Sunday, February 5
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
2 p.m.
Central Michigan University
22
vs
15
Kent State
CMU's Johnny Lovett control's Kent State's Kody Komara during their 149-pound match on Sunday at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Wrestlers Deliver When It Counts in Downing Kent State
2/5/2023 5:05:00 PM | Wrestling
CMU improves to 4-1 in MAC duals
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Battling illness, the Central Michigan wrestling team had to dig deep.
The Chippewas delivered, winning three of the final four matches and six total on Sunday in downing Kent State, 22-15, in a Mid-American Conference dual at McGuirk Arena.
It was the Chippewas' fourth consecutive MAC dual victory as they improved to 4-1 in the league. They can win the MAC West title with a victory next weekend at Buffalo.
"It was a real big win considering everything we have going on right now," said CMU coach Tom Borrelli, whose team is 5-8 overall. "Our starting heavyweight (Bryan Caves) was in the hospital two days ago, our 157-pounder (Corbyn Munson) is really sick right now.
"We've been fighting the flu bug a little bit and it was good to fight through some adversity and be able to win. The biggest thing for us right now is getting healthy, getting over the flu. We might need to take a couple days to make sure everybody's OK to get right back into training."
Sunday's dual started at 165 pounds and Tracy Hubbard got the Chippewas off to a fast start with a first-period pin, staking CMU to a 6-0 lead. Those six team points proved critical as the day unfolded.
CMU got decision victories from Alex Cramer (174) and Ben Cushman (184) before falling at 197 and at 285, where backup Simon Lato filled in for Caves, the starter.
That left CMU leading 12-6 heading into the second half of the dual.
Junior Sean Spidle posted a 15-12 upset of Jake Ferri at 125. Ferri, a graduate student, is ranked 27thnationally.
After Kent State won at 133 to draw to 15-9, the Chippewas got a dramatic 11-6 win at 141 from senior Mason Breece and then a 10-1 major decision from Johnny Lovett at 149.
Lovett defeated defending MAC champion Kody Komara to give the Chippewas an insurmountable 22-9 lead which enabled the ill Munson – ranked No. 2 in the MAC – to forfeit at 157.
Hubbard's pin came against 33rd-ranked Enrique Munguia. Hubbard was trailing, 2-0, before reversing Munguia and then pinning him as the buzzer sounded to end the first period. Not only did Hubbard's pin give the Chippewas a shot of early momentum, but the bonus points proved critical.
"That was a huge pin for us," Borrelli said. "Without those extra three points I don't know if we could have forfeited at 157. The whole team came together there."
Spidle survived against Ferri, who rallied in the third period with several takedowns. Ferri is 14-6 and ranked fourth in the MAC; Spidle (8-11) is ranked eighth.
"Spidle beat a really good kid," Borrelli said. "(Spidle's) been snakebit a little bit all year. He's had some injury issues and he's lost a ton of one-point matches. He's been in every match, and he figured out how to gut one out. That was probably the toughest kid that he's beaten. He's developing and he's maturing."
Breece (5-3) has also had his share of injury issues and made his season dual debut last week at Ohio. He trailed Louis Newell, 6-5, entering the third period and then got a takedown and a four-point near fall to pull out the victory. Cushman, at 184, won in overtime.
"That's what we train for; we've been training to have good third periods," Borrelli said. "We tell our guys it takes about 4 ½ minutes for (an opponent) to get tired. A wrestling match is 7 minutes long. So when a guy gets tired, you've got about 3 minutes, 2 ½ minutes, to really push him over the edge and you saw it a little bit in (Breece's) match."
Central Michigan 22, Kent State 15
125 pounds: Sean Spidle (C) dec. Jake Ferri, 15-12
133: Matt Ellis (K) dec. Vince Perez, 5-3
141: Mason Breece (C) dec. Louis Newell, 11-6
149: Johnny Lovett (C) major dec. Kody Komara, 10-1
157: Keegan Kemp (K) won by forfeit
165: Tracy Hubbard (C) pinned Enrique Munguia, 3:00
174: Alex Cramer (C) dec. Michael Ferree, 9-6
184: Ben Cushman (C) dec. Tyler Bates, 4-2, SV-1
197: Blake Schaffer (K) dec. Cameron Wood, 7-3
285: Jacob Cover (K) dec. Simon Lato, 3-0
The Chippewas delivered, winning three of the final four matches and six total on Sunday in downing Kent State, 22-15, in a Mid-American Conference dual at McGuirk Arena.
It was the Chippewas' fourth consecutive MAC dual victory as they improved to 4-1 in the league. They can win the MAC West title with a victory next weekend at Buffalo.
"It was a real big win considering everything we have going on right now," said CMU coach Tom Borrelli, whose team is 5-8 overall. "Our starting heavyweight (Bryan Caves) was in the hospital two days ago, our 157-pounder (Corbyn Munson) is really sick right now.
"We've been fighting the flu bug a little bit and it was good to fight through some adversity and be able to win. The biggest thing for us right now is getting healthy, getting over the flu. We might need to take a couple days to make sure everybody's OK to get right back into training."
Sunday's dual started at 165 pounds and Tracy Hubbard got the Chippewas off to a fast start with a first-period pin, staking CMU to a 6-0 lead. Those six team points proved critical as the day unfolded.
CMU got decision victories from Alex Cramer (174) and Ben Cushman (184) before falling at 197 and at 285, where backup Simon Lato filled in for Caves, the starter.
That left CMU leading 12-6 heading into the second half of the dual.
Junior Sean Spidle posted a 15-12 upset of Jake Ferri at 125. Ferri, a graduate student, is ranked 27thnationally.
After Kent State won at 133 to draw to 15-9, the Chippewas got a dramatic 11-6 win at 141 from senior Mason Breece and then a 10-1 major decision from Johnny Lovett at 149.
Lovett defeated defending MAC champion Kody Komara to give the Chippewas an insurmountable 22-9 lead which enabled the ill Munson – ranked No. 2 in the MAC – to forfeit at 157.
Hubbard's pin came against 33rd-ranked Enrique Munguia. Hubbard was trailing, 2-0, before reversing Munguia and then pinning him as the buzzer sounded to end the first period. Not only did Hubbard's pin give the Chippewas a shot of early momentum, but the bonus points proved critical.
"That was a huge pin for us," Borrelli said. "Without those extra three points I don't know if we could have forfeited at 157. The whole team came together there."
Spidle survived against Ferri, who rallied in the third period with several takedowns. Ferri is 14-6 and ranked fourth in the MAC; Spidle (8-11) is ranked eighth.
"Spidle beat a really good kid," Borrelli said. "(Spidle's) been snakebit a little bit all year. He's had some injury issues and he's lost a ton of one-point matches. He's been in every match, and he figured out how to gut one out. That was probably the toughest kid that he's beaten. He's developing and he's maturing."
Breece (5-3) has also had his share of injury issues and made his season dual debut last week at Ohio. He trailed Louis Newell, 6-5, entering the third period and then got a takedown and a four-point near fall to pull out the victory. Cushman, at 184, won in overtime.
"That's what we train for; we've been training to have good third periods," Borrelli said. "We tell our guys it takes about 4 ½ minutes for (an opponent) to get tired. A wrestling match is 7 minutes long. So when a guy gets tired, you've got about 3 minutes, 2 ½ minutes, to really push him over the edge and you saw it a little bit in (Breece's) match."
Central Michigan 22, Kent State 15
125 pounds: Sean Spidle (C) dec. Jake Ferri, 15-12
133: Matt Ellis (K) dec. Vince Perez, 5-3
141: Mason Breece (C) dec. Louis Newell, 11-6
149: Johnny Lovett (C) major dec. Kody Komara, 10-1
157: Keegan Kemp (K) won by forfeit
165: Tracy Hubbard (C) pinned Enrique Munguia, 3:00
174: Alex Cramer (C) dec. Michael Ferree, 9-6
184: Ben Cushman (C) dec. Tyler Bates, 4-2, SV-1
197: Blake Schaffer (K) dec. Cameron Wood, 7-3
285: Jacob Cover (K) dec. Simon Lato, 3-0
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