Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, March 5
Athens, Ohio
11:30 a.m.
Central Michigan University
at
MAC Championships
Photo by: Hayley Steffy
Fantastic 5 For Stencel
3/5/2022 7:54:00 PM | Wrestling
CMU senior captures record 5th MAC wrestling title
ATHENS, Ohio – Matt Stencel made Mid-American Conference wrestling history on Saturday, winning his record fifth league individual wrestling title at the conference tournament at Ohio's Convocation Center.
Stencel defeated Lock Haven's Isaac Reid, 4-2, in the title match after pinning his first two opponents on Friday. He earned the tourney's Outstanding Wrestler Award, adding yet another prestigious honor to his ever-growing list.
Stencel is headed to the NCAA Championships for the fifth time in his career where he looks to earn All-America honors for the third time and cap one of the truly remarkable careers in the long and storied history of CMU wrestling.
"Obviously there's another tournament after this that's real important, but he couldn't have had a better career in the MAC," longtime CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "There'll never be another guy like that again, I don't think. It's amazing what he's done. He lost two (MAC) matches as a freshman. That's it."
Granted an extra year because of COVID, Stencel took advantage and finished 43-2 all-time against MAC foes. He won his final 37 consecutive league matches and has recorded 74 pins as a Chippewa, including a redshirt year in which he wrestled in open tournaments.
"I think I was very immature in my wrestling when I was younger," said Stencel, who is ranked eighth nationally. "I made a lot of mistakes and I needed to change something because I knew I was as good as the best guys in the country.
"Coach Borrelli and I sat down, and we went over the things that I needed to be more consistent at to be able to beat these guys. I think that (MAC record) speaks volumes to what coach Borrelli's done for me and what I've done to prepare for the end of the year and be consistent."
Stencel was CMU's lone MAC champion. Sophomore Johnny Lovett finished runner-up at 157 pounds and junior Corbyn Munson placed third at 149. Both will join Stencel at the NCAA Championships.
The Chippewas finished second in the team standings with 108 points. Lock Haven won the title with 123.5.
Seeking its first MAC title since 2012, MAC-West champion CMU found itself trailing the East-champion Bald Eagles by 20.5 points – a very significant margin in a college tournament – entering Saturday. The Chippewas took a big hit on Friday when senior Dresden Simon, the two-time defending champion at 141 pounds, dropped two matches and was eliminated from the tournament.
It would have taken a perfect day by the Chippewas on Saturday, plus some slip ups by Lock Haven, for CMU to overtake the Bald Eagles.
"I was proud of the way we wrestled (on Saturday)," Borrelli said. "The kids came back out and fought and tried to make amends for Friday. We just weren't ourselves on Friday. We lost one of our big guns and that's tough. But our guys rallied around each other and fought today and made it competitive.
"You've got to give credit to Lock Haven; they won the matches they needed to win to win the tournament. When you're in a competitive environment, something crazy happens every time. Nothing's easy and you can't take anything for granted."
Lovett lost to Lock Haven's Ben Barton, 2-1, in the 157-pound title match. Three Chippewas – Brock Bergelin (125), Munson and Aaron Bolo (197) – came through the wrestlebacks to finish third in their respective weight classes.
CMU's Tracy Hubbard (165) finished fourth, Bret Fedewa (174) placed fifth, and Vince Perez (133) was eighth.
Bergelin, Bolo, Fedewa, Stencel and Simon are seniors.
"Obviously, Matt and Dresden were the stars of our program most of the year, but those other guys made our year," Borrelli said. "Brock Bergelin came back this year and wanted to wrestle for us and have a senior year and have a year that he could be proud of; Bret Fedewa, he's another guy who's been around and hasn't been in the spotlight hardly at all but hung in there and hung there and did a lot of good things for us this year.
"Aaron Bolo, he's like the tin man. He's been dinged up all year long and took third in this tournament. I know he was seeded second, but still, to fight back after – I don't know how many matches he won in the wrestlebacks – that kid battled.
"I'm proud of those guys."
Stencel has twice earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. He will attempt to do it again in two weeks at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit in a stacked weight class.
Stencel was highly touted coming out of Oregon (Ohio) Clay High School. He never disappointed and continued to improve, dealing with the pressure of continually defending his MAC title year after year as well as the pressure of being highly ranked.
Unquestionably, he saw the very best out of every opponent with whom he stepped on the mat.
"Coach Borrelli took a risk on me," Stencel said. "I did not have very good grades in high school, and he took a risk on me and he got me here to school. He was exactly the role model and the mentor that I needed. He stayed hard on me, made sure I never settled.
"I actually ended last semester with a 4.0 (GPA). I'm forever grateful to him for taking that risk on me and getting me here. It was exactly what I needed."
No matter what Stencel does in two weeks in Detroit, he has left an incredible legacy at CMU that goes beyond numbers and championships.
"I hope I made an impact on those guys," he said with a nod to his teammates. "I'm nobody special; I just worked really hard and listened to the coaches, believed in them and everything they said. I never doubted them, and I put my full faith in them and everything that they've ever said to me, and it's worked out. Hopefully I'm that guy that they look at say, 'Hey, he did it and this is how he did it.'
"My main goal is to win the national title and compete with the best guys in the country and be the best version of myself. I know that when I go out there and I do that I won't have any issues."
In this day and age, where college student-athletes are just a computer click away from the transfer portal, Stencel could easily have left for a higher-profile program and perceived greener pastures.
That he stayed at CMU is a testament to his dedication and commitment, Borrelli said.
"Matt, he never doubted that he was at the right place, Central Michigan University," Borrelli said. "He loved being here. He loved everything about being at Central Michigan University.
"That's the thing that means the most to me. We've had people come and go; they got what they wanted, and they left. He never even thought about that; it never even crossed his mind. When he got the year back from COVID he was the first one to say, 'I'm coming back.'"
Stencel defeated Lock Haven's Isaac Reid, 4-2, in the title match after pinning his first two opponents on Friday. He earned the tourney's Outstanding Wrestler Award, adding yet another prestigious honor to his ever-growing list.
Stencel is headed to the NCAA Championships for the fifth time in his career where he looks to earn All-America honors for the third time and cap one of the truly remarkable careers in the long and storied history of CMU wrestling.
"Obviously there's another tournament after this that's real important, but he couldn't have had a better career in the MAC," longtime CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "There'll never be another guy like that again, I don't think. It's amazing what he's done. He lost two (MAC) matches as a freshman. That's it."
Granted an extra year because of COVID, Stencel took advantage and finished 43-2 all-time against MAC foes. He won his final 37 consecutive league matches and has recorded 74 pins as a Chippewa, including a redshirt year in which he wrestled in open tournaments.
"I think I was very immature in my wrestling when I was younger," said Stencel, who is ranked eighth nationally. "I made a lot of mistakes and I needed to change something because I knew I was as good as the best guys in the country.
"Coach Borrelli and I sat down, and we went over the things that I needed to be more consistent at to be able to beat these guys. I think that (MAC record) speaks volumes to what coach Borrelli's done for me and what I've done to prepare for the end of the year and be consistent."
Stencel was CMU's lone MAC champion. Sophomore Johnny Lovett finished runner-up at 157 pounds and junior Corbyn Munson placed third at 149. Both will join Stencel at the NCAA Championships.
The Chippewas finished second in the team standings with 108 points. Lock Haven won the title with 123.5.
Seeking its first MAC title since 2012, MAC-West champion CMU found itself trailing the East-champion Bald Eagles by 20.5 points – a very significant margin in a college tournament – entering Saturday. The Chippewas took a big hit on Friday when senior Dresden Simon, the two-time defending champion at 141 pounds, dropped two matches and was eliminated from the tournament.
It would have taken a perfect day by the Chippewas on Saturday, plus some slip ups by Lock Haven, for CMU to overtake the Bald Eagles.
"I was proud of the way we wrestled (on Saturday)," Borrelli said. "The kids came back out and fought and tried to make amends for Friday. We just weren't ourselves on Friday. We lost one of our big guns and that's tough. But our guys rallied around each other and fought today and made it competitive.
"You've got to give credit to Lock Haven; they won the matches they needed to win to win the tournament. When you're in a competitive environment, something crazy happens every time. Nothing's easy and you can't take anything for granted."
Lovett lost to Lock Haven's Ben Barton, 2-1, in the 157-pound title match. Three Chippewas – Brock Bergelin (125), Munson and Aaron Bolo (197) – came through the wrestlebacks to finish third in their respective weight classes.
CMU's Tracy Hubbard (165) finished fourth, Bret Fedewa (174) placed fifth, and Vince Perez (133) was eighth.
Bergelin, Bolo, Fedewa, Stencel and Simon are seniors.
"Obviously, Matt and Dresden were the stars of our program most of the year, but those other guys made our year," Borrelli said. "Brock Bergelin came back this year and wanted to wrestle for us and have a senior year and have a year that he could be proud of; Bret Fedewa, he's another guy who's been around and hasn't been in the spotlight hardly at all but hung in there and hung there and did a lot of good things for us this year.
"Aaron Bolo, he's like the tin man. He's been dinged up all year long and took third in this tournament. I know he was seeded second, but still, to fight back after – I don't know how many matches he won in the wrestlebacks – that kid battled.
"I'm proud of those guys."
Stencel has twice earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. He will attempt to do it again in two weeks at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit in a stacked weight class.
Stencel was highly touted coming out of Oregon (Ohio) Clay High School. He never disappointed and continued to improve, dealing with the pressure of continually defending his MAC title year after year as well as the pressure of being highly ranked.
Unquestionably, he saw the very best out of every opponent with whom he stepped on the mat.
"Coach Borrelli took a risk on me," Stencel said. "I did not have very good grades in high school, and he took a risk on me and he got me here to school. He was exactly the role model and the mentor that I needed. He stayed hard on me, made sure I never settled.
"I actually ended last semester with a 4.0 (GPA). I'm forever grateful to him for taking that risk on me and getting me here. It was exactly what I needed."
No matter what Stencel does in two weeks in Detroit, he has left an incredible legacy at CMU that goes beyond numbers and championships.
"I hope I made an impact on those guys," he said with a nod to his teammates. "I'm nobody special; I just worked really hard and listened to the coaches, believed in them and everything they said. I never doubted them, and I put my full faith in them and everything that they've ever said to me, and it's worked out. Hopefully I'm that guy that they look at say, 'Hey, he did it and this is how he did it.'
"My main goal is to win the national title and compete with the best guys in the country and be the best version of myself. I know that when I go out there and I do that I won't have any issues."
In this day and age, where college student-athletes are just a computer click away from the transfer portal, Stencel could easily have left for a higher-profile program and perceived greener pastures.
That he stayed at CMU is a testament to his dedication and commitment, Borrelli said.
"Matt, he never doubted that he was at the right place, Central Michigan University," Borrelli said. "He loved being here. He loved everything about being at Central Michigan University.
"That's the thing that means the most to me. We've had people come and go; they got what they wanted, and they left. He never even thought about that; it never even crossed his mind. When he got the year back from COVID he was the first one to say, 'I'm coming back.'"
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