Friday, November 15
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
16
vs
17
Indiana
CMU's Bryan Caves flexes after posting a 7-2 victory in his 285-pound match on Friday at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Wrestling Drops Season Opener, But Impresses Against Big Ten Foe
11/15/2024 10:41:00 PM | Wrestling
Youngsters fill in admirably as CMU wins five of final seven bouts; meet decided on tie-breaker criteria
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Two starters out and number of youngsters in the lineup.
And Central Michigan came close, oh so close, to knocking off Indiana in its season-opening wrestling dual in Ben Bennett's head coaching debut on Friday at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas and Hoosiers split the 10 matches, finishing with 16 points aside. The Hoosiers won the dual, 17-16, based on match points, 59-51.
True, it was a season-opening loss but considering the level of competition, the fact that CMU was missing two starters and had a number of inexperienced wrestlers in the lineup, and won five of the final seven matches, it felt more like a victory than anything else.
"We've got some depth and we've got some competition and these guys are pushing each other and they're making each other better," said Bennett, a longtime CMU assistant who succeeded legendary Tom Borrelli at the head of the program this season. "Sometimes those things happen; you get banged up and you can't wrestle, and you've got to be ready to fill in and compete and we some guys do that tonight."
Three Chippewas, redshirt freshmen Kaden Chinavare (125 pounds) and Kellan Aure (141) and true freshman Nick Blackburn (149), wrestled for the first time in a dual meet. Another, redshirt freshman Luke Cochran (197), wrestled in a dual for just the second time.
Indiana won the first three matches to seize a 9-0 lead.
Blackburn posted a 4-1 victory to kickstart the Chippewas. CMU then got wins from Johnny Lovett (157), Alex Cramer (174), Cochran, and Bryan Caves (285) to forge the 16-16 tie.
Six of Indiana's 10 wrestlers are ranked in the top 30 nationally in their respective weight classes by InterMat.
Blackburn filled in at 149 for starter Mason Shrader and got a takedown with just under a minute remaining to break a 1-1 tie.
"That's really hard to do as a true freshman, wrestling up a weight class, and go out there get it done," Bennett said. "I think it says a lot about his composure being able to handle the situation. That's really impressive. We had a situation where we needed him, and he stepped up."
Lovett and Cramer, both in their sixth year with the program and the Chippewa captains, controlled their respective matches from the opening whistle. Lovett, who is ranked 18th, won, 7-1; the 21st-ranked Cramer posted an impressive 12-3 major decision.
The wins by Lovett and Cramer cut Indiana's lead to 13-10.
"Those are the guys who kind of lead the way," Bennett said. "Those are the guys who are really close to breaking through and being All-Americans. They were both right there last year (at the NCAA Championships) and I think they both feel that they can be on the podium. You've got to have guys with those kinds of goals and those are our leaders and we like having those guys on the team."
Indiana extended its lead to 16-10 with a win at 184.
Cochran then topped 26th-ranked Gabe Sollars, 5-2, getting a takedown with under 30 seconds remaining. Caves got a first-period takedown and never trailed en route an impressive 7-2 victory over 22nd-ranked Jacob Bullock.
Cochran was pinned by Sollars twice last season, both times in the first period, and Caves had never beaten Bullock in three career matchups.
"Those last two guys had really, really big wins and that's going to help their confidence a lot," Bennett said. "(Cochran), when you wrestle a guy who's pinned you twice in the first period, you can go into that match kind of scared and nervous and worried about what's going to happen.
"He just went out there and competed and kept himself in the match and gave himself a chance to win. I think it just shows the work he's put in and the commitment he's made. In one year, he went from getting pinned twice to figuring out how to win the match and that's huge; that's pretty amazing.
"(Caves has) matured a lot. The biggest thing for him was getting himself in the right frame of mind and really believing in his abilities. We see him wrestling in the room and we know he can wrestle; it's just doing it when he comes out here on the mat. He's wrestling a guy he's never beaten before. He came out here and kept himself in the match and gave himself a chance to win.
"Not only that, it's even harder when the dual's on the line. That's a lot of pressure for anyone. He's just continued to improve, and I think he's really working on getting himself in the right frame of mind so he's ready to compete. It should give him some confidence going forward."
Indiana 17, Central Michigan 16
125: Jacob Moran (I) dec. Kaden Chinavare, 8-2; IU 3, CMU 0
133: Angelo Rini (I) dec. Sean Spidle, 13-6; IU 6, CMU 0
141: Henry Porter (I) dec. Kellen Aure, 8-3; IU 9, CMU 0
149: Nick Blackburn (C) dec. Anthony Bahl, 4-1; IU 9, CMU 3
157: Johnny Lovett (C) dec. Ryan Garvick, 7-1; IU 9, CMU 6
165: Ty Lillard (I) major dec. Chandler Amaker, 14-3; IU 13, CMU 6
174: Alex Cramer (C) major dec. Roman Rogotze, 12-3; IU 13, CMU 10
184: Donnell Washington (I) dec. Adrien Cramer, 7-2; IU 16, CMU 10
197: Luke Cochran (C) dec. Gabe Sollars, 5-2; IU 16, CMU 13
285: Bryan Caves (C) dec. Jacob Bullock, 7-2; CMU 16, IU 16
*Indiana awarded one team point based on the third tie-breaker criteria, combined points scored, 59-51.
And Central Michigan came close, oh so close, to knocking off Indiana in its season-opening wrestling dual in Ben Bennett's head coaching debut on Friday at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas and Hoosiers split the 10 matches, finishing with 16 points aside. The Hoosiers won the dual, 17-16, based on match points, 59-51.
True, it was a season-opening loss but considering the level of competition, the fact that CMU was missing two starters and had a number of inexperienced wrestlers in the lineup, and won five of the final seven matches, it felt more like a victory than anything else.
"We've got some depth and we've got some competition and these guys are pushing each other and they're making each other better," said Bennett, a longtime CMU assistant who succeeded legendary Tom Borrelli at the head of the program this season. "Sometimes those things happen; you get banged up and you can't wrestle, and you've got to be ready to fill in and compete and we some guys do that tonight."
Three Chippewas, redshirt freshmen Kaden Chinavare (125 pounds) and Kellan Aure (141) and true freshman Nick Blackburn (149), wrestled for the first time in a dual meet. Another, redshirt freshman Luke Cochran (197), wrestled in a dual for just the second time.
Indiana won the first three matches to seize a 9-0 lead.
Blackburn posted a 4-1 victory to kickstart the Chippewas. CMU then got wins from Johnny Lovett (157), Alex Cramer (174), Cochran, and Bryan Caves (285) to forge the 16-16 tie.
Six of Indiana's 10 wrestlers are ranked in the top 30 nationally in their respective weight classes by InterMat.
Blackburn filled in at 149 for starter Mason Shrader and got a takedown with just under a minute remaining to break a 1-1 tie.
"That's really hard to do as a true freshman, wrestling up a weight class, and go out there get it done," Bennett said. "I think it says a lot about his composure being able to handle the situation. That's really impressive. We had a situation where we needed him, and he stepped up."
Lovett and Cramer, both in their sixth year with the program and the Chippewa captains, controlled their respective matches from the opening whistle. Lovett, who is ranked 18th, won, 7-1; the 21st-ranked Cramer posted an impressive 12-3 major decision.
The wins by Lovett and Cramer cut Indiana's lead to 13-10.
"Those are the guys who kind of lead the way," Bennett said. "Those are the guys who are really close to breaking through and being All-Americans. They were both right there last year (at the NCAA Championships) and I think they both feel that they can be on the podium. You've got to have guys with those kinds of goals and those are our leaders and we like having those guys on the team."
Indiana extended its lead to 16-10 with a win at 184.
Cochran then topped 26th-ranked Gabe Sollars, 5-2, getting a takedown with under 30 seconds remaining. Caves got a first-period takedown and never trailed en route an impressive 7-2 victory over 22nd-ranked Jacob Bullock.
Cochran was pinned by Sollars twice last season, both times in the first period, and Caves had never beaten Bullock in three career matchups.
"Those last two guys had really, really big wins and that's going to help their confidence a lot," Bennett said. "(Cochran), when you wrestle a guy who's pinned you twice in the first period, you can go into that match kind of scared and nervous and worried about what's going to happen.
"He just went out there and competed and kept himself in the match and gave himself a chance to win. I think it just shows the work he's put in and the commitment he's made. In one year, he went from getting pinned twice to figuring out how to win the match and that's huge; that's pretty amazing.
"(Caves has) matured a lot. The biggest thing for him was getting himself in the right frame of mind and really believing in his abilities. We see him wrestling in the room and we know he can wrestle; it's just doing it when he comes out here on the mat. He's wrestling a guy he's never beaten before. He came out here and kept himself in the match and gave himself a chance to win.
"Not only that, it's even harder when the dual's on the line. That's a lot of pressure for anyone. He's just continued to improve, and I think he's really working on getting himself in the right frame of mind so he's ready to compete. It should give him some confidence going forward."
Indiana 17, Central Michigan 16
125: Jacob Moran (I) dec. Kaden Chinavare, 8-2; IU 3, CMU 0
133: Angelo Rini (I) dec. Sean Spidle, 13-6; IU 6, CMU 0
141: Henry Porter (I) dec. Kellen Aure, 8-3; IU 9, CMU 0
149: Nick Blackburn (C) dec. Anthony Bahl, 4-1; IU 9, CMU 3
157: Johnny Lovett (C) dec. Ryan Garvick, 7-1; IU 9, CMU 6
165: Ty Lillard (I) major dec. Chandler Amaker, 14-3; IU 13, CMU 6
174: Alex Cramer (C) major dec. Roman Rogotze, 12-3; IU 13, CMU 10
184: Donnell Washington (I) dec. Adrien Cramer, 7-2; IU 16, CMU 10
197: Luke Cochran (C) dec. Gabe Sollars, 5-2; IU 16, CMU 13
285: Bryan Caves (C) dec. Jacob Bullock, 7-2; CMU 16, IU 16
*Indiana awarded one team point based on the third tie-breaker criteria, combined points scored, 59-51.
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