Central Michigan University Athletics
Big-Time Test Awaits Wrestlers In Vegas
11/30/2017 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
SETTING THE SCENE
The Central Michigan wrestling team will partake in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 1-2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The tournament, CMU coach Tom Borrelli said, is the strongest the Chippewas will compete in this season - that is, of course, until the NCAA Championships in March.
RANKINGS
CMU is ranked 19th by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Fifteen of the 45 teams in the field in Vegas are ranked in the top 25, including No. 2 Ohio State, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 Virginia Tech, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 13 Nebraska and No. 14 Cornell.
More than 100 wrestlers who will compete in the event are ranked in their respective weight classes by InterMat. For CMU, Justin Oliver is ranked sixth at 149 pounds; Jordan Ellingwood is eighth at 184; Colin Heffernan is 14th at 157; and CJ Brucki is 16th at 174.
LAST YEAR
The Chippewas finished a strong sixth among 34 teams in the field last season, when they went into the event as the 14th-ranked dual-meet team and the 25th-ranked tournament team in the country by InterMat.
LAST WEEK
The Chippewas were idle last weekend. The previous weekend, they went 1-1 in a pair of duals. They posted a 31-9 home win over Michigan State, then lost, 26-6, at Virginia Tech.
NEXT
The Chippewas will make a trip to the Dakotas where they will take on South Dakota State on Dec. 8 and then will wrestle North Dakota State on Dec. 10.
