Photo by: Justin Hoch | jhoch.com
Lovett, Cramer Bow Out of NCAA Championships
3/17/2023 4:22:00 PM | Wrestling
TULSA, Okla. – Central Michigan's Johnny Lovett and Alex Cramer bowed out of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday at BOK Center.
Lovett, wrestling at 149 pounds, fell, 5-3 in sudden victory, to Virginia Tech's Caleb Henson in an elimination match; Cramer (174) was eliminated on an 18-5 decision by Northwestern's Troy Fisher.
Both Lovett and Cramer finished 1-2 in the tournament. CMU's Corbyn Munson (157) was eliminated on Thursday after going 0-2.
CMU closed the season 6-10 in duals, won the Mid-American Conference West Division title, and finished second at the MAC Championships.
"Our program, we've improved by leaps and bounds this year from the first semester to the second semester, but we're just not quite ready for this yet," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "This tournament exposed some of our weaknesses and we really have to have a good spring, summer and fall and continue to improve to be able to compete on the level that we want to."
Lovett qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive season and Munson for the second. Cramer was competing in the national finals for the first time. He qualified in 2021 but did not compete because of an injury.
Cramer and Lovett are redshirt juniors, while Munson is a redshirt senior but can return next season because the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season did not count against his eligibility.
All three Chippewas lost their first-round matches on Friday. Cramer bounced back with a 7-5 victory over Cael Valencia of Arizona State, while Lovett defeated Isaiah Delgado of Utah Valley, 7-1.
Lovett, who was seeded 19th in the tournament, gave the fourth-seeded Henson all he could handle in his loss on Friday. Trailing 3-2, Lovett tied the match with a third-period escape.
Henson scored a takedown with 32 seconds remaining in the two-minute sudden-victory period to win the match. Henson fell into the wrestlebacks after he was upset by Indiana's Graham Rooks, the 20th seed, 5-4, on Thursday night.
Cramer, who was seeded 20th, fell behind early in his match with the 19th-seeded Fisher. Fisher scored two takedowns, a two-point near fall and then a four-point near fall in building a 10-1 first-period lead.
Lovett finished 21-11, while Cramer went 31-10. Both won their respective weight classes two weeks ago at the MAC Championships.
Munson placed fifth in the MAC Championships and then won a true-fourth challenge match to earn a spot in the national tournament. He finished 25-14.
"The experience is always worth something, but I think all three of those guys expected more out of themselves," Borrelli said. "After the disappointment, you have to analyze things and figure out what you have to do to improve. That's the only way to move forward. If you just dwell on it, you move backwards.
"Hopefully those guys can use the experience to move forward."
Lovett, wrestling at 149 pounds, fell, 5-3 in sudden victory, to Virginia Tech's Caleb Henson in an elimination match; Cramer (174) was eliminated on an 18-5 decision by Northwestern's Troy Fisher.
Both Lovett and Cramer finished 1-2 in the tournament. CMU's Corbyn Munson (157) was eliminated on Thursday after going 0-2.
CMU closed the season 6-10 in duals, won the Mid-American Conference West Division title, and finished second at the MAC Championships.
"Our program, we've improved by leaps and bounds this year from the first semester to the second semester, but we're just not quite ready for this yet," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "This tournament exposed some of our weaknesses and we really have to have a good spring, summer and fall and continue to improve to be able to compete on the level that we want to."
Lovett qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive season and Munson for the second. Cramer was competing in the national finals for the first time. He qualified in 2021 but did not compete because of an injury.
Cramer and Lovett are redshirt juniors, while Munson is a redshirt senior but can return next season because the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season did not count against his eligibility.
All three Chippewas lost their first-round matches on Friday. Cramer bounced back with a 7-5 victory over Cael Valencia of Arizona State, while Lovett defeated Isaiah Delgado of Utah Valley, 7-1.
Lovett, who was seeded 19th in the tournament, gave the fourth-seeded Henson all he could handle in his loss on Friday. Trailing 3-2, Lovett tied the match with a third-period escape.
Henson scored a takedown with 32 seconds remaining in the two-minute sudden-victory period to win the match. Henson fell into the wrestlebacks after he was upset by Indiana's Graham Rooks, the 20th seed, 5-4, on Thursday night.
Cramer, who was seeded 20th, fell behind early in his match with the 19th-seeded Fisher. Fisher scored two takedowns, a two-point near fall and then a four-point near fall in building a 10-1 first-period lead.
Lovett finished 21-11, while Cramer went 31-10. Both won their respective weight classes two weeks ago at the MAC Championships.
Munson placed fifth in the MAC Championships and then won a true-fourth challenge match to earn a spot in the national tournament. He finished 25-14.
"The experience is always worth something, but I think all three of those guys expected more out of themselves," Borrelli said. "After the disappointment, you have to analyze things and figure out what you have to do to improve. That's the only way to move forward. If you just dwell on it, you move backwards.
"Hopefully those guys can use the experience to move forward."
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