Runner-up Stencel Leads Chippewa Wrestlers

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Sophomore Matt Stencel's second place finish highlighted Central Michigan Wrestling's day at the 2018 Michigan State Open Saturday.

Stencel, the reigning Mid-American Conference Champion at 285 pounds, earned three pin-fall victories en route to the championship match, where he fell on a first-period pin to Michigan's Mason Parris.

Also for the Chippewas, sophomores Drew Hildebrandt (125 pounds) and Blake Montrie (165) each finished fourth, and redshirt freshman Brock Bergelin (133) finished fifth, and redshirt freshman Colin Lieber finished sixth at 174 pounds.

Three Chippewas, senior Jordan Atienza (184), sophomore Dresden Simon (141) and redshirt freshman Drew Martin (141), did not finish the tournament due to injuries.

In the freshman/sophomore brackets, CMU freshmen Zach Schupp (125) and Ben Cushman (184) each finished sixth, while freshman Corbyn Munson (141) finished fifth.

Stencel earned pinfall victories over Oklahoma's Eli Boulton, Michigan's Luke Ready, and Michigan State's Christian Rebottaro to reaching the title match.

• Hildebrandt drew a first-round bye, and then posted a 5-0 over Michigan's Jack Medley before suffering a 9-4 loss to Michigan State's RayVon Foley. Hildebrandt bounced back with a 6-2 decision over Penn's Carmen Ferrante to earn a spot in the third-place match, where he dropped a 7-5 decision to Austin Assad of Michigan.

• Montrie opened with an 8-4 loss to Kenny Moore of Northern Illinois, and then bounced back with four consecutive wins to earn a spot in the third-place match against Oklahoma's Jeremy Thomas.

• Bergelin opened with a 2-1 loss to Notre Dame's Kelan Mckenna, and then won his next three matches, including a win over teammate Devin Perez, before suffering a 9-2 loss to NIU's Alijah Jeffery. Berglin finished fifth after NIU's Drew West withdrew from the tournament on a medical forfeit.

• Lieber started his tournament with an 8-0 major decision over Emilio Fowler of Notre Dame before suffering a 9-3 loss to NIU's Brit Wilson. Bieber bounced back with wins over Daniel Heintz and teammate Sage Castillo before dropping his last two matches to finish sixth.

• Shupp, who competed unattached, lost 4-3 to Findlay's Zach Collins before earning a third-period pin over Notre Dame's Johnny Cracker, a 6-3 decision over Blair Orr of Penn, and an 8-3 victory over Michigan State's Ethan Curtin. Schupp dropped his final two matches to finish sixth.

• Munson, who also wrestled unattached, earned a 14-4 major decision to Edinboro's Jack Gold, an 8-4 decision over teammate Mason Breece, and a 13-7 decision over Nathan Swartz of Northern Illinois. He then lost two straight matches before rebounding to defeat Michigan's Nick Freeman 6-5 in the fifth-place match.

• Cushman, wrestling unattached, posted a 5-4 win over Ohio's Blake Wilson, and then a 10-7 victory over Notre Dame's Michael Viramontes. Cushion dropped his next two matches, including a 9-4 loss to Ohio State's Zach Steiner, before pinning Ryan Farber Penn in the first period to finish fifth.

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Players Mentioned

Jordan Atienza

Brock Bergelin

Mason Breece

Sage Castillo

Ben Cushman

Drew Hildebrandt

Blake Montrie

Corbyn Munson

Dresden Simon

Matt Stencel