Sunday, January 16
Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
11 a.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
CSU Bakersfield
Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Dinner & Pride: Plenty Of Storylines At Sunday's Chippewa Challenge
1/14/2022 4:58:00 PM | Wrestling
Wrestling quad brings together legendary CMU coach and three protégés
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – With the way things have gone, Central Michigan wrestling coach Tom Borrelli is just happy to get his team back on the mat.
But it isn't any run-of-the-mill competition for Borrelli and the Chippewas when they host the Chippewa Challenge on Sunday, Jan. 16 (11 a.m.) at McGuirk Arena.
It is the first time the Chippewas will compete since a Dec. 21 dual against Binghamton in Niceville, Fla. Two events, the Midlands Championships and a dual at Northern Illinois, were cancelled or postponed.
The challenge is a quad pitting CMU, American, Cal State Bakersfield and Campbell. Different teams from different parts of the country with little in common except for the fact that the leadership of all four programs runs deep with maroon and gold.
American is coached by Borrelli's son, Jason; Campbell is coached by Scott Sentes and CSU Bakersfield is coached by Luke Smith. All three wrestled to great success at CMU under Borrelli, who is in his fourth decade in charge of the program.
The trio are among myriad Borrelli protégés coaching in both the college and high school ranks. Wynn Michalak, one such Borrelli product, is Sentes' associate head coach at Campbell.
"I know we work in the athletic department, but I've always looked at my job somewhat as being a professor," said Borrelli. "(I'm) teaching wrestling to young athletes, but also teaching them life skills.
"Someone follows in your footsteps and goes out and takes up that career, whether it's in high school or whether it's in college, you're kind of proud of that and you feel like you've mentored them the right way. They've grown to like the sport as much as you did."
The names of Jason Borrelli, Scotti Sentes and Luke Smith litter the program record book. Three racked up a number of Mid-American Conference championships, academic accolades, and their respective names can also be found among the program career leaders.
Jason Borrelli and Smith completed their eligibility in the mid 2000s, while Sentes finished at CMU in 2013.
It was the idea of Jason, who is in his first season at American after 14 at Stanford, to bring the former Chippewas home for a quad and a homecoming for the entire program.
"I look at this weekend as an opportunity to have a homecoming for wrestling," Tom Borrelli said. "Guys are caught up in their own lives, and I understand that. But this might be an opportunity for them to come back and see some of their friends and see some of the other alums that are going to come back."
Borrelli said he spotted in all three disciples common denominators and strengths that have helped them rise to the top of the profession.
"They weren't the caboose; they were the engine of the train," he said. "Everybody was trying to emulate them. That's kind of what you have to be as coach; you have to be the guy driving the train, and you have to be the guy demanding things. You have to be the guy who's pretty stern, pretty goal oriented, and enjoys what they're doing."
Naturally, Borrelli takes a good measure of pride in the success of his former charges. But on Sunday, sentimentality gets pushed aside when the Borrellis, Smith and Sentes send their charges onto the mat.
And of course, there is more at stake than just a dual-meet victory.
"I'm mostly looking forward to buying them all dinner because the winning coach has to buy dinner for the other three coaches after the event," Tom Borrelli said.
But it isn't any run-of-the-mill competition for Borrelli and the Chippewas when they host the Chippewa Challenge on Sunday, Jan. 16 (11 a.m.) at McGuirk Arena.
It is the first time the Chippewas will compete since a Dec. 21 dual against Binghamton in Niceville, Fla. Two events, the Midlands Championships and a dual at Northern Illinois, were cancelled or postponed.
The challenge is a quad pitting CMU, American, Cal State Bakersfield and Campbell. Different teams from different parts of the country with little in common except for the fact that the leadership of all four programs runs deep with maroon and gold.
American is coached by Borrelli's son, Jason; Campbell is coached by Scott Sentes and CSU Bakersfield is coached by Luke Smith. All three wrestled to great success at CMU under Borrelli, who is in his fourth decade in charge of the program.
The trio are among myriad Borrelli protégés coaching in both the college and high school ranks. Wynn Michalak, one such Borrelli product, is Sentes' associate head coach at Campbell.
"I know we work in the athletic department, but I've always looked at my job somewhat as being a professor," said Borrelli. "(I'm) teaching wrestling to young athletes, but also teaching them life skills.
"Someone follows in your footsteps and goes out and takes up that career, whether it's in high school or whether it's in college, you're kind of proud of that and you feel like you've mentored them the right way. They've grown to like the sport as much as you did."
The names of Jason Borrelli, Scotti Sentes and Luke Smith litter the program record book. Three racked up a number of Mid-American Conference championships, academic accolades, and their respective names can also be found among the program career leaders.
Jason Borrelli and Smith completed their eligibility in the mid 2000s, while Sentes finished at CMU in 2013.
It was the idea of Jason, who is in his first season at American after 14 at Stanford, to bring the former Chippewas home for a quad and a homecoming for the entire program.
"I look at this weekend as an opportunity to have a homecoming for wrestling," Tom Borrelli said. "Guys are caught up in their own lives, and I understand that. But this might be an opportunity for them to come back and see some of their friends and see some of the other alums that are going to come back."
Borrelli said he spotted in all three disciples common denominators and strengths that have helped them rise to the top of the profession.
"They weren't the caboose; they were the engine of the train," he said. "Everybody was trying to emulate them. That's kind of what you have to be as coach; you have to be the guy driving the train, and you have to be the guy demanding things. You have to be the guy who's pretty stern, pretty goal oriented, and enjoys what they're doing."
Naturally, Borrelli takes a good measure of pride in the success of his former charges. But on Sunday, sentimentality gets pushed aside when the Borrellis, Smith and Sentes send their charges onto the mat.
And of course, there is more at stake than just a dual-meet victory.
"I'm mostly looking forward to buying them all dinner because the winning coach has to buy dinner for the other three coaches after the event," Tom Borrelli said.
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