Hill Gets Steeper for CMU Wrestlers
12/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
LAS VEGAS - The Central Michigan wrestling program is, without question, on the rise.
Solid showings at the Eastern Michigan and Michigan State opens along with a 22-10 win over Virginia in their dual meet opener have boosted the Chippewas to No. 14 in the USA Today/National Wrestling Coaches Association poll.
The hill gets steeper - and the reward greater - as the calendar flips to December and CMU dives into two strong-field tournaments, the first of which is the Cliff Keen Invitational this weekend at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The field in Vegas this weekend features seven ranked teams and a slew of wrestlers ranked in the top 20 by InterMat Wrestling. CMU is also slated to competed in the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill., on Dec. 29-30.
Both are critical as each of the Chippewa front-liners looks to build his resumé with an eye toward the NCAA Championships in March.
"If we wrestle well we're going to hit guys that are really going to help us individually in the rankings," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "That's kind of what it's about, moving up individually, and that sets you up for the national tournament. The rest of this month is huge for that.
"We're trying to use these two events to kind of springboard us to get more guys in that situation."
The Cliff Keen field also includes No. 4 Ohio State, No. 8 Cornell, No. 10 Michigan, No. 15 Stanford, No. 18 Minnesota and No. 19 Arizona State.
Four Chippewas are ranked individually, led by sophomore Justin Oliver, who is seventh at 149 pounds. Colin Heffernan (157) is 10th, Jordan Ellingwood (184) is 11th, and Brent Fleetwood (125) is 20th.
"Hopefully we're going to wrestle some guys who were national champions last year or we're going to see guys who were in the top three or four in their weight class," Borrelli said. "That's what you need."
Players Mentioned
