Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU Wrestlers Look to Continue Surge on Sunday
1/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Cullen Maksimowski, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.- The Central Michigan Wrestling team will continue Mid-American Conference competition on Sunday at 2 p.m. when it takes on Kent State at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas are 6-5 overall and 4-1 in the MAC and have won five of their last six duel meets. Their only loss in that stretch came to third-ranked Missouri. All five of CMU's losses have come against nationally ranked opponents.
Kent State is 6-10, 3-2 in the MAC after a 25-9 home league win over Eastern Michigan on Friday night. That snapped a three-meet losing streak, during which the Golden Flashes fell to No.15 Edinboro, No. 19 Old Dominion, and North Carolina State.
The most recent conference rankings released Jan. 22, have Central Michigan in seventh place in the MAC with two wrestlers in the individual rankings, Zach Horan No.1 at 141 and Tyler Keselring No. 4 at 133. CMU upset third-place Northern Iowa, 19-12, a week ago at McGuirk.
Nationally, Horan is ranked No. 11 and Heffernan is 15th.
Five Kent State wrestlers are ranked individually in the MAC, three of whom are also ranked nationally.
Kent State's Mack McGuire (133) is ranked 18th, Ian Miller (157) is 2nd, and Caleb Marsh (174) is 13th. Miller is a returning All-American who placed 4th in the 2014 NCAA Championships. Miler and McGuire are ranked first in their respective weight classes, while Marsh is third, and teammates Mike DePalma (149) and Mimmo Lytle (HWT) are ranked fourth.
CMU coach Tom Borrelli said that preparations for the Golden Flashes aren't be much different from what the Chippewas have been doing, and he said he doesn't expect any major lineup changes.
"We've been feeling good about ourselves," Borrelli said. "Our guys are starting to have a little bit of success and starting to gain more confidence and I think that just starts build on itself.
"As the season goes on we're just getting better, conditioning wise, skill wise and mentally and I hope that continues."
The 2014-15 Chippewas are, collectively, among the youngest that Borrelli has had in his 22 seasons at CMU. The lineup has featured between five and seven underclassman most of the season season.
Freshman Brent Fleetwood (125), Colin Heffernan (149), Cody LeCount (157), Jordan Ellingwood (174), and CJ Brucki are all regular starters.
"We've had some teams that have been real young as far being starters," Borrelli said. "But I don't think we've ever started five freshman in one year, so I would say these guys are improving at a really good rate, probably as good as we've ever had."
