Central Michigan University
Michigan State Open
Six Chippewas Crowned Champions at MSU Open
11/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Cullen Maksimowski, CMUChippewas.com
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Central Michigan wrestling team continued its hot start to the 2016-17 season Sunday as six Chippewas earned individual first-place finishes in the Michigan State Open at the Spartans' Jenison Field House.
Of the 23 Chippewa wrestlers entered in the tournament, 16 placed in the top six. No team scores were kept.
"We really wanted to make sure we closed out this tournament better and I think we did that today," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "At the Eastern Michigan Open (two weeks ago) we sent six guys to the finals and had only one champion. Today we had seven in the finals and six champions so I was really happy with that."
CMU's Brent Fleetwood (125 pounds), Justin Oliver (149), Colin Heffernan (157), C.J Brucki (174), Jordan Ellingwood (184), and Austin Severn (197) all reached the top of the podium.
CMU's Corey Keener (133) finished second, dropping a 5-4 decision to Ohio State's Luke Pletcher in the final.
Fleetwood, who is ranked No. 20 nationally by InterMat, finished 4-0 on the day with a pin and a technical fall. He defeated Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern, 7-5, in the final to move to 8-2 on the season.
Oliver, who is ranked eighth nationally, finished the day 4-0 with a pin and a technical fall. He defeated 16th-ranked Steve Bleise of Northern Illinois, 6-4, in the final to improve to 8-1 on the year.
Heffernan, a junior who is ranked No. 11 nationally, continued his torrid start to the year, finishing 4-0 on the day with two major decisions and a technical fall to run his record to a perfect 10-0. He defeated Northern Illinois' Caden McWhirter, 8-7, in the final.
Heffernan, the reigning Mid-American Conference Wrestler of the Week, has as recorded a technical fall, major decision or fall in seven of his 10 matches this season.
"Colin went through some tough times last season and was real disappointed with how his season ended," Borrelli said. "He's bounced back and has been very motivated to prove himself. He worked hard over the summer and he's starting to become one of the leaders on this team."
Brucki, a junior, emerged as the champion at 174. He went 4-0 on the day, defeating Mark Hall of Penn State, 8-7, in the title match.
After an early season competition with teammate Jordan Atienza, who placed third at Michigan State, Borelli said that Brucki will be the starting 174-pounder going forward. Mason Smith also earned the starting nod at 141 pounds after a third-place finish at MSU.
"Both C.J. and Mason are going to start for us, they've wrestled well and have earned it," Borrelli said. "C.J. won the tournament beating last year's No. 1 recruit out of high school. Mason took third and bounced back nicely after losing a close match in the quarterfinals."
At 184, Ellingwood, who is ranked No. 13, finished the day 4-0 with a pin and a major decision. He defeated Dylan Dobzinski of Northern Illinois, 8-2, in the final, improving to 8-1 on the season.
At 197, Severn finished 3-0, defeating Blake Rypel of Indiana in the final, 8-4.
Also placing in the top six for the Chippewas were freshman Drew Hildebrandt, third at 125; Dresden Simon, sixth at 141; Landon Pelham, fifth at 197; Matt Stencel, sixth at 285; and sophomore Tyrus Kemp, fourth at 197.
"We had some really big wins today from our starters and our younger guys," said Borrelli. "We're really excited about our future going past this season. We're starting to have some really good competition within our wrestling room. I feel like we are starting to get back to where we want to be as a program."
Central Michigan, which is ranked 17th, returns to action Dec. 2 and 3 at the rugged Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas. The event includes eight teams that are ranked in the USA Today/National Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25.
Players Mentioned
