Thursday, November 9
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
11
vs
29
No. 21 Oklahoma
CMU's Corbyn Munson (right) battles Oklahoma's Willie McDougald in the 149-pound bout on Thursday at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Wrestlers Drop Season-Opening Dual to No. 21 Oklahoma
11/9/2023 10:59:00 PM | Wrestling
Big crowd highlights first home dual at McGuirk; Munson, Lovett, Cramer post victories
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Great crowd, and a great barometer to start the season.
Oklahoma, featuring a lineup with seven ranked wrestlers, picked up bonus points in four of its seven victories on Thursday in handing the Central Michigan wrestling team a 29-11 loss in the season opener before 1,340 at McGuirk Arena.
It was the largest crowd for a CMU home dual in recent memory, due in part to the fact that the opponent came in ranked 21st, the Chippewas have high expectations for the season, and the CMU marketing team and the university's graduate sports administration students combined to heavily promote the event.
"First, I want to thank the marketing team and the sports administration class," said Tom Borrelli, who is in his 33rd year in charge of the Chippewa program. "They did a great job of getting people here. I was really happy with the crowd, the excitement, the enthusiasm.
"I had one of our guys say to me, and he wasn't wrestling in the (meet), that he'd love to wrestle in this environment. … We've filled up (the) arena in the past and it's been nuts, an unbelievable environment, and we saw some of that again tonight."
Despite the loss, the crowd was treated to some exciting matches including CMU wins at 149 pounds (Corbyn Munson), 157 (Johnny Lovett) and 174 (Alex Cramer).
Munson, who is ranked 13th, took a 4-2 thriller from 15th-ranked Willie McDougald, while Lovett and Cramer both scored major-decision wins.
Munson broke a 1-1 tie with a three-point takedown with just 16 seconds remaining, catching McDougald in a double-leg at the edge of the mat in front of the Chippewa bench. It was the Chippewas' first victory of the night and it cut their deficit to 11-3.
"He took a step in the right direction tonight because he's got to learn how to win those matches," Borrelli said of Munson, a returning national qualifier. "Those are the people that he's got to beat to accomplish his goals."
Said Munson: "Credit to (McDougald). He's a good wrestler and he's pretty accomplished. I feel like I kind of went out flat, didn't get to my offense, kind of sat around and that's how I lost a lot of matches last year."
Munson's win brought the large crowd back into it, and it gave the Chippewas a shot of momentum.
Lovett followed at 157 – his new weight class, switching spots with Munson, who wrestled at 157 a year ago – taking a 17-6 victory.
Lovett, who is ranked 15th, recorded five takedowns in the match, three of which came in the first period. He wrestled aggressively throughout most of the match, scoring his final takedown with just 40 seconds remaining.
His win brought the Chippewas back within striking distance at 11-7.
"It's nice to see Johnny back at 157, he's back to himself," Borrelli said. "The thing with Johnny, he's very explosive and scores in spurts. All of his matches are kind of chippy. The (opponent) thinks that he's kind of got to beat Johnny up to beat him.
"He's just got to learn that if they're going to treat him like that, he's got to keep exploding. He did a pretty good job of that."
The 18th-ranked Cramer posted perhaps the biggest win of CMU's three on the night, a 16-5 major over 13th-ranked Tate Picklo.
Picklo took Cramer down in the first period, but Cramer scored a second-period takedown for a 7-5 lead. That takedown eventually resulted in a four-point near fall and then Cramer rolled from there.
"As an older guy on the team, a vet in some sense, it's important for me to set an example for some of the younger guys and I think the way I competed, it set a good example," Cramer said. "Hopefully some of the guys can take away from that that maybe it's not going to start out in your favor, but you just keep scoring and wrestling no matter what."
Despite dropping the dual, Borrelli saw plenty to the good, and plenty on which to build going forward. His Chippewas are slated to wrestle in the Michigan State Open on Saturday, Nov. 11.
"It was really good for us to wrestle a team of the caliber that we did today," he said. "They're a good team, they're going to better than people think they are.
"It really points out your flaws. In practice you're wrestling with the same guy all the time and you're the best guy, if you're starting, so you're kind of getting your way in practice all the time and maybe your flaws aren't pinpointed as much. We've got some film now and we can watch it and really help guys get better. They wrestled people that pointed out a lot of their mistakes.
"If our guys have the right attitude and take it the right way, it's going to make them tougher."
Oklahoma 29, Central Michigan 11
125: Conrad Hendriksen (O) dec. Sean Spidle, 9-5. OU 3, CMU 0
133: Jace Koelzer (O) tech. fall Vince Perez, 17-2, 6:03. OU 8, CMU 0
141: Mosha Schwartz (O) dec. Ja'Kerion Merritt, 9-5. OU 11, CMU 0
149: Corbyn Munson (C) dec. Willie McDougald, 4-2. OU 11, CMU 3
157: Johnny Lovett (C) major dec. John Wiley, 17-6. OU 11, CMU 7
165: Cael Carlson (O) major dec. Tracy Hubbard, 11-3. OU 15, CMU 7
174: Alex Cramer (C) major dec. Tate Picklo, 16-5. OU 15, CMU 11
184: Giuseppe Hoose (O) major dec. Cody Brenner, 13-2. OU 19, CMU 11
197: Stephen Buchanan (O) tech. fall Cameron Wood, 21-3. OU 24, CMU 11
285: Josh Heindselman (O) tech. fall Bryan Caves, 21-4. OU 29, CMU 11
Oklahoma, featuring a lineup with seven ranked wrestlers, picked up bonus points in four of its seven victories on Thursday in handing the Central Michigan wrestling team a 29-11 loss in the season opener before 1,340 at McGuirk Arena.
It was the largest crowd for a CMU home dual in recent memory, due in part to the fact that the opponent came in ranked 21st, the Chippewas have high expectations for the season, and the CMU marketing team and the university's graduate sports administration students combined to heavily promote the event.
"First, I want to thank the marketing team and the sports administration class," said Tom Borrelli, who is in his 33rd year in charge of the Chippewa program. "They did a great job of getting people here. I was really happy with the crowd, the excitement, the enthusiasm.
"I had one of our guys say to me, and he wasn't wrestling in the (meet), that he'd love to wrestle in this environment. … We've filled up (the) arena in the past and it's been nuts, an unbelievable environment, and we saw some of that again tonight."
Despite the loss, the crowd was treated to some exciting matches including CMU wins at 149 pounds (Corbyn Munson), 157 (Johnny Lovett) and 174 (Alex Cramer).
Munson, who is ranked 13th, took a 4-2 thriller from 15th-ranked Willie McDougald, while Lovett and Cramer both scored major-decision wins.
Munson broke a 1-1 tie with a three-point takedown with just 16 seconds remaining, catching McDougald in a double-leg at the edge of the mat in front of the Chippewa bench. It was the Chippewas' first victory of the night and it cut their deficit to 11-3.
"He took a step in the right direction tonight because he's got to learn how to win those matches," Borrelli said of Munson, a returning national qualifier. "Those are the people that he's got to beat to accomplish his goals."
Said Munson: "Credit to (McDougald). He's a good wrestler and he's pretty accomplished. I feel like I kind of went out flat, didn't get to my offense, kind of sat around and that's how I lost a lot of matches last year."
Munson's win brought the large crowd back into it, and it gave the Chippewas a shot of momentum.
Lovett followed at 157 – his new weight class, switching spots with Munson, who wrestled at 157 a year ago – taking a 17-6 victory.
Lovett, who is ranked 15th, recorded five takedowns in the match, three of which came in the first period. He wrestled aggressively throughout most of the match, scoring his final takedown with just 40 seconds remaining.
His win brought the Chippewas back within striking distance at 11-7.
"It's nice to see Johnny back at 157, he's back to himself," Borrelli said. "The thing with Johnny, he's very explosive and scores in spurts. All of his matches are kind of chippy. The (opponent) thinks that he's kind of got to beat Johnny up to beat him.
"He's just got to learn that if they're going to treat him like that, he's got to keep exploding. He did a pretty good job of that."
The 18th-ranked Cramer posted perhaps the biggest win of CMU's three on the night, a 16-5 major over 13th-ranked Tate Picklo.
Picklo took Cramer down in the first period, but Cramer scored a second-period takedown for a 7-5 lead. That takedown eventually resulted in a four-point near fall and then Cramer rolled from there.
"As an older guy on the team, a vet in some sense, it's important for me to set an example for some of the younger guys and I think the way I competed, it set a good example," Cramer said. "Hopefully some of the guys can take away from that that maybe it's not going to start out in your favor, but you just keep scoring and wrestling no matter what."
Despite dropping the dual, Borrelli saw plenty to the good, and plenty on which to build going forward. His Chippewas are slated to wrestle in the Michigan State Open on Saturday, Nov. 11.
"It was really good for us to wrestle a team of the caliber that we did today," he said. "They're a good team, they're going to better than people think they are.
"It really points out your flaws. In practice you're wrestling with the same guy all the time and you're the best guy, if you're starting, so you're kind of getting your way in practice all the time and maybe your flaws aren't pinpointed as much. We've got some film now and we can watch it and really help guys get better. They wrestled people that pointed out a lot of their mistakes.
"If our guys have the right attitude and take it the right way, it's going to make them tougher."
Oklahoma 29, Central Michigan 11
125: Conrad Hendriksen (O) dec. Sean Spidle, 9-5. OU 3, CMU 0
133: Jace Koelzer (O) tech. fall Vince Perez, 17-2, 6:03. OU 8, CMU 0
141: Mosha Schwartz (O) dec. Ja'Kerion Merritt, 9-5. OU 11, CMU 0
149: Corbyn Munson (C) dec. Willie McDougald, 4-2. OU 11, CMU 3
157: Johnny Lovett (C) major dec. John Wiley, 17-6. OU 11, CMU 7
165: Cael Carlson (O) major dec. Tracy Hubbard, 11-3. OU 15, CMU 7
174: Alex Cramer (C) major dec. Tate Picklo, 16-5. OU 15, CMU 11
184: Giuseppe Hoose (O) major dec. Cody Brenner, 13-2. OU 19, CMU 11
197: Stephen Buchanan (O) tech. fall Cameron Wood, 21-3. OU 24, CMU 11
285: Josh Heindselman (O) tech. fall Bryan Caves, 21-4. OU 29, CMU 11
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