Saturday, March 4
Fairfax, Va.
11:30 a.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
Mid-American Conference Championships
CMU wrestling coach Tom Borrelli embraces senior Ben Cushman after Cushman's final match on Saturday at the Mid-American Conference Championships in Fairfax, Va.
Photo by: Scott Taetsch
2 Champions, 3 National Qualifiers, and a Team Runner-up Finish
3/4/2023 8:42:00 PM | Wrestling
FAIRFAX, Va. – Two champions, a much-deserved award for the highly respected coach, and an oh-so close second-place finish in the team standings.
Johnny Lovett and Alex Cramer captured individual titles, Tom Borrelli was named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, and the Central Michigan wrestlers finished second by a scant 2 ½ points on Saturday at the MAC Championships at George Mason's EagleBank Arena.
No, the Chippewas didn't get the team title they coveted, but there were plenty of shining moments, including the fact that three CMU wrestlers will compete in two weeks in the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
The Chippewas finished with 110 team points. Lock Haven finished with 112.5 to repeat as the conference champion. CMU was also second last season to the Bald Eagles.
"Our guys fought really hard to try to win a conference championship and if you look at the beginning of the year, I think the first poll we were picked to be 11th in the conference and we finished second, 2 ½ points out of first place," said CMU coach Tom Borrelli. "Our guys fought all year.
"There were times at the beginning of the year that I told our coaching staff I didn't think we were going to win a dual meet all year and we ended up winning (the MAC West) and we ended up making this tournament as close as it's been in a long time. I'm proud of those guys."
He should be.
Lovett Wins a Battle
Lovett, the fifth seed at 149 pounds, emerged with a 7-5 victory in an emotional title bout with George Mason's Nate Higley to finish 4-0 in the tournament and run his win streak to 12.
"That's not my mind set," Lovett said of capturing the crown after finishing second a year ago and third in 2021. "My mind set is the national title. Go back to work. I was happy that I was able to do it for my coaches because they're the ones that really believed in me."
Lovett moved down to 149 from 157 this season and he struggled early in the year. He has won 15 of his last 19 matches and is ranked 29th nationally by Intermat. He has qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive year.
"I'm really happy for Johnny," Borrelli said. "The first semester, he was questioning a lot of things and he pulled himself together, managed the weight."
Lovett never trailed against Higley, who was wrestling in his home gym before a raucous partisan crowd. The two scuffled off the mat late in the match with Lovett holding a slim 6-4 lead, and the Chippewa junior managed to keep his emotions in check and win the match.
"If you followed Johnny's time while he's been at Central, I don't know if he would have been able to handle that at a certain point in his career," Borrelli said. "His maturity's been really amazing."
Cramer: Steady, Dominant
Cramer, who was seeded No. 1, defeated Clarion's John Worthing, 4-1, in the 174-pound title bout. He finished the tournament 4-0 and has won 18 consecutive matches, improving to 30-8.
On Friday, Cramer opened the tournament with a 17-0 technical fall and then later won another match by pin in overtime.
"I think I kept my composure pretty well throughout this tournament and kept a level head about the whole thing," said Cramer, a redshirt junior who is ranked 32ndnationally. "I try not to let the pressure get to me and try to wrestle my match every time."
Said Borrelli: "He's probably the hardest worker on our team, and he's smart about it. He's not a go-go-go guy, but he's smart about when it's time to work and he knows how to get the job done. He's come a long way -- a long way.
"He's got just the right mentality for a great competitor. Wrestling's fun for him and that's the way you have to be. You can't put too much pressure on yourself."
Munson a 'Warrior'
Senior Corbyn Munson finished fifth at 157 pounds and qualified for the NCAA Championships when he defeated Buffalo's Michael Petite in a true-fourth match to claim the MAC's fourth and final spot in the nationals.
Munson, the No. 1 seed who is ranked 28th nationally, had perhaps the longest road to the nationals among any of the Chippewas who qualified.
He found himself behind the 8-ball after dropping a 6-3 decision to Ohio's Peyten Keller on Saturday. That left him in the fifth-place match with Cleveland State's Marcus Robinson.
Munson trailed Robinson, 6-1, but rallied for a 9-7 victory. He then scored a takedown with 25 seconds remaining to beat Buffalo's Petite.
"That's just a warrior," Borrelli said of Munson who, despite his senior status, has the option to return next season. "You've got to realize the ups and downs that he had to go through. He's the No. 1 seed, he gets knocked off, and then he gets beat again.
"I'm sure there were a lot of things going on in his mind, a lot of self doubt, and he had two really tough guys to beat (today) and he pulled off both of those matches and he was losing both of those matches late in the third period. Says a lot about Corbyn. He fought his tail off."
Special Award for Humble Coach
It marked the 14th time, and the first since 2020, that Borrelli has earned the MAC Coach of the Year Award in a brilliant 32-year career in charge of the Chippewa program.
"I think that's an award that says more, first about your team, but also your assistant coaches," said Borrelli, whose staff comprises three of his former wrestlers, Ben Bennett, Colin Heffernan and Matt Stencel. "Those guys put up with a lot. You've got to push people to be successful and you've got to have people who are willing to be pushed and the coaching staff works really hard, our kids work really hard, so it's more about them than it is me."
The dean of MAC wrestling coaches and one of the most highly respected mentors in the nation, Borrelli is 360-171-7 in duals during his time at CMU and 406-201-8 in a career that began at Lake Superior State in 1986.
"I'm happy for my coach," Lovett said. "He deserves it. He's the alpha and the omega. In my eyes he's the best coach there'll ever be. I'm thankful to be a part of this team and be a part of his roster."
Improvement Shows at MAC Championships
Borrelli's 2022-23 team may go down as one of his very best in terms of improvement from start to finish. The Chippewas started 0-5 in duals and finished 6-10 with five of those losses coming to teams ranked in the top 25 nationally, including No. 1 Penn State.
The Chippewas went 5-1 in MAC duals, claiming the MAC West crown.
Nine Chippewas placed in the top eight in their respective weight classes on Saturday at the MAC Championships. Bryan Caves (285) was third, Tracy Hubbard (157) was fourth, Vince Perez (133) was sixth, Ben Cushman (184) and Cameron Wood (197) were both seventh, and Sean Spidle (125) placed eighth.
Perez, Hubbard, Caves and Cushman along with Lovett placed above their respective seeds. Wood was unseeded.
"We pushed these guys really hard, especially after we came back from some disappointments at certain times of the year," Borrelli said. "You couldn't break them and believe me, we tried to break them. They responded, never had a bad attitude, and started believing in themselves.
"The guys on the team have to accept the level of work that it takes, and they've got to relish in the work and not be upset about the things that they have to do. And they were never like that."
• Caves, a freshman, won his final two matches via forfeit after defeating Kent State's Jacob Cover, 4-1, in his first bout on Saturday morning.
• Wood, a junior, defeated Blake Schaffer of Kent State, 8-7, in the seventh-place match. He opened on Saturday with a 3-2 loss to Cody Mulligan of Edinboro.
• Cushman, a senior wrestling for the final time in maroon and gold, topped Matt Zuber of Northern Illinois, 8-3, in the seventh-place match. Cushman opened on Saturday with a loss by pin to Malachi DuVall of George Mason.
• Hubbard, a senior who has the option to return next season, dropped a 5-4 decision to Lock Haven's Avery Bassett in the third-place match. Hubbard reached the third-place bout with a pin in 4:26 of SIUE's Cardy Wilson.
• Perez, a junior, lost, 10-5, to SIUE's Aaron Schulist in the fifth-place match. Perez opened on Saturday with a 10-6 win over Gio DiSabato of Ohio and then dropped an 8-2 decision to Jake Manley of Cleveland State.
• Spidle, a redshirt freshman, fell to Tyler Klinsky of Rider on a 14-10 decision in the seventh-place match. Spidle opened on Saturday with a 5-4 loss to Ben Aranda of Cleveland State.
Johnny Lovett and Alex Cramer captured individual titles, Tom Borrelli was named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, and the Central Michigan wrestlers finished second by a scant 2 ½ points on Saturday at the MAC Championships at George Mason's EagleBank Arena.
No, the Chippewas didn't get the team title they coveted, but there were plenty of shining moments, including the fact that three CMU wrestlers will compete in two weeks in the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
The Chippewas finished with 110 team points. Lock Haven finished with 112.5 to repeat as the conference champion. CMU was also second last season to the Bald Eagles.
"Our guys fought really hard to try to win a conference championship and if you look at the beginning of the year, I think the first poll we were picked to be 11th in the conference and we finished second, 2 ½ points out of first place," said CMU coach Tom Borrelli. "Our guys fought all year.
"There were times at the beginning of the year that I told our coaching staff I didn't think we were going to win a dual meet all year and we ended up winning (the MAC West) and we ended up making this tournament as close as it's been in a long time. I'm proud of those guys."
He should be.
Lovett Wins a Battle
Lovett, the fifth seed at 149 pounds, emerged with a 7-5 victory in an emotional title bout with George Mason's Nate Higley to finish 4-0 in the tournament and run his win streak to 12.
"That's not my mind set," Lovett said of capturing the crown after finishing second a year ago and third in 2021. "My mind set is the national title. Go back to work. I was happy that I was able to do it for my coaches because they're the ones that really believed in me."
Lovett moved down to 149 from 157 this season and he struggled early in the year. He has won 15 of his last 19 matches and is ranked 29th nationally by Intermat. He has qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive year.
"I'm really happy for Johnny," Borrelli said. "The first semester, he was questioning a lot of things and he pulled himself together, managed the weight."
Lovett never trailed against Higley, who was wrestling in his home gym before a raucous partisan crowd. The two scuffled off the mat late in the match with Lovett holding a slim 6-4 lead, and the Chippewa junior managed to keep his emotions in check and win the match.
"If you followed Johnny's time while he's been at Central, I don't know if he would have been able to handle that at a certain point in his career," Borrelli said. "His maturity's been really amazing."
Cramer: Steady, Dominant
Cramer, who was seeded No. 1, defeated Clarion's John Worthing, 4-1, in the 174-pound title bout. He finished the tournament 4-0 and has won 18 consecutive matches, improving to 30-8.
On Friday, Cramer opened the tournament with a 17-0 technical fall and then later won another match by pin in overtime.
"I think I kept my composure pretty well throughout this tournament and kept a level head about the whole thing," said Cramer, a redshirt junior who is ranked 32ndnationally. "I try not to let the pressure get to me and try to wrestle my match every time."
Said Borrelli: "He's probably the hardest worker on our team, and he's smart about it. He's not a go-go-go guy, but he's smart about when it's time to work and he knows how to get the job done. He's come a long way -- a long way.
"He's got just the right mentality for a great competitor. Wrestling's fun for him and that's the way you have to be. You can't put too much pressure on yourself."
Munson a 'Warrior'
Senior Corbyn Munson finished fifth at 157 pounds and qualified for the NCAA Championships when he defeated Buffalo's Michael Petite in a true-fourth match to claim the MAC's fourth and final spot in the nationals.
Munson, the No. 1 seed who is ranked 28th nationally, had perhaps the longest road to the nationals among any of the Chippewas who qualified.
He found himself behind the 8-ball after dropping a 6-3 decision to Ohio's Peyten Keller on Saturday. That left him in the fifth-place match with Cleveland State's Marcus Robinson.
Munson trailed Robinson, 6-1, but rallied for a 9-7 victory. He then scored a takedown with 25 seconds remaining to beat Buffalo's Petite.
"That's just a warrior," Borrelli said of Munson who, despite his senior status, has the option to return next season. "You've got to realize the ups and downs that he had to go through. He's the No. 1 seed, he gets knocked off, and then he gets beat again.
"I'm sure there were a lot of things going on in his mind, a lot of self doubt, and he had two really tough guys to beat (today) and he pulled off both of those matches and he was losing both of those matches late in the third period. Says a lot about Corbyn. He fought his tail off."
Special Award for Humble Coach
It marked the 14th time, and the first since 2020, that Borrelli has earned the MAC Coach of the Year Award in a brilliant 32-year career in charge of the Chippewa program.
"I think that's an award that says more, first about your team, but also your assistant coaches," said Borrelli, whose staff comprises three of his former wrestlers, Ben Bennett, Colin Heffernan and Matt Stencel. "Those guys put up with a lot. You've got to push people to be successful and you've got to have people who are willing to be pushed and the coaching staff works really hard, our kids work really hard, so it's more about them than it is me."
The dean of MAC wrestling coaches and one of the most highly respected mentors in the nation, Borrelli is 360-171-7 in duals during his time at CMU and 406-201-8 in a career that began at Lake Superior State in 1986.
"I'm happy for my coach," Lovett said. "He deserves it. He's the alpha and the omega. In my eyes he's the best coach there'll ever be. I'm thankful to be a part of this team and be a part of his roster."
Improvement Shows at MAC Championships
Borrelli's 2022-23 team may go down as one of his very best in terms of improvement from start to finish. The Chippewas started 0-5 in duals and finished 6-10 with five of those losses coming to teams ranked in the top 25 nationally, including No. 1 Penn State.
The Chippewas went 5-1 in MAC duals, claiming the MAC West crown.
Nine Chippewas placed in the top eight in their respective weight classes on Saturday at the MAC Championships. Bryan Caves (285) was third, Tracy Hubbard (157) was fourth, Vince Perez (133) was sixth, Ben Cushman (184) and Cameron Wood (197) were both seventh, and Sean Spidle (125) placed eighth.
Perez, Hubbard, Caves and Cushman along with Lovett placed above their respective seeds. Wood was unseeded.
"We pushed these guys really hard, especially after we came back from some disappointments at certain times of the year," Borrelli said. "You couldn't break them and believe me, we tried to break them. They responded, never had a bad attitude, and started believing in themselves.
"The guys on the team have to accept the level of work that it takes, and they've got to relish in the work and not be upset about the things that they have to do. And they were never like that."
• Caves, a freshman, won his final two matches via forfeit after defeating Kent State's Jacob Cover, 4-1, in his first bout on Saturday morning.
• Wood, a junior, defeated Blake Schaffer of Kent State, 8-7, in the seventh-place match. He opened on Saturday with a 3-2 loss to Cody Mulligan of Edinboro.
• Cushman, a senior wrestling for the final time in maroon and gold, topped Matt Zuber of Northern Illinois, 8-3, in the seventh-place match. Cushman opened on Saturday with a loss by pin to Malachi DuVall of George Mason.
• Hubbard, a senior who has the option to return next season, dropped a 5-4 decision to Lock Haven's Avery Bassett in the third-place match. Hubbard reached the third-place bout with a pin in 4:26 of SIUE's Cardy Wilson.
• Perez, a junior, lost, 10-5, to SIUE's Aaron Schulist in the fifth-place match. Perez opened on Saturday with a 10-6 win over Gio DiSabato of Ohio and then dropped an 8-2 decision to Jake Manley of Cleveland State.
• Spidle, a redshirt freshman, fell to Tyler Klinsky of Rider on a 14-10 decision in the seventh-place match. Spidle opened on Saturday with a 5-4 loss to Ben Aranda of Cleveland State.
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