Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU's Matt Stencel has his arm raised after pinning Mason Parris to earn All-America honors on Friday night at the NCAA Chammpionships.
Stencel Earns All-America Honors
3/23/2019 12:10:00β―AM | Wrestling
Chippewa heavyweight will wrestle for 7th place on Saturday
PITTSBURGH β Matt Stencel became Central Michigan's first wrestling All-American since 2016 on Friday when he pinned Michigan's Mason Parris in a consolation-bracket match in the 285-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships at PPG Paints Arena.
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Stencel, a sophomore, guaranteed a top-eight finish with the victory. He lost his ensuing match, 6-2, to Youssif Hemida of Maryland and will take on Trent Hillger of Wisconsin on Saturday morning in the seventh-place match. Hillger (25-8) was seeded seventh. Stencel (30-6) entered the tournament as the ninth seed.
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"The goal was to come here and win the tournament," Stencel said shortly after his loss to Hemida. "Proud that I wrestled back and I'm happy with how I wrestled in a couple positions. I've got a lot to work on."
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CMU's Drew Hildebrandt (125) and Logan Parks (157) lost their consolation-bracket bouts on Friday morning and were eliminated from the tournament. Both finished 1-2 in their first trip to the NCAA Championships.
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"Hopefully they learned that they can compete, but they need to get a little better," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "It's the little things, not the big things. The higher up you go, the more your fundamentals are important."
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Hildebrandt, a sophomore, dropped a 7-4 decision to Alex Mackall of Iowa State and finished 20-10. Parks, a junior, was pinned in 6:24 by John Van Brill of Rutgers to finish 23-14.
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Stencel went 2-0 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals where he lost, 3-1, to the No. 1 seed, Derek White of Oklahoma State, on Friday afternoon. He bounced back in the consolation bracket on Friday night with his pin in 2:30 of Parris before falling to Hemida. White is scheduled to wrestle on Saturday night for the championship against Penn State's Anthony Cassar, the No. 2 seed.
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"Need to get better in a few positions," said Stencel, who qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second-consecutive season. "When you get here, little mistakes cost you big, so I think if I fix a few things, I'll be right where I want to be."
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Said Borrelli: "As a coach you always feel like you can do better. It was good to come away with an All-American. You'd like for (Stencel) to be building towards a third-place finish or get in the finals. This is a start. I think learning what he needs to work on, and learning how to compete on this level."
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Stencel, a sophomore, guaranteed a top-eight finish with the victory. He lost his ensuing match, 6-2, to Youssif Hemida of Maryland and will take on Trent Hillger of Wisconsin on Saturday morning in the seventh-place match. Hillger (25-8) was seeded seventh. Stencel (30-6) entered the tournament as the ninth seed.
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"The goal was to come here and win the tournament," Stencel said shortly after his loss to Hemida. "Proud that I wrestled back and I'm happy with how I wrestled in a couple positions. I've got a lot to work on."
Β
CMU's Drew Hildebrandt (125) and Logan Parks (157) lost their consolation-bracket bouts on Friday morning and were eliminated from the tournament. Both finished 1-2 in their first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Β
"Hopefully they learned that they can compete, but they need to get a little better," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "It's the little things, not the big things. The higher up you go, the more your fundamentals are important."
Β
Hildebrandt, a sophomore, dropped a 7-4 decision to Alex Mackall of Iowa State and finished 20-10. Parks, a junior, was pinned in 6:24 by John Van Brill of Rutgers to finish 23-14.
Β
Stencel went 2-0 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals where he lost, 3-1, to the No. 1 seed, Derek White of Oklahoma State, on Friday afternoon. He bounced back in the consolation bracket on Friday night with his pin in 2:30 of Parris before falling to Hemida. White is scheduled to wrestle on Saturday night for the championship against Penn State's Anthony Cassar, the No. 2 seed.
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"Need to get better in a few positions," said Stencel, who qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second-consecutive season. "When you get here, little mistakes cost you big, so I think if I fix a few things, I'll be right where I want to be."
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Said Borrelli: "As a coach you always feel like you can do better. It was good to come away with an All-American. You'd like for (Stencel) to be building towards a third-place finish or get in the finals. This is a start. I think learning what he needs to work on, and learning how to compete on this level."
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