Central Michigan University Athletics
No. 11 Chippewas Visit Michigan State
1/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Watch: Wrestling Insider
MOUNT PLEASANT - No. 11 Central Michigan travels an hour south Friday to visit Michigan State for a nonconference match.
The dual begins at 7 p.m. at Michigan State's Jenison Field House.
The Chippewas enter the match 3-7 overall, including 1-2 against Big Ten Conference opponents. Michigan State is 8-2 overall. The teams share just one common opponent, having both defeated Northern Illinois earlier this season.
CMU is looking to snap a two-match losing skid in its final nonconference road dual of the season. The Chippewas were defeated by No. 18 Michigan, 21-12, at McGuirk Arena last Sunday. Michigan State, meanwhile, had won four straight matches before falling at Ohio State, 19-16, last weekend to fall to 0-2 in the Big Ten.
Dan Osterman (149 pounds), Curran Jacobs (174 pounds) and Mike McClure (heavyweight) share the team lead with 18 victories apiece, but McClure is the only one of the three Spartans ranked nationally. He checks in at No. 17 in this week's InterMat weight class rankings.
The Series: CMU is 12-13 all-time against Michigan State and has won each of the last nine meetings. The Chippewas defeated MSU, 23-10, last season in Mount Pleasant. Michigan State's last win in the series was an 18-16 victory at CMU in 2001.
The Matchup: Probable lineups for Friday's dual (rankings according to InterMat):
| Weight | | No. 11 Central Michigan | | | Michigan State | |
| 125 | | Christian Cullinan (13-8) | | | Eric Olanowski (12-10) | |
| 133 | | No. 9 Scotti Sentes (21-6) | | | Levi Stace (0-2) | |
| 141 | | Scott Mattingly (12-20) | | | Joel Trombly (1-12) | |
| 149 | | Donnie Corby (17-12) | | | Dan Osterman (18-4) | |
| 157 | | Ryan Cubberly (3-7) | | | Sean McMurray (10-5) | |
| 165 | | No. 18 Mike Miller (3-3) | | | Ben Boudro (10-8) | |
| 174 | | No. 5 Ben Bennett (20-4) | | | Curran Jacobs (18-5) | |
| 184 | | Chad Friend (1-11) | | | Ian Hinton (11-5) | |
| 197 | | Craig Kelliher (11-18) | | | Tyler Dickenson (17-8) | |
| 285 | | No. 2 Jarod Trice (18-3) | | | No. 17 Mike McClure (18-5) or Joe Rizqallah (13-7) | |
CMU vs. the State of Michigan : CMU had won 12 consecutive duals against opponents from the state of Michigan prior to Sunday's 21-12 loss to Michigan. The loss snapped a three-match winning streak over the Wolverines and was CMU's first loss to an in-state opponent since 2005. The Chippewas still have active streaks of nine straight wins over Michigan State and 19 straight victories against Eastern Michigan.
In the Rankings: CMU is ranked 11th in the InterMat poll and 21st in the NWCA/USA Today poll this week. Michigan State is not ranked in either poll. The InterMat team rankings are based on InterMat's individual weight class rankings, while the NWCA/USA Today poll is voted on by a nationwide pool of head coaches.Four Chippewas and one Spartan are ranked in the top 20 nationally in InterMat's weight class rankings.
| Central Michigan | | | Michigan State | | | |
| Scotti Sentes (9th, 133 pounds) | | | Mike McClure (17th, 285 pounds) | | | |
| Mike Miller (18th, 165 pounds) | | | | | | |
| Ben Bennett (5th, 174 pounds) | | | | | ||
| Jarod Trice (2nd, 285 pounds) | | | | |
Bennett Continues Winning Streak: Sophomore Ben Bennett has won 10 of his last 11 matches overall to improve 20-4 on the season, including 9-1 in dual meets. He has not surrendered an offensive point in his last 10 victories. Bennett leads the team in dual victories and is second in overall victories. All four of his losses this season have been to an opponent who has been ranked No. 1 nationally at 174 pounds.
Miller Makes His Return: Senior 165-pounder Mike Miller returned to the lineup against Michigan, his first action since suffering an injury at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 3. Miller trailed 6-2 in the second period against UM's Dan Yates before rallying for a 9-7 sudden-victory decision.
Trice Evens Season Series with Apland: Junior heavyweight Jarod Trice closed Sunday's dual with a 5-3 decision over Michigan's Ben Apland. Trice had been defeated by Apland by the same score in the semifinals at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Trice, ranked No. 2 nationally at heavyweight, is 4-4 against opponents in this week's InterMat top 10 following Sunday's win over No. 10 Apland, including a 3-1 exhibition loss to No. 7 Ryan Flores (American) at the NWCA All-Star Classic.
Top of the Tournament: Scotti Sentes (133 pounds), Ben Bennett (174) and Jarod Trice (heavyweight) combined for seven top-three finishes at the Body Bar Invitational, Cliff Keen Invitational and Midlands Championships. Sentes won the Body Bar and was third at Midlands, Bennett finished runner-up at all three events and Trice was third at the Cliff Keen and runner-up at Midlands.
Pair Earns First MAC Wins: Sophomore Christian Cullinan and redshirt freshman Craig Kelliher both earned their first career MAC dual victories in the Chippewas' 21-13 win over Northern Illinois last week. Cullinan was a 5-4 winner over Nick Smith at 125 pounds, while Kelliher earned a 4-3 decision over Mike Lukowski at 197 pounds.
Trice Travels the World: Junior heavyweight Jarod Trice has competed in a pair of events outside of CMU's schedule this season. In October, Trice placed eighth in Greco-Roman at the University World Championships in Italy. He was the highest placing American in Greco-Roman at the event. In November, Trice represented CMU at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Fresno, Calif. American's Ryan Flores scored a third-period takedown to defeat Trice, 3-1.
Chippewas Open New Practice Facility: CMU celebrated the new year by moving into its new practice facility at the CMU Events Center. Built as part of the Events Center construction project, the new practice room has space for three full mats and fitness equipment. The practice room is just steps away from the competition floor in McGuirk Arena. [View photos of the new practice room. ]
"During dual meets our guys will be able to warm up in the wrestling room and then run from the wrestling room, where they’re comfortable, right into the arena to wrestle a match," Borrelli said. "That is a perfect situation that not many other programs in the country have."
CMU Adds Four During Early Signing Period: Four high school student-athletes signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Chippewas for the 2011-12 season, including three of the top-60 ranked recruits in the country. Ty Davis (141 pounds), Zach Horan (133), Joey Kielbasa (157) and Devin Pommerenke (285) committed to CMU during the early signing period. Horan (No. 16), Kielbasa (No. 59) and Pommerenke (No. 42) are ranked among the top 60 recruits nationally by InterMat. The group was ranked as the No. 13 recruiting class in the country by W.I.N. Magazine. [Read Full Recruiting Class Release ]
Coming Up: CMU returns home on Sunday, Jan. 30 to host Old Dominion as part of the inaugural Royal Rumble and Tumble at McGuirk Arena. The Chippewas' dual against Old Dominion and CMU's gymnastics home opener against Northern Illinois will be held simultaneously in McGuirk Arena at 2 p.m.
