Central Michigan University Athletics
Wrestlers Get Michigan State In Home Opener
11/16/2017 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
SETTING THE SCENE
The Central Michigan wrestling team will entertain Michigan State on Friday in its first dual meet of the 2017-18 season. The Chippewas will return to action on Sunday when they travel to Virginia Tech for a dual.
RANKINGS
CMU is ranked 15th in the The Open Mat Top 25 Poll, while Virginia Tech is ranked 11th. Michigan State is unranked. Individually, five CMU wrestlers are ranked: Mason Smith, 20th at 141 pounds; Justin Oliver, fifth at 149; Colin Heffernan, 13th at 157; CJ Brucki, 14th at 174; and Jordan Ellingwood, ninth at 184.
LAST WEEK
Fourteen Chippewas earned a top-six finish in the Eastern Michigan Open. CMU's Jordan Atienza placed first at 197 pounds in the Open Division, and Drew Marten was first at 133 in the Freshman/Sophomore Division.
WHAT TO WATCH
• Two matches in the CMU-MSU dual will feature wrestlers who are both ranked by InterMat. At 141 pounds, CMU's Mason Smith is ranked 20th, will take on No. 12 Javier Gasca; at 174, the Chippewas' CJ Brucki, who is ranked 14th, will wrestle 10th-ranked Drew Hughes.
• On Sunday at Virginia Tech, the Chippewas will face a lineup that could feature as many as five ranked wrestlers: No. 18 Dennis Gustafson (133), No. 7 Solomon Chisko (149), No. 5 David McFadden (165), No. 7 Zack Zavatsky (184), and No. 2 Jared Haught (197). Chisko and Haught were All-Americans last season, and McFadden was an All-American in 2016.
• The most-anticipated matchup in Sunday's dual may be at 149, where CMU junior Justin Oliver will face Chisko. Chisko defeated Oliver, 12-2, during the NCAA Championships last March.
NEXT
The Chippewas are off until the Dec. 1-2 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas.
Players Mentioned
