Central Michigan University Athletics
Thursday, March 18
St. Louis, Mo.
11 a.m.
Central Michigan University
at
NCAA Championships
Showtime For 4 Chippewa Wrestlers
3/17/2021 5:14:00 PM | Wrestling
Hildebrandt, Lovett, Simon, Stencel step onto the mat with best of the best at NCAA Championships
ST. LOUIS – Four Central Michigan wrestlers will step onto their sport's biggest stage beginning on Thursday at the NCAA Championships at the Enterprise Center.
CMU's Drew Hildebrandt (125 pounds), Dresden Simon (141), Johnny Lovett (157) and Matt Stencel (285) are in the field comprising 333 wrestlers across 10 weight classes for the three-day that ends Saturday night when the best of the best are crowned national champions. The top eight finishers in each weight class earn All-America honors.
Attendance at the Enterprise Center will be capped at 25 percent because of COVID, but that won't diminish the glamor and the excitement that comes annually with the event. Wrestling begins at 11 a.m. each day.
Hildebrandt, Simon and Stencel are returning All-Americans. Hildebrandt and Stencel were first teamers in 2020, Simon a second teamer as determined by the National Wrestling Coaches Association after the tournament was cancelled because of COVID.
Stencel, a two-time All-American who three weeks ago won his fourth Mid-American Conference title, is seeded third in his weight class; Hildebrandt is seeded fourth, Simon is ninth and Lovett, a freshman, is 26th. Hildebrandt and Simon both repeated as MAC champions this season.
Though he was named an All-American a year ago, this will be Simon's first time wrestling under the bright lights at the nationals.
"For a guy like Dresden who hasn't competed in this tournament before, I think he's ready for this," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "The crowd's not going to be like it normally is. I don't think there will be those variables. It's not going to be like you would normally expect. Sometimes you can get caught up in that and it can throw you off. I don't think you have to deal with that so that can be a positive."
The expectations are high for the Chippewas' three veterans, Hildebrandt, Stencel and Simon, each of whom is a redshirt senior. Hildebrandt and Stencel are both 10-0 this season; Simon is 9-1.
"Whenever they've needed to really perform, they've been able to do that," Borrelli said. "I think it's just that they've developed confidence in themselves knowing that they can wrestle on this level.
"All of those guys have competed against the guys who are supposed to be the best guys in the country. They've wrestled those guys before; they've put their hands on those guys; that helps them a lot. They can compete with those guys."
• Stencel is scheduled to open against 30th-seeded Austin Harris of Oklahoma State and, if he wins, would face either 14th-seeded Trent Hillger of Wisconsin or Josh Heindselman of Oklahoma, the 19th seed, in the second round.
If Stencel gets to the semifinals, he could face Michigan's Mason Parris, the No. 2 seed. The other half of the bracket features top-seeded Gable Steveson of Minnesota, fourth-seeded Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State, and fifth-seeded Tony Cassioppi of Iowa.
Stencel and Parris, a junior, have squared off six times in their respective careers. Stencel has won two of those matches, including a pin at the 2019 NCAA Championships, when Stencel was seeded ninth and Parris fifth. That result kept Parris off the podium while Stencel went on to place seventh.
• Hildebrandt is slated to open against 29th-seeded Zurich Storm of Campbell and, with a win, would face Liam Cronin of Nebraska, the No. 13 seed, or Jake Ferri of Kent State, the 20th seed, in the second round.
Hildebrandt's weight class features top-seeded Spencer Lee of Iowa, the two-time defending national champion. If the seeds hold, Hildebrandt would face Lee in the semifinals.
• Simon is scheduled to square off with Connor McGonagle of Lehigh, the No. 24 seed, in his opening bout and then, with a win, would face Michigan's Drew Mattin or Nebraska's Chad Red in the second round. Red is the eighth seed, Mattin the 25th.
The top seed in the weight class is Jaydin Eierman of Iowa, who was a three-time MAC champion at Missouri before transferring to Iowa. If both Simon and Eierman win their first two matches, they would meet in the quarterfinals.
• Lovett, who is 8-3, is set to open against Jarrett Jacques of Missouri, the seventh seed. If he beats Jacques, Lovett would face either 23rd-seeded Jacob Wright of Wyoming or 10th-seeded Justin Thomas of Oklahoma in the second round. Jacques defeated Lovett, 8-3 in the Chippewas' season-opening dual and then defeated him, 14-4, at the MAC Championships.
CMU's Drew Hildebrandt (125 pounds), Dresden Simon (141), Johnny Lovett (157) and Matt Stencel (285) are in the field comprising 333 wrestlers across 10 weight classes for the three-day that ends Saturday night when the best of the best are crowned national champions. The top eight finishers in each weight class earn All-America honors.
Attendance at the Enterprise Center will be capped at 25 percent because of COVID, but that won't diminish the glamor and the excitement that comes annually with the event. Wrestling begins at 11 a.m. each day.
Hildebrandt, Simon and Stencel are returning All-Americans. Hildebrandt and Stencel were first teamers in 2020, Simon a second teamer as determined by the National Wrestling Coaches Association after the tournament was cancelled because of COVID.
Stencel, a two-time All-American who three weeks ago won his fourth Mid-American Conference title, is seeded third in his weight class; Hildebrandt is seeded fourth, Simon is ninth and Lovett, a freshman, is 26th. Hildebrandt and Simon both repeated as MAC champions this season.
Though he was named an All-American a year ago, this will be Simon's first time wrestling under the bright lights at the nationals.
"For a guy like Dresden who hasn't competed in this tournament before, I think he's ready for this," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "The crowd's not going to be like it normally is. I don't think there will be those variables. It's not going to be like you would normally expect. Sometimes you can get caught up in that and it can throw you off. I don't think you have to deal with that so that can be a positive."
The expectations are high for the Chippewas' three veterans, Hildebrandt, Stencel and Simon, each of whom is a redshirt senior. Hildebrandt and Stencel are both 10-0 this season; Simon is 9-1.
"Whenever they've needed to really perform, they've been able to do that," Borrelli said. "I think it's just that they've developed confidence in themselves knowing that they can wrestle on this level.
"All of those guys have competed against the guys who are supposed to be the best guys in the country. They've wrestled those guys before; they've put their hands on those guys; that helps them a lot. They can compete with those guys."
• Stencel is scheduled to open against 30th-seeded Austin Harris of Oklahoma State and, if he wins, would face either 14th-seeded Trent Hillger of Wisconsin or Josh Heindselman of Oklahoma, the 19th seed, in the second round.
If Stencel gets to the semifinals, he could face Michigan's Mason Parris, the No. 2 seed. The other half of the bracket features top-seeded Gable Steveson of Minnesota, fourth-seeded Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State, and fifth-seeded Tony Cassioppi of Iowa.
Stencel and Parris, a junior, have squared off six times in their respective careers. Stencel has won two of those matches, including a pin at the 2019 NCAA Championships, when Stencel was seeded ninth and Parris fifth. That result kept Parris off the podium while Stencel went on to place seventh.
• Hildebrandt is slated to open against 29th-seeded Zurich Storm of Campbell and, with a win, would face Liam Cronin of Nebraska, the No. 13 seed, or Jake Ferri of Kent State, the 20th seed, in the second round.
Hildebrandt's weight class features top-seeded Spencer Lee of Iowa, the two-time defending national champion. If the seeds hold, Hildebrandt would face Lee in the semifinals.
• Simon is scheduled to square off with Connor McGonagle of Lehigh, the No. 24 seed, in his opening bout and then, with a win, would face Michigan's Drew Mattin or Nebraska's Chad Red in the second round. Red is the eighth seed, Mattin the 25th.
The top seed in the weight class is Jaydin Eierman of Iowa, who was a three-time MAC champion at Missouri before transferring to Iowa. If both Simon and Eierman win their first two matches, they would meet in the quarterfinals.
• Lovett, who is 8-3, is set to open against Jarrett Jacques of Missouri, the seventh seed. If he beats Jacques, Lovett would face either 23rd-seeded Jacob Wright of Wyoming or 10th-seeded Justin Thomas of Oklahoma in the second round. Jacques defeated Lovett, 8-3 in the Chippewas' season-opening dual and then defeated him, 14-4, at the MAC Championships.
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