Big Apple, Big Dreams For CMU Wrestlers
3/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - It doesn't get any bigger than New York, and it doesn't get any bigger than the NCAA Championship.
Seven Central Michigan wrestlers will see how they match up with the best of the best when they partake in the NCAA Championships at Madison Square Garden.
The tournament runs from Thursday, March 17, through Saturday, March 19. ESPNU and ESPN3 will provide coverage every day throughout the tournament. Saturday's championship matches, which begin at 8 p.m., will be carried live by ESPN.
"We're in New York City at Madison Square Garden," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "There's going to be 18,000 people there. Very rarely do you wrestle in front of that many people. Those are the things that you have to put out of your mind.
"When you get out on the mat, and the referee blows the whistle, none of that is important. You're focused on your opponent. It's the same as wrestling somebody at practice. Once the whistle blows, everything else becomes irrelevant."
Each of the 10 weight classes comprises 33 wrestlers. Sixteen in each weight class are seeded. Three Chippewas - Justin Oliver (149) pounds, Luke Smith (157) and Mike Ottinger (174) - are seeded.
"I would say there's probably five out of 330 guys in 10 different weight classes that might be head and shoulders above everybody," Borrelli said. "Everybody else is kind of the same. There might be 30 guys that are probably for sure going to be All-Americans. After you get through those 30 guys, three guys at each weight, it's basically who can stick with their game plan and execute it."
Other Chippewas in the field, none of whom is seeded, are Brent Fleetwood (125), Corey Keener (133), Zach Horan (141) and Jordan Ellingwood (184).
It will be the first NCAA appearance for Fleetwood, a sophomore, and Oliver, a freshman. The rest of the CMU contingent has been to this level before.
"I think all of them are capable of being on that podium," Borrelli said. "It depends on how they handle that environment, the nerves, the tough situations that they'll be in, and to continue to execute their game plan.
"If they can do that, I think all seven of them can be on the podium."
Those wrestlers who are best able to cope with the distractions and the noise of the NCAA Championships have a leg up, Borrelli said.
"You can tell which kids are handling it the right way," he said. "You can tell the ones who are calm and are excited to compete. They aren't nervous about the situation that they're in, they're excited for the competition.
"You can see the guys that are a little bit caught up in the situation and you can see the guys that are more relaxed and are looking to improve themselves."
Oliver, who is 28-5, will open against Clayton Ream (21-16) of North Dakota State; Ottinger (29-6) will face Te'Shan Campbell (18-10) of Pittsburgh; and Smith (30-8) will wrestle Bryce Steiert (20-9) of Northern Iowa or Spartak Chino of Ohio in his opening bout.Fleetwood (19-11) opens with Thomas Gilman (24-1) of Iowa, the fourth seed; Keener (18-10) will wrestle Penn State's Jordan Conaway (26-5), the fifth seed; Horan (25-11) will take the mat against second-seeded Joey McKenna (22-2) of Stanford; and Ellingwood (28-12) will wrestle 15th-seeded Nicholas Gravina (21-9) of Rutgers in his first match.
"It's important to make it to the quarterfinals in this tournament," Borrelli said. "Your percentages of making it onto the podium go way up (by winning the first two).
"That way, if things don't work out for you in quarterfinals, you only have to win one match to be an All-American."
Players Mentioned
