Central Michigan University Athletics
Sunday, February 11
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
2 p.m.
Central Michigan University
28
vs
5
Buffalo
CMU sophomore Tyler Swiderski posted a 14-4 major decision victory on Sunday in the Chippewas win over Buffalo at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Fast Start, Strong Finish: Wrestlers Win 3rd Straight, Improve to 4-1 MAC With Victory Over Buffalo
2/11/2024 5:45:00 PM | Wrestling
Chippewas can claim MAC West title share next weekend with two road wins
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Great start and a strong finish.
In between, a number of grind-it-out decision victories.
Sean Spidle (125 pounds), Tyler Swiderski (165) and Bryan Caves (285) scored bonus-point victories as the Central Michigan wrestling team won eight matches on Sunday in downing Buffalo, 28-5, in a Mid-American Conference dual at McGuirk Arena.
It was the Chippewas' third consecutive victory and their sixth in their last eight. They improved to 6-6, 4-1 MAC and can win a share of the MAC West title, their third straight, with dual wins next weekend at Kent State and at Clarion. Buffalo is 9-12, 4-3.
"We just want to keep getting better, keep improving," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "We're more concerned about that than anything else."
Spidle and Swiderski won via major decision and Caves posted a technical fall in the final bout of the day. It was Spidle's second straight bonus-point win and his third consecutive victory overall. He has won four of his last five, improving to 11-8.
"In dual meets, momentum's huge so it's always good in dual meets to have a good 125-pounder and a good heavyweight," Borrelli said. "Start fast and finish strong. That's important."
The Chippewas' other five wins came on decisions, most of them relatively close against scrappy opponents.
"Buffalo's real physical and they don't try to score a lot," Borrelli said. "They try to get in your head and push you around and have you make mistakes. It's hard to wrestle people like that especially when they're clubbing you in the head and then they're backing up. Our guys did a pretty good job of handling that, but it's a tough style to wrestle.
"It was good for us to wrestle a team that wrestles this style, it really was, because there's a lot of things we need to work on to be a little bit better."
The Chippewas' decision victories came from Jimmy Nugent (141), Corbyn Munson (149), Johnny Lovett (157), Alex Cramer (174) and Adrien Cramer (184).
Munson held on for a 5-4 win, his eighth straight, as he improved to a team-best 22-4. Alex Cramer (19-7) won, 3-2, on the second tie-breaker with a scant 3-second riding-time advantage for his seventh consecutive win and his second straight in overtime.
"You have to have a lot of composure to win a match like Alex won," Borrelli said.
Swiderski, a redshirt sophomore who is unranked in the MAC, bounced back from a 1-0 loss a week ago in the Chippewas' dual with Ohio. He posted three takedowns in defeating Buffalo senior Hunter Shaut, who is ranked seventh in the MAC.
It was Swiderski's eighth win in his last 13 matches as he improved to 12-10.
"I really feel like (Swiderski) is probably one of the best pure wrestlers in our program," Borrelli said. "He just needs to keep building his confidence more than anything and something like today will help."
Caves, a redshirt sophomore, continued his surge, winning his third consecutive match and his fourth in his last five matches. He pinned his opponent last week in the dual with Ohio and his tech fall on Sunday was his first of the season as he improved to 9-11 with five of his losses coming to ranked wrestlers.
"It comes down to having faith in the coaches," Caves said. "I trust those guys; if they told me to jump through a building, I'd jump through a building; jump off a bridge? I'd do it. You've really got to trust those guys and believe in what they're telling you.
"Practices have changed a little bit. Coach Borrelli told us, 'We're going to be really tough guys; we're not going to take it easy on your guys; practices are going to get real hard. If you want to do this, then do it 100 percent.' That really clicked with me … I'm going to love every second of it and it's going to pay off."
It's also clearly helped Caves that he works out daily with volunteer assistant coach Matt Stencel, one of the all-time Chippewa greats and a two-time All-American who won a record five MAC championships as a heavyweight from 2018-22.
"I think it's just my confidence and my mindset," Caves said. "These real hard practices that coach is putting us through, getting beat up for hours on end, wrestling Matt Stencel – in the moment it sucks, but you've got to look at it like, I'm getting so tough."
Central Michigan 28, Buffalo 5
125: Sean Spidle (C) major dec. Max Elton, 14-3, CMU 4, Buffalo 0
133: Tommy Maddox (B) dec. Vince Perez, 9-2, CMU 4, Buffalo 3
141: Jimmy Nugent (C) dec. Sam Ewing, 7-3, CMU 7, Buffalo 3
149: Corbyn Munson (C) dec. Kaleb Burgess, 5-4, CMU 10, Buffalo 3
157: Johnny Lovett (C) dec. Nick Stampoulos, 6-0, CMU 13, Buffalo 2*
165: Tyler Swiderski (C) major dec. Hunter Shaut, 14-4, CMU 17, Buffalo 2
174: Alex Cramer (C) dec. Jay Nivison, 3-2, TB-2, CMU 20, Buffalo 2
184: Adrien Cramer (C) dec. Chase Kranitz, 4-1, CMU 23, Buffalo 2
197: Sam Mitchell (B) dec. Cameron Wood, 5-2, CMU 23, Buffalo 5
285: Bryan Caves (C) tech fall Lonnell Owens-Pabon, 16-1, CMU 28, Buffalo 5
*Buffalo one team point deduction for unsportsmanlike conduct
In between, a number of grind-it-out decision victories.
Sean Spidle (125 pounds), Tyler Swiderski (165) and Bryan Caves (285) scored bonus-point victories as the Central Michigan wrestling team won eight matches on Sunday in downing Buffalo, 28-5, in a Mid-American Conference dual at McGuirk Arena.
It was the Chippewas' third consecutive victory and their sixth in their last eight. They improved to 6-6, 4-1 MAC and can win a share of the MAC West title, their third straight, with dual wins next weekend at Kent State and at Clarion. Buffalo is 9-12, 4-3.
"We just want to keep getting better, keep improving," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "We're more concerned about that than anything else."
Spidle and Swiderski won via major decision and Caves posted a technical fall in the final bout of the day. It was Spidle's second straight bonus-point win and his third consecutive victory overall. He has won four of his last five, improving to 11-8.
"In dual meets, momentum's huge so it's always good in dual meets to have a good 125-pounder and a good heavyweight," Borrelli said. "Start fast and finish strong. That's important."
The Chippewas' other five wins came on decisions, most of them relatively close against scrappy opponents.
"Buffalo's real physical and they don't try to score a lot," Borrelli said. "They try to get in your head and push you around and have you make mistakes. It's hard to wrestle people like that especially when they're clubbing you in the head and then they're backing up. Our guys did a pretty good job of handling that, but it's a tough style to wrestle.
"It was good for us to wrestle a team that wrestles this style, it really was, because there's a lot of things we need to work on to be a little bit better."
The Chippewas' decision victories came from Jimmy Nugent (141), Corbyn Munson (149), Johnny Lovett (157), Alex Cramer (174) and Adrien Cramer (184).
Munson held on for a 5-4 win, his eighth straight, as he improved to a team-best 22-4. Alex Cramer (19-7) won, 3-2, on the second tie-breaker with a scant 3-second riding-time advantage for his seventh consecutive win and his second straight in overtime.
"You have to have a lot of composure to win a match like Alex won," Borrelli said.
Swiderski, a redshirt sophomore who is unranked in the MAC, bounced back from a 1-0 loss a week ago in the Chippewas' dual with Ohio. He posted three takedowns in defeating Buffalo senior Hunter Shaut, who is ranked seventh in the MAC.
It was Swiderski's eighth win in his last 13 matches as he improved to 12-10.
"I really feel like (Swiderski) is probably one of the best pure wrestlers in our program," Borrelli said. "He just needs to keep building his confidence more than anything and something like today will help."
Caves, a redshirt sophomore, continued his surge, winning his third consecutive match and his fourth in his last five matches. He pinned his opponent last week in the dual with Ohio and his tech fall on Sunday was his first of the season as he improved to 9-11 with five of his losses coming to ranked wrestlers.
"It comes down to having faith in the coaches," Caves said. "I trust those guys; if they told me to jump through a building, I'd jump through a building; jump off a bridge? I'd do it. You've really got to trust those guys and believe in what they're telling you.
"Practices have changed a little bit. Coach Borrelli told us, 'We're going to be really tough guys; we're not going to take it easy on your guys; practices are going to get real hard. If you want to do this, then do it 100 percent.' That really clicked with me … I'm going to love every second of it and it's going to pay off."
It's also clearly helped Caves that he works out daily with volunteer assistant coach Matt Stencel, one of the all-time Chippewa greats and a two-time All-American who won a record five MAC championships as a heavyweight from 2018-22.
"I think it's just my confidence and my mindset," Caves said. "These real hard practices that coach is putting us through, getting beat up for hours on end, wrestling Matt Stencel – in the moment it sucks, but you've got to look at it like, I'm getting so tough."
Central Michigan 28, Buffalo 5
125: Sean Spidle (C) major dec. Max Elton, 14-3, CMU 4, Buffalo 0
133: Tommy Maddox (B) dec. Vince Perez, 9-2, CMU 4, Buffalo 3
141: Jimmy Nugent (C) dec. Sam Ewing, 7-3, CMU 7, Buffalo 3
149: Corbyn Munson (C) dec. Kaleb Burgess, 5-4, CMU 10, Buffalo 3
157: Johnny Lovett (C) dec. Nick Stampoulos, 6-0, CMU 13, Buffalo 2*
165: Tyler Swiderski (C) major dec. Hunter Shaut, 14-4, CMU 17, Buffalo 2
174: Alex Cramer (C) dec. Jay Nivison, 3-2, TB-2, CMU 20, Buffalo 2
184: Adrien Cramer (C) dec. Chase Kranitz, 4-1, CMU 23, Buffalo 2
197: Sam Mitchell (B) dec. Cameron Wood, 5-2, CMU 23, Buffalo 5
285: Bryan Caves (C) tech fall Lonnell Owens-Pabon, 16-1, CMU 28, Buffalo 5
*Buffalo one team point deduction for unsportsmanlike conduct
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