Central Michigan University
MAC Championships
Four Chippewas Will Wrestle For MAC Titles
3/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Four Central Michigan wrestlers each went 2-0 Saturday to earn a spot in their respective championship matches at the Mid-American Conference Championships at Eastern Michigan's Convocation Center.
CMU's Corey Keener (133 pounds), Justin Oliver (149), Mike Ottinger (174) and Jordan Ellingwood (184) will wrestle for titles on Sunday.
Five other Chippewas are still alive in the tournament, vying to finish in third place. Four of those five still have a legitimate shot at gaining a berth in the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
The Chippewas are in second place in the team standings with 76 points. Four-time defending champion Missouri, which has six wrestlers in the finals, is first with 103.5.
Northern Iowa (60) is third, followed by Ohio (52.5) and Kent State (49).
"We'd like to be in first place obviously," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "Our guys are wrestling good, we're competing hard.
"We've still got nine guys alive with an opportunity to get to nationals. That's what tomorrow's about, scoring as many points as you can."
• Keener, who was seeded fourth, will wrestle seventh-seeded Austin Eicher of Northern Illinois in an unlikely championship matchup at 133.
Keener, a junior, takes an 18-9 record into the final after defeating Josh Alber of Northern Iowa, 3-2, in his opening bout on Saturday, then scoring a 13-4 major decision over Bryan Lantry of Buffalo. Lantry upset top-seeded Mack McGuire of Kent State in his opening bout.
Keener defeated Eicher on an 11-3 major decision when the Chippewas and Huskies met in a dual meet in early December.
• Oliver, a freshman who was seeded second, ran his win streak to 15 and improved to 28-4 with a 14-4 major decision over Colt Cotton of Buffalo and a 5-2 victory over Alex Richardson of Old Dominion.
Oliver will face fourth-seeded Mike DePalma, a Kent State senior, in Sunday's final. Oliver defeated DePalma, 7-4, in a dual meet at Kent State three weeks ago.
DePalma upset top-seeded Lavion Mayes of Missouri, 6-5, in a semifinal match on Saturday.
"It's a little surreal," Oliver said. "I remember growing up going to the Big Ten Championships, the NCAA Championships to watch. It's crazy now, knowing that I'm going to be going to the National Championships, that I've punched my ticket.
"My experiences of going to national tournaments and stuff, I've kind of become acclimated to the bigger matches. Still couldn't quite prepare me for this. Definitely grateful for the opportunities I've been given in the first place."
• Ottinger, the top seed at 174, will vie for his third career MAC title on Sunday against Missouri's Blasie Butler, the No. 2 seed.
Ottinger opened with a 3-2 win on Saturday over Kyle Lux of Northern Iowa, then defeated Trace Engelkes of Northern Illinois, 5-4.
Ottinger, who is ranked seventh nationally by Amateur Wrestling News, has won 13 of his last 14 matches and is 29-5 on the season.
Included in that string of 13 wins in 14 bouts is a 3-2 victory on Jan. 17 over Butler, who is ranked third nationally.
"At this tournament, everyone's got you scouted, everyone knows what you're going to do, you know what they're going to do," Ottinger said. "Every match is tough. The national rankings or MAC rankings don't really mean a whole lot."
• Ellingwood, a junior who was seeded fourth, provided one of the big highlights of the tournament when he scored a takedown with 7 seconds remaining for a 3-1 upset victory over top-seeded and 14th-ranked Willie Miklus of Missouri in the semifinals.
Ellingwood will face No. 2 seed Jack Dechow of Old Dominion in Sunday's title match.
He lost, 4-3, to Dechow in the final dual meet of the season two weeks ago. He had also lost, on a first-period pin, to Miklus on Jan. 17.
"It was motivation for me because of what had happened," Ellingwood said of his pre-match mindset before facing Miklus, who last year was an All-American. "I knew I was a lot better than that. I just used it to my benefit and went out there and wrestled and came through."
Ellingwood, 27-12, said his focus is squarely on Dechow as he looks ahead to Sunday, where the potential to avenge another loss awaits.
"Once one match is over you just try to forget about everything else and you just worry about the next guy," he said. "That's the only guy you have to worry about."
CMU's Brent Fleetwood (125), Zach Horan (141), Luke Smith (157), Colin Heffernan (165) and Newton Smerchek (HWT) are still alive and each has a chance to finish third in his weight class.
Chippewa senior Jackson Lewis (197) went 0-2 and was eliminated from the Championships. Lewis finished 17-16.
• Horan, the defending champion at 141, opened with a 3-2 victory over Northern Iowa's Trevor Jaunch, then dropped a controversial 6-4 sudden victory decision to top-seeded Matt Manley of Missouri in the semifinals.
Horan, who was seeded fourth and is 27-10 on the year, will open on Sunday against Noah Forrider of Ohio for a spot in the consolation final.
Manley was awarded a takedown with 1 second remaining in the overtime period after a wild scramble. The referees reviewed the video and upheld the call.
"It was a tough match, a tough match to officiate," Borrelli said. "There were some tough scrambles. Obviously the calls didn't go our way and that happens. I wish we could change it, but we can't change it.
"You just say `Hey, get yourself ready for tomorrow.' Tomorrow's a big day. Sometimes taking third is tougher than taking first. It says a little bit more about you sometimes because you're overcoming some adversity. That's what this stuff's supposed to teach you."
• Fleetwood, a sophomore who was seeded third, opened with a 3-1 loss to sixth-seeded Kyle Akins of Buffalo, then bounced back for 3-0 victory over Alijah Jeffery.
Fleetwood, 17-11, will wrestle Ohio's Shakur Laney on Sunday for a spot in the third-place match.
• Smith, a senior who was seeded second, opened on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Devan Marry of Eastern Michigan, then fell, 6-3, to Bryce Steiert of Northern Illinois.
Smith, 29-7, is slated to open with Spartak Chino of Ohio on Sunday for a spot in the third-place match.
• Heffernan, who bumped up to 165 after wrestling at 149 this season, posted a 16-3 major decision over Buffalo's Rrok Ndokaj to open the tournament on Saturday.
He then lost, 10-0, to top-seeded Daniel Lewis of Missouri. Heffernan bounced back to defeat Seldon Wright of Old Dominion, 3-2, and will open on Sunday against Cooper Moore of Northern Iowa for a spot in the third-place match. Heffernan is 18-6.
Smerchek defeated Austin Coburn of Old Dominion, 3-1, in overtime in his opening bout, then bowed to top-seeded Blaize Cabell on a 15-6 major decision in the semifinals.
Smerchek, 12-13, will wrestle Eastern Michigan's Gage Hutchinson on Sunday for a spot in the third-place match.
Players Mentioned
