Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, December 30
Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Noon/7:05 p.m.
Central Michigan University
at
Midlands Championships
Photo by: Sam Janicki
4 Placers and Big-Time Improvement for CMU Wrestlers at Midlands
12/30/2023 11:12:00 PM | Wrestling
Munson, Lovett, Nugent, Cramer place in rugged two-day, 30-team tournament
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Four Central Michigan wrestlers placed on Saturday during the second and final day of the prestigious Midlands Championships at NOW Arena.
CMU's Corbyn Munson (149 pounds) finished fourth, Johnny Lovett (157) placed fifth, Jimmy Nugent (141) was sixth, and Alex Cramer (174) finished seventh to lead the Chippewas, who finished sixth with 74 points in the 30-team field.
It tied for the Chippewas' best team finish in the long-running tournament since 2017, when they were third and had five placers. In 2019, the Chippewas also placed sixth and had four placers.
"We made a huge improvement from last year in this tournament," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "Last year we had one placer, and that was Alex Cramer who took fifth.
"That's a positive. We were in position to do better as a team and we're a little frustrated with that, but we also know that we did a lot better than we did last year. You've got to take the improvement, be happy with the improvement, but realize the potential is there to do more."
It was the first time the Chippewas have competed in a two-day tournament this season, and it's a very good learning tool, Borrelli said.
"The MAC Tournament's a two-day tournament, the NCAA Tournament is a three-day tournament," he said, "so that's another thing that we have to improve on, understanding how to make it through the first day and still be able to manage your weight, make weight the second day, and have the energy to wrestle matches maybe after you've been disappointed. We've got to get better at those things."
Both Munson and Lovett finished 5-2 in the grueling, two-day tournament. Both entered Saturday having gone 4-0 on Friday and then dropped their championship-bracket semifinal matches.
Munson, who was seeded third and is ranked 14th nationally, was pinned in the third period by 19th-ranked Ty Watters of West Virginia, the seventh seed.
"There were some real bright spots and there are some things we've got to improve on," Borrelli said of Munson, a graduate student. "In the semifinals, it looks like he got beat bad because he got pinned. But he was in on two shots (early) that if he finishes those shots, he probably wins that match.
"He was really disappointed after the semifinals because he had a chance to make the finals, but he came back and fought himself into the third-place match. That's a positive."
Munson bounced back with a dramatic 5-3 win over Cross Wasilewski of Penn RTC. Munson scored a takedown with about 20 seconds remaining to break a 2-2 tie. He then fell in the third-place match, 6-2, to Kannon Webster of Illinois, the No. 2 seed.
Lovett, who was seeded seventh and is ranked 26th nationally, lost in the semifinals, 2-1, to third-seeded and 14th-ranked Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern. The match went to the second tie-breaker period during which Chumbley recorded an escape for what proved to be the winning point.
Lovett then dropped his next match, again in the second tie-breaker, to George Mason's DJ McGee, 3-2. McGee is ranked 28th nationally and was seeded ninth.
That loss left Lovett in the fifth-place match, where he outlasted 12th-seeded Colton Washleski of Rider, 10-7. Lovett scored bonus points in three of his four wins on Friday.
"In the matches that he won, he wrestled really well," Borrelli said of Lovett, a redshirt senior. "The two matches that he lost, that went to tie-breakers, he could have done more in those matches to not allow them to go to the tie-breaker.
"It's really tough when you lose a close match in the semifinals and then to come back and try to get back up again for a consolation match right after that because you're really disappointed and you feel like you should have been in the final.
"And now you've got to wrestle a consolation match to see whether you're going to wrestle for third and fourth or fifth and sixth and the other guy's been winning through the consolation bracket so he's on a high and you're on a low. That's really difficult. It takes a lot of maturity and grit to do that.
"Our whole team has to get better at bouncing back from disappointment."
Nugent, who was unseeded, was one of CMU's pleasant surprises of the tournament. The sophomore who backs up starter Ja'Kerion Merritt at 141, went 3-0 with two pins on Friday to reach Saturday's semifinals, where he was to face top-seeded and 11th-ranked CJ Composto of Penn.
Nugent took a medical forfeit against Composto and then took a medical forfeit against third-seeded Danny Pucino of Illinois in the fifth-place match.
"He had a great first day," Borrelli said of Nugent. "You couldn't have asked for more of him the first day."
Cramer, who is ranked 18th and was seeded fifth, went 2-1 on Friday to fall into the consolation bracket. On Saturday, he opened with a 6-3 win over Noah Fox of Franklin & Marshall and then dropped a 4-3 decision to eighth-seeded Max Mayler of Wisconsin.
Cramer was then awarded the seventh-place match when third-seeded Adam Kemp of Cal Poly took a medical forfeit.
"He's real steady," Borrelli said of Cramer, a redshirt senior. "He has some things he has to improve on too. He's got to improve on how he gets his hands on people, not reaching too much for people, not over pursuing. His aggressiveness gets him in trouble sometimes and he's got to improve on that, but you're going to get everything he's got in every match, which is all you can ask."
Two other Chippewas, Sean Spidle (125) and Tracy Hubbard (165), who were still alive in their respective consolation brackets on Saturday, did not place.
The 10th-seeded Spidle dropped a 4-3 decision to Michigan State's Tristan Lujan, the ninth seed. Hubbard fell, 4-3, to Michigan's Beau Mantanona, the ninth seed.
CMU's Corbyn Munson (149 pounds) finished fourth, Johnny Lovett (157) placed fifth, Jimmy Nugent (141) was sixth, and Alex Cramer (174) finished seventh to lead the Chippewas, who finished sixth with 74 points in the 30-team field.
It tied for the Chippewas' best team finish in the long-running tournament since 2017, when they were third and had five placers. In 2019, the Chippewas also placed sixth and had four placers.
"We made a huge improvement from last year in this tournament," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "Last year we had one placer, and that was Alex Cramer who took fifth.
"That's a positive. We were in position to do better as a team and we're a little frustrated with that, but we also know that we did a lot better than we did last year. You've got to take the improvement, be happy with the improvement, but realize the potential is there to do more."
It was the first time the Chippewas have competed in a two-day tournament this season, and it's a very good learning tool, Borrelli said.
"The MAC Tournament's a two-day tournament, the NCAA Tournament is a three-day tournament," he said, "so that's another thing that we have to improve on, understanding how to make it through the first day and still be able to manage your weight, make weight the second day, and have the energy to wrestle matches maybe after you've been disappointed. We've got to get better at those things."
Both Munson and Lovett finished 5-2 in the grueling, two-day tournament. Both entered Saturday having gone 4-0 on Friday and then dropped their championship-bracket semifinal matches.
Munson, who was seeded third and is ranked 14th nationally, was pinned in the third period by 19th-ranked Ty Watters of West Virginia, the seventh seed.
"There were some real bright spots and there are some things we've got to improve on," Borrelli said of Munson, a graduate student. "In the semifinals, it looks like he got beat bad because he got pinned. But he was in on two shots (early) that if he finishes those shots, he probably wins that match.
"He was really disappointed after the semifinals because he had a chance to make the finals, but he came back and fought himself into the third-place match. That's a positive."
Munson bounced back with a dramatic 5-3 win over Cross Wasilewski of Penn RTC. Munson scored a takedown with about 20 seconds remaining to break a 2-2 tie. He then fell in the third-place match, 6-2, to Kannon Webster of Illinois, the No. 2 seed.
Lovett, who was seeded seventh and is ranked 26th nationally, lost in the semifinals, 2-1, to third-seeded and 14th-ranked Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern. The match went to the second tie-breaker period during which Chumbley recorded an escape for what proved to be the winning point.
Lovett then dropped his next match, again in the second tie-breaker, to George Mason's DJ McGee, 3-2. McGee is ranked 28th nationally and was seeded ninth.
That loss left Lovett in the fifth-place match, where he outlasted 12th-seeded Colton Washleski of Rider, 10-7. Lovett scored bonus points in three of his four wins on Friday.
"In the matches that he won, he wrestled really well," Borrelli said of Lovett, a redshirt senior. "The two matches that he lost, that went to tie-breakers, he could have done more in those matches to not allow them to go to the tie-breaker.
"It's really tough when you lose a close match in the semifinals and then to come back and try to get back up again for a consolation match right after that because you're really disappointed and you feel like you should have been in the final.
"And now you've got to wrestle a consolation match to see whether you're going to wrestle for third and fourth or fifth and sixth and the other guy's been winning through the consolation bracket so he's on a high and you're on a low. That's really difficult. It takes a lot of maturity and grit to do that.
"Our whole team has to get better at bouncing back from disappointment."
Nugent, who was unseeded, was one of CMU's pleasant surprises of the tournament. The sophomore who backs up starter Ja'Kerion Merritt at 141, went 3-0 with two pins on Friday to reach Saturday's semifinals, where he was to face top-seeded and 11th-ranked CJ Composto of Penn.
Nugent took a medical forfeit against Composto and then took a medical forfeit against third-seeded Danny Pucino of Illinois in the fifth-place match.
"He had a great first day," Borrelli said of Nugent. "You couldn't have asked for more of him the first day."
Cramer, who is ranked 18th and was seeded fifth, went 2-1 on Friday to fall into the consolation bracket. On Saturday, he opened with a 6-3 win over Noah Fox of Franklin & Marshall and then dropped a 4-3 decision to eighth-seeded Max Mayler of Wisconsin.
Cramer was then awarded the seventh-place match when third-seeded Adam Kemp of Cal Poly took a medical forfeit.
"He's real steady," Borrelli said of Cramer, a redshirt senior. "He has some things he has to improve on too. He's got to improve on how he gets his hands on people, not reaching too much for people, not over pursuing. His aggressiveness gets him in trouble sometimes and he's got to improve on that, but you're going to get everything he's got in every match, which is all you can ask."
Two other Chippewas, Sean Spidle (125) and Tracy Hubbard (165), who were still alive in their respective consolation brackets on Saturday, did not place.
The 10th-seeded Spidle dropped a 4-3 decision to Michigan State's Tristan Lujan, the ninth seed. Hubbard fell, 4-3, to Michigan's Beau Mantanona, the ninth seed.
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