Central Michigan University Athletics
Sunday, February 18
Clarion, Pa.
2 p.m.
Central Michigan University
28
at
10
Clarion
125-pounder Sean Spidle got the Chippewas off to a strong start, once again, with a 9-2 victory on Sunday in their MAC dual victory at Clarion.
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Wrestlers Roll Past Clarion in Final MAC Dual
2/18/2024 5:21:00 PM | Wrestling
Chippewas win fifth straight, improve to 8-6, 6-1 MAC
CLARION, Pa. – The Central Michigan wrestling team won seven matches, scoring bonus points in four of them, on Sunday in topping Clarion, 28-10, in a Mid-American Conference dual at the Golden Eagles' Tippin Gymnasium.
It was the Chippewas' fifth consecutive win and their eighth in their last 10 as they improved to 8-6 and finished 6-1 in the MAC. They can win a share of the MAC West title if first-place Northern Illinois loses in its dual finale next weekend to SIU Edwardsville.
CMU, which opened the weekend with a 25-15 win at Kent State on Friday, closes the dual season next weekend when it goes to Michigan State on Friday, Feb. 23, and then entertains 10th-ranked Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 25.
"I'm just concerned about having a good week of practice next week because we've got some guys injured and we don't know how much they can do yet," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "If we're going to be competitive like we want to be against Michigan and Michigan State we need those guys."
The MAC Championships are March 8-9 at Kent State.
CMU got a major decision victory from Jimmy Nugent (141 pounds), a technical fall from Johnny Lovett (157), and a pin from Bryan Caves (285) on Sunday in downing Clarion (8-10, 3-3).
The win from Lovett, his second tech fall of the weekend, was CMU's fifth straight to open the dual and it gave the Chippewas an 18-0 lead.
"That kind of took the steam out of (Clarion)," Borrelli said. "Our lightweights wrestled really well."
Clarion won at the ensuing three weights, one of them a major decision, to draw to 18-10.
Cameron Wood (197) then clinched the dual for CMU with a major decision and then Caves put the exclamation point on it with an overtime pin, his third of the season and his second in his last four matches.
Both Wood and Caves rebounded from losses on Friday at Kent State to opponents who are ranked lower than they are in the MAC coaches rankings.
"We said before the dual meet that we wanted to finish strong," Borrelli said. "We didn't finish strong on Friday and it's a disappointing taste in your mouth even when you win the dual meet, so we wanted to finish strong and they did."
The Chippewas got decision victories from Sean Spidle (125), Vince Perez (133) and Trenton Wachter (149).
• Spidle, as he so often has in MAC duals this season, got the Chippewas off to a good start with a 9-2 win over Joey Fischer. It was his fifth straight win and his sixth in his last seven matches as he improved to 13-8 including 6-1 in MAC duals.
The result was perhaps worth more than simply three points on the scoreboard.
Fischer, who is ranked third in the MAC, defeated the fifth-ranked Spidle twice in close matches last season, and the Clarion junior knocked off top-ranked Anthony Noto of Lock Haven in a dual meet on Feb. 1.
Noto finished fourth last season at the NCAA Championships and is ranked eighth nationally. He was, at one point this season, ranked No. 1.
"He beat him 9-2 and it wasn't even close," Borrelli said. "That's a big step for (Spidle)."
• Lovett's win was his team-best 23rd of the season (against five losses) and it was his fourth tech fall and his 13th bonus point victory. It was his ninth victory in his last 10 bouts. He has scored bonus points in six of those nine wins.
• Nugent ran his win streak to four and improved to 17-7. Both of his weekend victories came with bonus points, giving him 10 such wins on the season.
"Jimmy's wrestling really well right now," Borrelli said. "if he manages his weight the right way, he's trouble. We're trying to get him through all that and it's not easy. Today he had a lot of energy and that's what he needs."
• Wachter's win was his second of the weekend as he filled in admirably at 149 for Corbyn Munson, one of CMU's top talents who is ranked No. 1 in the MAC.
Wachter trailed, 5-0, in the first period and then patiently worked his way back into the match, eventually tying it with a second-period escape and then went ahead with a takedown late in the period.
Wachter is one of three redshirt sophomores who filled in for starters both against the Golden Eagles and against Kent State on Friday. The others are Mason Shrader (165) and Chandler Amaker (174), who subbed for Munson, Tyler Swiderski (165) and Alex Cramer (174), respectively.
The Wachter-Shrader-Amaker trio went a combined 3-3 on the weekend.
"Those kids did some tough things too," Borrelli said. "They weighed in at a weight class below and then bumped up (a weight class). That's a big ask."
• Caves has won four of his last five matches, and all four of those wins have come with bonus points (two pins, one tech fall, one major).
Central Michigan 28, Clarion 10
125: Sean Spidle (CMU) dec. Joey Fisher, 9-2, CMU 3, Clarion 0
133: Vince Perez (CMU) dec. TJ England, 12-5, CMU 6, Clarion 0
141: Jimmy Nugent (CMU) major dec. Ryan Sullivan, 12-3, CMU 10, Clarion 0
149: Trenton Wachter (CMU) dec. Kyle Schickel, 11-7, CMU 13, Clarion 0
157: Johnny Lovett (CMU) tech. fall Lavinsky Collins, 21-3, CMU 18, Clarion 0
165: Eli Brinsky (Clarion) dec. Mason Shrader, 11-4, CMU 18, Clarion 3
174: Suds Dubler (Clarion) dec. Chandler Amaker, 10-4, CMU 18, Clarion 6
184: Cam Pine (Clarion) major dec. Adrien Cramer, 11-4, CMU 18, Clarion 10
197: Cameron Wood (CMU) major dec. Ethan Wiant, 12-2, CMU 22, Clarion 10
285: Bryan Caves (CMU) pin Austin Chapman, 7:38, CMU 28, Clarion 10
It was the Chippewas' fifth consecutive win and their eighth in their last 10 as they improved to 8-6 and finished 6-1 in the MAC. They can win a share of the MAC West title if first-place Northern Illinois loses in its dual finale next weekend to SIU Edwardsville.
CMU, which opened the weekend with a 25-15 win at Kent State on Friday, closes the dual season next weekend when it goes to Michigan State on Friday, Feb. 23, and then entertains 10th-ranked Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 25.
"I'm just concerned about having a good week of practice next week because we've got some guys injured and we don't know how much they can do yet," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "If we're going to be competitive like we want to be against Michigan and Michigan State we need those guys."
The MAC Championships are March 8-9 at Kent State.
CMU got a major decision victory from Jimmy Nugent (141 pounds), a technical fall from Johnny Lovett (157), and a pin from Bryan Caves (285) on Sunday in downing Clarion (8-10, 3-3).
The win from Lovett, his second tech fall of the weekend, was CMU's fifth straight to open the dual and it gave the Chippewas an 18-0 lead.
"That kind of took the steam out of (Clarion)," Borrelli said. "Our lightweights wrestled really well."
Clarion won at the ensuing three weights, one of them a major decision, to draw to 18-10.
Cameron Wood (197) then clinched the dual for CMU with a major decision and then Caves put the exclamation point on it with an overtime pin, his third of the season and his second in his last four matches.
Both Wood and Caves rebounded from losses on Friday at Kent State to opponents who are ranked lower than they are in the MAC coaches rankings.
"We said before the dual meet that we wanted to finish strong," Borrelli said. "We didn't finish strong on Friday and it's a disappointing taste in your mouth even when you win the dual meet, so we wanted to finish strong and they did."
The Chippewas got decision victories from Sean Spidle (125), Vince Perez (133) and Trenton Wachter (149).
• Spidle, as he so often has in MAC duals this season, got the Chippewas off to a good start with a 9-2 win over Joey Fischer. It was his fifth straight win and his sixth in his last seven matches as he improved to 13-8 including 6-1 in MAC duals.
The result was perhaps worth more than simply three points on the scoreboard.
Fischer, who is ranked third in the MAC, defeated the fifth-ranked Spidle twice in close matches last season, and the Clarion junior knocked off top-ranked Anthony Noto of Lock Haven in a dual meet on Feb. 1.
Noto finished fourth last season at the NCAA Championships and is ranked eighth nationally. He was, at one point this season, ranked No. 1.
"He beat him 9-2 and it wasn't even close," Borrelli said. "That's a big step for (Spidle)."
• Lovett's win was his team-best 23rd of the season (against five losses) and it was his fourth tech fall and his 13th bonus point victory. It was his ninth victory in his last 10 bouts. He has scored bonus points in six of those nine wins.
• Nugent ran his win streak to four and improved to 17-7. Both of his weekend victories came with bonus points, giving him 10 such wins on the season.
"Jimmy's wrestling really well right now," Borrelli said. "if he manages his weight the right way, he's trouble. We're trying to get him through all that and it's not easy. Today he had a lot of energy and that's what he needs."
• Wachter's win was his second of the weekend as he filled in admirably at 149 for Corbyn Munson, one of CMU's top talents who is ranked No. 1 in the MAC.
Wachter trailed, 5-0, in the first period and then patiently worked his way back into the match, eventually tying it with a second-period escape and then went ahead with a takedown late in the period.
Wachter is one of three redshirt sophomores who filled in for starters both against the Golden Eagles and against Kent State on Friday. The others are Mason Shrader (165) and Chandler Amaker (174), who subbed for Munson, Tyler Swiderski (165) and Alex Cramer (174), respectively.
The Wachter-Shrader-Amaker trio went a combined 3-3 on the weekend.
"Those kids did some tough things too," Borrelli said. "They weighed in at a weight class below and then bumped up (a weight class). That's a big ask."
• Caves has won four of his last five matches, and all four of those wins have come with bonus points (two pins, one tech fall, one major).
Central Michigan 28, Clarion 10
125: Sean Spidle (CMU) dec. Joey Fisher, 9-2, CMU 3, Clarion 0
133: Vince Perez (CMU) dec. TJ England, 12-5, CMU 6, Clarion 0
141: Jimmy Nugent (CMU) major dec. Ryan Sullivan, 12-3, CMU 10, Clarion 0
149: Trenton Wachter (CMU) dec. Kyle Schickel, 11-7, CMU 13, Clarion 0
157: Johnny Lovett (CMU) tech. fall Lavinsky Collins, 21-3, CMU 18, Clarion 0
165: Eli Brinsky (Clarion) dec. Mason Shrader, 11-4, CMU 18, Clarion 3
174: Suds Dubler (Clarion) dec. Chandler Amaker, 10-4, CMU 18, Clarion 6
184: Cam Pine (Clarion) major dec. Adrien Cramer, 11-4, CMU 18, Clarion 10
197: Cameron Wood (CMU) major dec. Ethan Wiant, 12-2, CMU 22, Clarion 10
285: Bryan Caves (CMU) pin Austin Chapman, 7:38, CMU 28, Clarion 10
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