Chippewas Hit the Mat on Sunday
10/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Amateur Wrestling News Rankings | InterMat Rankings | The Open Mat Rankings | FloWrestling Rankings
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Central Michigan wrestling team will hit the mat at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, for its annual Maroon and Gold intrasquad scrimmage at McGuirk Arena.
At stake are starting spots in the 10-man lineup.
The Chippewas return a number of letter winners and national qualifiers, including sophomore Justin Oliver, an All-American last year at 149 pounds, and junior Jordan Ellingwood, the defending Mid-American Conference champion at 184.
Oliver and Ellingwood are among the six Chippewas ranked by any of four publications that cover collegiate wrestling. CMU is ranked No. 18 in the dual-meet team rankings and the No. 25 tournament team by InterMat.
"I don't get too excited about rankings because that's just somebody's opinion," said Tom Borrelli, who is beginning his 25th season as the Chippewas' coach. "I'd like to see all of those (CMU) guys finish in the top eight in the country at the end of the year.
"That would mean we'd had a good year. Hopefully our guys won't get too caught up in the rankings. That gets fans excited, but hopefully our guys remain focused on just doing their best and those things will take care of themselves."
Oliver, who finished 32-7 last season and placed seventh at the NCAA Championships, is ranked sixth by Amateur Wrestling News, theopenmat.com and InterMat. He is ranked eighth by FloWrestling.
Ellingwood, who finished 29-14 in 2015-16, is ranked 12th by FloWrestling, 13th by AWN, and 15th by theopenmat.com and InterMat.
Two other Chippewas who qualified for the NCAA Championships last season, Brent Fleetwood (125) and Corey Keener (133), will also wrestle on Sunday.
Fleetwood is ranked 19th by AWN and 20th by InterMat, while Keener is ranked 14th by theopenmat.com, 18th by AWN and FloWrestling, and 20th by InterMat.
Two other Chippewas are also ranked. Colin Heffernan (157) is ranked 12th by InterMat, 16th by AWN, 18th by FloWrestling, and 20th by theopenmat.com; and CJ Brucki (174) is 18th according to FloWrestling and 20th in theopenmat.com and InterMat rankings.
Among the most intriguing matchups in Sunday's intrasquad is at 174 where Brucki will likely face junior Jordan Atienza, who finished 22-17 last season while wrestling at 165.
The Chippewas open the season on Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Eastern Michigan Open. They entertain Virginia in a non-conference dual on Sunday, Nov. 13.
Players Mentioned
