Central Michigan University
NCAA Championships
CMU Wrestlers Ousted from NCAA
3/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
ST. LOUIS - It was a disappointing end to a season of growth for Central Michigan Friday at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Scottrade Center.
CMU's Zach Horan (141 pounds) was eliminated on a controversial 7-5 sudden-victory decision by Nick Lawrence of Purdue on Friday, then teammate Colin Heffernan (149) fell, 5-2, to Lock Haven's Daniel Neff.
Heffernan, who earlier on Friday defeated Matthew Cimato, of Drexel, 5-2, finished the tournament 2-2 and closed his freshman season 24-14.
Horan, a junior, was 1-2 in the tourney and went 21-6 on the year.
For the first time in 12 years, CMU ended its appearance in the nationals without an All-American.
"We didn't have an All-American and you always want to end the season with something positive," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "It's tough to end the season with your last matches being losses. You always kind of want to go out with a win.
"All in all, we were really young this year. Obviously we have a lot of work to do to get better. I think we gained a lot of experience this year."
Horan, who was competing in the nationals for the third time in his career, fell into a 3-0 hole against Lawrence, but managed to tie it 3-3. Late in the second period he was awarded a two-point near-fall.
The officials reviewed the call and nullified the near-fall, leaving the match even headed into the third period.
"They said he didn't have back exposure so they took it away," Borrelli said.
Lawrence recorded an escape with under 5 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the match 5-5 and send it to sudden victory, where he was awarded a controversial takedown, giving him the victory.
Lawrence's takedown was also reviewed, but this time, it wasn't reversed, meaning that the match included two video reviews, both of which went in Lawrence's favor.
"They got in a scramble and I felt like they gave a takedown too early," Borrelli said.
By rule in sudden victory, the referee should have blown the whistle immediately upon the takedown, which would have given Lawrence the win. Instead, the whistle did not blow and Horan worked his way quickly to the top. That's when the officials stopped it.
"(Lawarence) never ended up securing both of our legs," Borrelli said. "He went from one leg to the other leg and we ended up coming up on top. But they ended up reviewing the takedown and they said it was a takedown.
"It's really tough. (Horan) worked really hard this year and it's just frustrating. It's probably more frustrating for him than it is for me, and it's very frustrating for me."
Players Mentioned
