Central Michigan University Athletics
Thursday, March 21
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Central Michigan University
vs
NCAA Championships
Big Stage Awaits 3 Chippewa Wrestlers
3/20/2019 9:47:00 PM | Wrestling
Hildebrandt, Parks, Stencel begin their drive for All-America honors on Thursday
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Three Central Michigan wrestlers will see how they stack up against the best of the best this weekend at the NCAA Championships at PPG Arena.
Sophomores Drew Hildebrandt and Matt Stencel and junior Logan Parks will represent CMU in the field of the best 330 – 33 in each weight class – college wrestlers in the nation.
Wrestling begins Thursday at noon and continues through to the championship matches on Saturday night.
Stencel, who has come into his own this season, is seeded ninth at 285 pounds and has qualified for the second-consecutive year. Parks (157) and Hildebrandt (125) will step on to college wrestling's biggest stage for the first time. Parks is seeded 18th, Hildebrandt is 13th.
Veteran CMU coach Tom Borrelli has taken scores of wrestlers to the NCAAs, where the wrestlers will take the mat in front of some 20,000 fans in PPG, home of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins.
"Probably the old 'Hoosiers' movie, where they walk in and measure the distance from the rim to the floor," Borrelli said in explaining his philosophy with wrestlers who are competing in the NCAA Championships for the first time. "It's the same type of thing: 'Look it's the same wrestling mat we have in our practice room. Same wrestling mat we put out on our gym floor. Nothing's different, it's a wrestling match.'
"That's what you have to keep in perspective; regardless of how big the crowds are or how exciting the event is. When it comes down to it, it's you and another guy in a wrestling match."
Stencel (27-4) will open against 24th-seeded Jeremy Sweany (15-8) of Cornell. The winner will square off against Haydn Maley (23-10) of Stanford, the 25th seed, or Demetrius Thomas (26-4) of Pitt, the eighth seed. If Stencel wins his first two matches, he likely would face the No. 1 seed, Derek White of Oklahoma State, who is 28-1.
Parks (22-12) is set to open against 15th-seeded Eric Barone (16-14) of Illinois. The winner will wrestle No. 2 seed Tyler Berger (24-3) of Nebraska or Benjamin Barton (11-3) of Campbell, the 31st seed.
Hildebrandt (19-8) is set to open against 20th-seeded Alex Mackall (25-10) of Iowa State. The winner faces either Gage Curry (23-11) of American or Ronnie Bresser (23-1) of Oregon State. Bresser is seeded fourth, Curry 29th.
The top eight finishers in each weight class earn All-America honors.
"I think all three of our guys are in a good spot," Borrelli said. "I don't think there's any pressure on them at all. Obviously, Stencel has a little more experience than the other two, but I think all three of them are wrestling really well right now. I don't know that they could feel any better, be any healthier. All three are very capable of taking advantage of this opportunity."
Stencel leads the nation with 18 pins and has won 16 consecutive matches and 21 of his last 22. Two weeks ago, he won his second consecutive Mid-American Conference title. His potential second-round matchup with Pitt's Thomas would be intriguing as Thomas handed Stencel a loss earlier this season at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Hildebrandt is coming off a second-place finish at the MAC Championships and has won eight of his last nine matches, while Parks was third in the MAC Championships and has won seven of his last eight matches and 14 of his last 19.
Sophomores Drew Hildebrandt and Matt Stencel and junior Logan Parks will represent CMU in the field of the best 330 – 33 in each weight class – college wrestlers in the nation.
Wrestling begins Thursday at noon and continues through to the championship matches on Saturday night.
Stencel, who has come into his own this season, is seeded ninth at 285 pounds and has qualified for the second-consecutive year. Parks (157) and Hildebrandt (125) will step on to college wrestling's biggest stage for the first time. Parks is seeded 18th, Hildebrandt is 13th.
Veteran CMU coach Tom Borrelli has taken scores of wrestlers to the NCAAs, where the wrestlers will take the mat in front of some 20,000 fans in PPG, home of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins.
"Probably the old 'Hoosiers' movie, where they walk in and measure the distance from the rim to the floor," Borrelli said in explaining his philosophy with wrestlers who are competing in the NCAA Championships for the first time. "It's the same type of thing: 'Look it's the same wrestling mat we have in our practice room. Same wrestling mat we put out on our gym floor. Nothing's different, it's a wrestling match.'
"That's what you have to keep in perspective; regardless of how big the crowds are or how exciting the event is. When it comes down to it, it's you and another guy in a wrestling match."
Stencel (27-4) will open against 24th-seeded Jeremy Sweany (15-8) of Cornell. The winner will square off against Haydn Maley (23-10) of Stanford, the 25th seed, or Demetrius Thomas (26-4) of Pitt, the eighth seed. If Stencel wins his first two matches, he likely would face the No. 1 seed, Derek White of Oklahoma State, who is 28-1.
Parks (22-12) is set to open against 15th-seeded Eric Barone (16-14) of Illinois. The winner will wrestle No. 2 seed Tyler Berger (24-3) of Nebraska or Benjamin Barton (11-3) of Campbell, the 31st seed.
Hildebrandt (19-8) is set to open against 20th-seeded Alex Mackall (25-10) of Iowa State. The winner faces either Gage Curry (23-11) of American or Ronnie Bresser (23-1) of Oregon State. Bresser is seeded fourth, Curry 29th.
The top eight finishers in each weight class earn All-America honors.
"I think all three of our guys are in a good spot," Borrelli said. "I don't think there's any pressure on them at all. Obviously, Stencel has a little more experience than the other two, but I think all three of them are wrestling really well right now. I don't know that they could feel any better, be any healthier. All three are very capable of taking advantage of this opportunity."
Stencel leads the nation with 18 pins and has won 16 consecutive matches and 21 of his last 22. Two weeks ago, he won his second consecutive Mid-American Conference title. His potential second-round matchup with Pitt's Thomas would be intriguing as Thomas handed Stencel a loss earlier this season at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Hildebrandt is coming off a second-place finish at the MAC Championships and has won eight of his last nine matches, while Parks was third in the MAC Championships and has won seven of his last eight matches and 14 of his last 19.
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