danny Mitcheff, the defending champion at 133, in Sunday's championship match.
Following a first-round bye, Beebe earned a 4-0 decision over Kent State's Chase Skonieczny to advance to the finals at 141 pounds. He will meet Northern Illinois' Pat McLemore, the 2008 MAC champion at 141 pounds, in Sunday's championship match.
At 149 pounds, D'Alie posted a 15-4 major decision over Eastern Michigan's David Pienaar in the first round before falling to Ohio's Seth Morton, 6-5, in the semis. D'Alie rebounded with a 3-2 decision over Kent State's Marcel Clopton in the consolation semis, and he will wrestle for third place against Dan Ruettiger (Northern Illinois) on Sunday.
Brown followed a first-round bye with a 3-2 decision over Ohio's Clay Tucker at 157 pounds. Brown will compete for his third consecutive conference title on Sunday against NIU's Bryan Deutsch. Brown won titles at 157 in 2008 and 149 in 2009; Deutsch is the defending conference champion at 157.
Grayson advanced to the finals with a 6-1 decision over Kent State's Ross Tice in the semifinals. He will meet Buffalo's John-Martin Cannon in the 165-pound championship match on Sunday.
Bennett claimed a decisive 14-2 major decision against Buffalo's Brian Sheehan in the 174-pound semifinals. He will square off with Kent State's Keith Witt in the finals on Sunday.
Miller, the No. 2 seed at 184, was upset by Ohio's Nick Purdue, 7-5, in the semifinals. He bounced back with a 5-4 decision over Buffalo's Josh Peters in the consolation semis, scoring a late reversal for the decisive points. Miller will wrestle Eastern Michigan's Phillip Joseph for third place on Sunday.
Simaz dropped his 197-pound semifinal to Buffalo's Jimmy Hamel, 3-1 in sudden victory. He advanced in the consolation bracket with a 4-2 decision over Northern Illinois' Scott Penny and will wrestle Kent State's Adam Cogar for third place.
Trice punched his ticket to Sunday's finals with a 7-3 decision over Ohio's Andy Hartshorn in the heavyweight semis. The victory was Trice's 20th in a row, matching the second longest winning streak in school history. Trice will meet Kent State's Brendan Barlow in the finals on Sunday.
Sunday's competition begins with the fifth-place matches at 10:30 a.m. Championship and consolation finals will begin at 11 a.m.
Central Michigan Complete Results
125 Pounds: No. 1 Matt Steintrager
First Round: W, pin Greg Egbert (EMU) at 3:12
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Troy Opfer (KSU), 5-1
Finals: No. 2 Dan Bishop (UB)
133 Pounds: No. 1 Scotti Sentes
First Round: W, dec. Tristen DeShazer (NIU), 10-3
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Sean Clair (EMU), 11-8
Finals: No. 2 Danny Mitcheff (KSU)
141 Pounds: No. 1 Conor Beebe
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Chase Skonieczny (KSU), 4-0
Finals: No. 3 Pat McLemore (NIU)
149 Pounds: No. 2 Tony D'Alie
First Round: W, maj. dec. David Pienaar (EMU), 15-4
Semifinals: L, dec. No. 3 Seth Morton (OU), 6-5
Consolation Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Marcel Clopton (KSU), 3-2
Third-place Match: Dan Ruettiger (NIU)
157 Pounds: No. 1 Steve Brown
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Clay Tucker (OU), 3-2
Finals: No. 2 Bryan Deutsch (NIU)
165 Pounds: No. 1 Tyler Grayson
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Ross Tice (KSU), 6-1
Finals: No. 2 John-Martin Cannon (UB)
174 Pounds: No. 1 Ben Bennett
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: W, maj. dec. No. 4 Brian Sheehan (UB), 14-2
Finals: No. 3 Keith Witt (KSU)
184 Pounds: No. 2 Mike Miller
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: L, dec. No. 3 Nick Purdue (OU), 7-5
Consolation Semifinals: W, dec. Josh Peters (UB), 5-4
Third-place Match: No. 4 Phillip Joseph (EMU)
197 Pounds: No. 1 Eric Simaz
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: L, dec. No. 4 Jimmy Hamel (UB), 3-1 SV1
Consolation Semifinals: W, dec. Scott Penny (NIU), 4-2
Third-place Match: No. 3 Adam Kogar (KSU)
285 Pounds: No. 1 Jarod Trice
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Andy Hartshorn (OU), 7-3
Finals: No. 2 Brendan Barlow (KSU)
CMU sits atop the team standings with 54.5 points. Kent State is second with 44, and Buffalo sits third with 41.5.
Representing CMU in Sunday's finals will be Matt Steintrager (125 pounds), Scotti Sentes (133), Conor Beebe (141), Steve Brown (157), Tyler Grayson (165), Ben Bennett (174) and Jarod Trice (285). All seven were seeded No. 1 in their weight class.
Wrestling for third-place on Sunday for the Chippewas will be Tony D'Alie (149), Mike Miller (184) and Eric Simaz (197).
"At this time of year it's about getting your hand raised and continuing to advance," said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli. "We'd like to have seven champions and three thirds, with the three thirds having a chance to wrestle for true second. Our goal is to get 10 guys to nationals. If we can do that, the team race will take care of itself. We've got a tough day tomorrow, though."
Both Steintrager and Sentes won a pair of matches to advance to the finals at 125 and 133, respectively. Steintrager opened the tournament with a second-period pin of Eastern Michigan's Greg Egbert, then advanced with a 5-1 decision over Kent State's Troy Opfer in the semis.
Sentes earned a 10-3 decision over Northern Illinois' Tristen DeShazer in the first round, then edged Eastern Michigan's Sean Clair, 11-8, in the semifinals. Sentes, the defending MAC champion at 125 pounds, will meet Kent State's Danny Mitcheff, the defending champion at 133, in Sunday's championship match.
Following a first-round bye, Beebe earned a 4-0 decision over Kent State's Chase Skonieczny to advance to the finals at 141 pounds. He will meet Northern Illinois' Pat McLemore, the 2008 MAC champion at 141 pounds, in Sunday's championship match.
At 149 pounds, D'Alie posted a 15-4 major decision over Eastern Michigan's David Pienaar in the first round before falling to Ohio's Seth Morton, 6-5, in the semis. D'Alie rebounded with a 3-2 decision over Kent State's Marcel Clopton in the consolation semis, and he will wrestle for third place against Dan Ruettiger (Northern Illinois) on Sunday.
Brown followed a first-round bye with a 3-2 decision over Ohio's Clay Tucker at 157 pounds. Brown will compete for his third consecutive conference title on Sunday against NIU's Bryan Deutsch. Brown won titles at 157 in 2008 and 149 in 2009; Deutsch is the defending conference champion at 157.
Grayson advanced to the finals with a 6-1 decision over Kent State's Ross Tice in the semifinals. He will meet Buffalo's John-Martin Cannon in the 165-pound championship match on Sunday.
Bennett claimed a decisive 14-2 major decision against Buffalo's Brian Sheehan in the 174-pound semifinals. He will square off with Kent State's Keith Witt in the finals on Sunday.
Miller, the No. 2 seed at 184, was upset by Ohio's Nick Purdue, 7-5, in the semifinals. He bounced back with a 5-4 decision over Buffalo's Josh Peters in the consolation semis, scoring a late reversal for the decisive points. Miller will wrestle Eastern Michigan's Phillip Joseph for third place on Sunday.
Simaz dropped his 197-pound semifinal to Buffalo's Jimmy Hamel, 3-1 in sudden victory. He advanced in the consolation bracket with a 4-2 decision over Northern Illinois' Scott Penny and will wrestle Kent State's Adam Cogar for third place.
Trice punched his ticket to Sunday's finals with a 7-3 decision over Ohio's Andy Hartshorn in the heavyweight semis. The victory was Trice's 20th in a row, matching the second longest winning streak in school history. Trice will meet Kent State's Brendan Barlow in the finals on Sunday.
Sunday's competition begins with the fifth-place matches at 10:30 a.m. Championship and consolation finals will begin at 11 a.m.
Central Michigan Complete Results
125 Pounds: No. 1 Matt Steintrager
First Round: W, pin Greg Egbert (EMU) at 3:12
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Troy Opfer (KSU), 5-1
Finals: No. 2 Dan Bishop (UB)
133 Pounds: No. 1 Scotti Sentes
First Round: W, dec. Tristen DeShazer (NIU), 10-3
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Sean Clair (EMU), 11-8
Finals: No. 2 Danny Mitcheff (KSU)
141 Pounds: No. 1 Conor Beebe
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Chase Skonieczny (KSU), 4-0
Finals: No. 3 Pat McLemore (NIU)
149 Pounds: No. 2 Tony D'Alie
First Round: W, maj. dec. David Pienaar (EMU), 15-4
Semifinals: L, dec. No. 3 Seth Morton (OU), 6-5
Consolation Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Marcel Clopton (KSU), 3-2
Third-place Match: Dan Ruettiger (NIU)
157 Pounds: No. 1 Steve Brown
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Clay Tucker (OU), 3-2
Finals: No. 2 Bryan Deutsch (NIU)
165 Pounds: No. 1 Tyler Grayson
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Ross Tice (KSU), 6-1
Finals: No. 2 John-Martin Cannon (UB)
174 Pounds: No. 1 Ben Bennett
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: W, maj. dec. No. 4 Brian Sheehan (UB), 14-2
Finals: No. 3 Keith Witt (KSU)
184 Pounds: No. 2 Mike Miller
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: L, dec. No. 3 Nick Purdue (OU), 7-5
Consolation Semifinals: W, dec. Josh Peters (UB), 5-4
Third-place Match: No. 4 Phillip Joseph (EMU)
197 Pounds: No. 1 Eric Simaz
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: L, dec. No. 4 Jimmy Hamel (UB), 3-1 SV1
Consolation Semifinals: W, dec. Scott Penny (NIU), 4-2
Third-place Match: No. 3 Adam Kogar (KSU)
285 Pounds: No. 1 Jarod Trice
First Round: Bye
Semifinals: W, dec. No. 4 Andy Hartshorn (OU), 7-3
Finals: No. 2 Brendan Barlow (KSU)
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