Central Michigan University Athletics
Sunday, January 28
Edwardsville, Ill.
2 p.m. ET
Central Michigan University
22
at
12
SIUE
Cameron Wood's gritty overtime victory at 197 pounds proved critical in CMU's 22-12 MAC win on Sunday at SIU Edwardsville.
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Wrestlers Bounce Back With 22-12 Win at SIUE
1/28/2024 5:38:00 PM | Wrestling
Dramatic wins from Corbyn Munson (149) and Cameron Wood (197) key Chippewas' MAC victory
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Central Michigan scored bonus points in three of its six victories and got critical dramatic wins from Corbyn Munson and Cameron Wood on Sunday in topping SIU Edwardsville, 22-12, in a Mid-American Conference wrestling dual at the Cougars' First Community Arena.
The win set the Chippewas, who dropped a league dual at Northern Illinois on Saturday, back on track as they improved to 4-6, 2-1 MAC.
"(SIUE) didn't wrestle last weekend," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "They had 14 days to get ready for us. There was a lot going against us in both dual meets and we kind of set it up that way. We wanted to make it hard on our guys, to have to make weight back-to-back days."
All of which should pay off in the long run for the Chippewas, who head into the final month of the regular season with back-to-back home meets, Feb. 4 and Feb. 11, against MAC rivals Ohio and Buffalo, respectively.
CMU got a technical fall win from Alex Cramer (174) and major-decision victories from Johnny Lovett (157) and Bryan Caves (285) in downing the Cougars (5-3, 3-2), who won four matches, one in sudden victory and none by more than three points.
With the Chippewas trailing 6-3 after three bouts, Munson (149 pounds) helped turned the tide with a come-from-behind 6-4 win over Caleb Tyus.
Munson, who is ranked eighth in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll and first in the MAC, trailed 4-1 in the third period and then got an escape to cut it to 4-2. He drew to 4-3 when Tyus was called for stalling, and then Munson scored a takedown with under 2 seconds left for the winning points.
It was Munson's second tight victory over Tyus this season. The first came at the Midlands Championships, where Munson posted a 6-3 sudden victory. Tyus is ranked 17th nationally and third in the MAC.
"Corbyn fighting back the way he did – (Tyus) is pretty hard to catch, pretty hard to get to, he's a good wrestler," Borrelli said. "Corbyn probably took 10 shots in 30 seconds; it was a huge win for him. I haven't seen our bench that excited in a long time."
Munson's win tied the dual, 6-6, and then Lovett followed with his ninth major of the season to up CMU's lead to 10-6. The Chippewas would never relinquish the lead, but they could never get comfortable, either.
SIUE drew to 10-9 with a victory at 165, and then Cramer posted a 19-3 tech fall – his second of the weekend and his fifth consecutive bonus-point victory – at 174 to extend CMU's lead to 15-9.
The Cougars drew to 15-12 with an overtime win at 184, setting the stage for Wood, a redshirt sophomore.
Wood trailed Ryan Yarnell, 3-2, to start the third period. Wood started the period on top and never left, grinding out the riding-time point to knot the match, 3-3.
The patient Wood scored a takedown 90 seconds into the two-minute sudden-victory period to score the dramatic win and give the Chippewas some breathing room at 18-12.
"I told Cam before he walked out on the mat, 'You ready to be the hero today?' and he said, 'Yep,' and he went out and did what he needed to do," Borrelli said, adding that for a wrestler to ride out the entire third period was "all grit.
"(Yarnell) was almost out two or three times and Cam was tough enough to knock him back down. You've got to match that intensity when you know he's going to sprint a little bit. This was (SIUE's) last home match and (Yarnell is) a senior and Cam was savvy enough to figure out how to win the match."
In the final bout of the dual, Caves needed only to avoid being pinned to give the Chippewas the victory. Instead, he was aggressive right from the hop, getting a takedown and then a two-point near fall in the first period for a 5-0 lead. He added another takedown and another two-point near fall in the second.
It was Caves' second major of the season. His first came a week ago in a dual victory over Edinboro.
CMU's other victory came in the opening bout (125), as Sean Spidle posted a workmanlike 4-0 victory.
Central Michigan 22, SIUE 12
125: Sean Spidle (C) dec. Davian Guanajuato, 4-0, CMU 3, SIUE 0
133: Marcel Lopez (SIUE) dec. Andrew Austin, 5-2, CMU 3, SIUE 3
141: Eric Almarinez (SIUE) dec. Jimmy Nugent, 8-6, SIUE 6, CMU 3
149: Corbyn Munson (C) dec. Caleb Tyus, 6-4, CMU 6, SIUE 6
157: Johnny Lovett (C) major dec. Brock Woodcock, 15-2, CMU 10, SIUE 6
165: Bradley Gillum (SIUE) dec. Tracy Hubbard, 5-3, CMU 10, SIUE 9
174: Alex Cramer (C) tech. fall Dom Lopez, 19-3, 5:43, CMU 15, SIUE 9
184: Deron Pulliam (SIUE) dec. Cody Brenner, 4-1, SV-1, CMU 15, SIUE 12
197: Cameron Wood (C) dec. Ryan Yarnell, 6-3, SV-1, CMU 18, SIUE 12
285: Bryan Caves (C) major dec. Bryson Buhk, 11-0, CMU 22, SIUE 12
The win set the Chippewas, who dropped a league dual at Northern Illinois on Saturday, back on track as they improved to 4-6, 2-1 MAC.
"(SIUE) didn't wrestle last weekend," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "They had 14 days to get ready for us. There was a lot going against us in both dual meets and we kind of set it up that way. We wanted to make it hard on our guys, to have to make weight back-to-back days."
All of which should pay off in the long run for the Chippewas, who head into the final month of the regular season with back-to-back home meets, Feb. 4 and Feb. 11, against MAC rivals Ohio and Buffalo, respectively.
CMU got a technical fall win from Alex Cramer (174) and major-decision victories from Johnny Lovett (157) and Bryan Caves (285) in downing the Cougars (5-3, 3-2), who won four matches, one in sudden victory and none by more than three points.
With the Chippewas trailing 6-3 after three bouts, Munson (149 pounds) helped turned the tide with a come-from-behind 6-4 win over Caleb Tyus.
Munson, who is ranked eighth in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll and first in the MAC, trailed 4-1 in the third period and then got an escape to cut it to 4-2. He drew to 4-3 when Tyus was called for stalling, and then Munson scored a takedown with under 2 seconds left for the winning points.
It was Munson's second tight victory over Tyus this season. The first came at the Midlands Championships, where Munson posted a 6-3 sudden victory. Tyus is ranked 17th nationally and third in the MAC.
"Corbyn fighting back the way he did – (Tyus) is pretty hard to catch, pretty hard to get to, he's a good wrestler," Borrelli said. "Corbyn probably took 10 shots in 30 seconds; it was a huge win for him. I haven't seen our bench that excited in a long time."
Munson's win tied the dual, 6-6, and then Lovett followed with his ninth major of the season to up CMU's lead to 10-6. The Chippewas would never relinquish the lead, but they could never get comfortable, either.
SIUE drew to 10-9 with a victory at 165, and then Cramer posted a 19-3 tech fall – his second of the weekend and his fifth consecutive bonus-point victory – at 174 to extend CMU's lead to 15-9.
The Cougars drew to 15-12 with an overtime win at 184, setting the stage for Wood, a redshirt sophomore.
Wood trailed Ryan Yarnell, 3-2, to start the third period. Wood started the period on top and never left, grinding out the riding-time point to knot the match, 3-3.
The patient Wood scored a takedown 90 seconds into the two-minute sudden-victory period to score the dramatic win and give the Chippewas some breathing room at 18-12.
"I told Cam before he walked out on the mat, 'You ready to be the hero today?' and he said, 'Yep,' and he went out and did what he needed to do," Borrelli said, adding that for a wrestler to ride out the entire third period was "all grit.
"(Yarnell) was almost out two or three times and Cam was tough enough to knock him back down. You've got to match that intensity when you know he's going to sprint a little bit. This was (SIUE's) last home match and (Yarnell is) a senior and Cam was savvy enough to figure out how to win the match."
In the final bout of the dual, Caves needed only to avoid being pinned to give the Chippewas the victory. Instead, he was aggressive right from the hop, getting a takedown and then a two-point near fall in the first period for a 5-0 lead. He added another takedown and another two-point near fall in the second.
It was Caves' second major of the season. His first came a week ago in a dual victory over Edinboro.
CMU's other victory came in the opening bout (125), as Sean Spidle posted a workmanlike 4-0 victory.
Central Michigan 22, SIUE 12
125: Sean Spidle (C) dec. Davian Guanajuato, 4-0, CMU 3, SIUE 0
133: Marcel Lopez (SIUE) dec. Andrew Austin, 5-2, CMU 3, SIUE 3
141: Eric Almarinez (SIUE) dec. Jimmy Nugent, 8-6, SIUE 6, CMU 3
149: Corbyn Munson (C) dec. Caleb Tyus, 6-4, CMU 6, SIUE 6
157: Johnny Lovett (C) major dec. Brock Woodcock, 15-2, CMU 10, SIUE 6
165: Bradley Gillum (SIUE) dec. Tracy Hubbard, 5-3, CMU 10, SIUE 9
174: Alex Cramer (C) tech. fall Dom Lopez, 19-3, 5:43, CMU 15, SIUE 9
184: Deron Pulliam (SIUE) dec. Cody Brenner, 4-1, SV-1, CMU 15, SIUE 12
197: Cameron Wood (C) dec. Ryan Yarnell, 6-3, SV-1, CMU 18, SIUE 12
285: Bryan Caves (C) major dec. Bryson Buhk, 11-0, CMU 22, SIUE 12
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