Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, March 8
Norfolk, Va.
Noon
Central Michigan University
vs
Mid-American Conference Championships
Stencel Claims Title; Three Chippewas Punch Ticket To Pittsburgh
3/9/2019 6:04:00 PM | Wrestling
Young CMU team finishes third
NORFOLK, Va. – One champion, one runner-up, three NCAA qualifiers.
Certainly, it could have been better – it can always be better – but all in all, Central Michigan wrestling coach Tom Borrelli could not be disappointed with his team's performance over the weekend at the Mid-American Conference Championships at Old Dominion's Ted Constant Convocation Center.
CMU sophomore Matt Stencel repeated as the 285-pound champion with a 12-7 victory over Colton McKiernan of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
Drew Hildebrandt, CMU's other finalist, dropped a 5-2 decision to top-seeded and defending-champion Michael McGee of Old Dominion in the title match at 125 pounds.
Three Chippewas – Stencel, Hildebrandt and Logan Parks (157) – are headed to the NCAA Championships which are March 21-23 in Pittsburgh.
Eight of CMU's 10 wrestlers finished at or above their seed. The Chippewas, with just one senior in the lineup, finished third with 112.5 points, one point behind runner-up Buffalo. Missouri, which is ranked fifth nationally, placed first with 180 points. Host Old Dominion was fourth with 111.
"I think you look at the seeds we probably overachieved a little bit," Borrelli said. "You have to be happy with that. I feel like that we shoed we've improved a little bit."
• Stencel, the top seed at 285, continued his dominant redshirt sophomore season with his pin of McKiernan, the sixth seed who had upset both the No. 3- and No. 2-seeded wrestlers to reach the final. Stencel ran his win streak to 16 with his three wins in Norfolk, and upped his season pin total to 19.
• Hildebrandt, who was seeded second behind McGee, dropped to 0-4 lifetime against the ODU sophomore in yet another hotly contested, close match. All four of those matches have been decided by four points or less.
• Atienza finished third and then lost on a third-period pin to second-place finisher Andrew McNally of Kent State in a true-second match. Atienza opened the day with a 12-0 major decision over Hunter Yeargan of Ohio in a consolation semifinal. The CMU senior then defeated Will Feldkamp of Northern Illinois, 14-7, in the third-place match.
• Parks topped Justin Ruffin of SIUE, 9-4, to finish in third place. Parks, who was seeded fifth, opened the day with an 11-3 major-decision win over Zac Carson of Ohio.
"I thought it would be a stretch for us to take four guys to the nationals," Borrelli said. "We have three guys going, and I think they're three of the right guys. I think (Atienza) might have an opportunity to get an at-large bit. We'll see how that shakes out."
Also for CMU:
• Drew Marten (141), a redshirt freshman, finished fourth at 141 pounds. The MAC received an allotment of four berths in the NCAA Championships in the weight class, and Marten lost to Old Dominion's Sa'Derian Perry, 3-0, in a 'true-fourth' match to earn the coveted berth. Perry is a returning All-American.
Before his loss to Perry, Marten dropped a 13-2 decision to Cameron Kelly of Ohio in the third-place match.
• Dresden Simon (149), a sophomore, placed third after entering the tournament as the seventh seed. Simon posted a 17-7 major-decision victory over Alec Hagan of Ohio in the third-place match after opening the day with a pin in 4:24 of Tyshawn Williams of SIUE in a consolation semifinal. Simon went 3-1 in the tournament, posting two wins via major decision and the other by pin.
He finished the season 11-11 after starting it 3-10. He won eight of his final 11 matches and avenged two previous losses – one to Ohio's Hagan, the other to Kent State's Kody Komara – in placing third in the MAC.
• Deven Perez (133) dropped an 8-2 decision to Alijah Jeffery of Northern Illinois in the fifth-place match. Perez was seeded seventh.
• Bret Fedewa (165) fell in the seventh-place match, 16-1, to Kenny Moore of Northern Illinois.
• Collin Lieber (174) defeated Logan Stanley of Ohio, 5-0, to finish in fifth place. Lieber opened the day by dropping a 4-3 decision to Buffalo's Jake Lanning.
• Landon Pelham (197) pinned Kent State's Shane Mast in 3:47 in the seventh-place match.
Certainly, it could have been better – it can always be better – but all in all, Central Michigan wrestling coach Tom Borrelli could not be disappointed with his team's performance over the weekend at the Mid-American Conference Championships at Old Dominion's Ted Constant Convocation Center.
CMU sophomore Matt Stencel repeated as the 285-pound champion with a 12-7 victory over Colton McKiernan of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
Drew Hildebrandt, CMU's other finalist, dropped a 5-2 decision to top-seeded and defending-champion Michael McGee of Old Dominion in the title match at 125 pounds.
Three Chippewas – Stencel, Hildebrandt and Logan Parks (157) – are headed to the NCAA Championships which are March 21-23 in Pittsburgh.
Eight of CMU's 10 wrestlers finished at or above their seed. The Chippewas, with just one senior in the lineup, finished third with 112.5 points, one point behind runner-up Buffalo. Missouri, which is ranked fifth nationally, placed first with 180 points. Host Old Dominion was fourth with 111.
"I think you look at the seeds we probably overachieved a little bit," Borrelli said. "You have to be happy with that. I feel like that we shoed we've improved a little bit."
• Stencel, the top seed at 285, continued his dominant redshirt sophomore season with his pin of McKiernan, the sixth seed who had upset both the No. 3- and No. 2-seeded wrestlers to reach the final. Stencel ran his win streak to 16 with his three wins in Norfolk, and upped his season pin total to 19.
• Hildebrandt, who was seeded second behind McGee, dropped to 0-4 lifetime against the ODU sophomore in yet another hotly contested, close match. All four of those matches have been decided by four points or less.
• Atienza finished third and then lost on a third-period pin to second-place finisher Andrew McNally of Kent State in a true-second match. Atienza opened the day with a 12-0 major decision over Hunter Yeargan of Ohio in a consolation semifinal. The CMU senior then defeated Will Feldkamp of Northern Illinois, 14-7, in the third-place match.
• Parks topped Justin Ruffin of SIUE, 9-4, to finish in third place. Parks, who was seeded fifth, opened the day with an 11-3 major-decision win over Zac Carson of Ohio.
"I thought it would be a stretch for us to take four guys to the nationals," Borrelli said. "We have three guys going, and I think they're three of the right guys. I think (Atienza) might have an opportunity to get an at-large bit. We'll see how that shakes out."
Also for CMU:
• Drew Marten (141), a redshirt freshman, finished fourth at 141 pounds. The MAC received an allotment of four berths in the NCAA Championships in the weight class, and Marten lost to Old Dominion's Sa'Derian Perry, 3-0, in a 'true-fourth' match to earn the coveted berth. Perry is a returning All-American.
Before his loss to Perry, Marten dropped a 13-2 decision to Cameron Kelly of Ohio in the third-place match.
• Dresden Simon (149), a sophomore, placed third after entering the tournament as the seventh seed. Simon posted a 17-7 major-decision victory over Alec Hagan of Ohio in the third-place match after opening the day with a pin in 4:24 of Tyshawn Williams of SIUE in a consolation semifinal. Simon went 3-1 in the tournament, posting two wins via major decision and the other by pin.
He finished the season 11-11 after starting it 3-10. He won eight of his final 11 matches and avenged two previous losses – one to Ohio's Hagan, the other to Kent State's Kody Komara – in placing third in the MAC.
• Deven Perez (133) dropped an 8-2 decision to Alijah Jeffery of Northern Illinois in the fifth-place match. Perez was seeded seventh.
• Bret Fedewa (165) fell in the seventh-place match, 16-1, to Kenny Moore of Northern Illinois.
• Collin Lieber (174) defeated Logan Stanley of Ohio, 5-0, to finish in fifth place. Lieber opened the day by dropping a 4-3 decision to Buffalo's Jake Lanning.
• Landon Pelham (197) pinned Kent State's Shane Mast in 3:47 in the seventh-place match.
Players Mentioned
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