Central Michigan University Athletics
Thursday, March 21
Kansas City, Mo.
Noon/7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
at
NCAA Championships
CMU's Alex Cramer has his hand raised after he recorded a pin in his opening bout at the NCAA Championships at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Photo by: Justin Hoch | jhoch.com
Day 1 at NCAA Championships: Heartache, Euphoria, and Everything in Between
3/21/2024 11:23:00 PM | Wrestling
Alex Cramer highlightsJohnny Lovett highlightsCorbyn Munson highlightsCoach Tom BorrelliBracketsPhoto Gallery
Cramer, Lovett remain alive in quest for All-America honors
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – At the NCAA Championships, everybody is good, most of the matches are tight, there is little room for error, and emotions run high.
Such was the case on Thursday as three Central Michigan wrestlers jumped into the fray with the best of the best at T-Mobile Center.
Two Chippewas, Alex Cramer and Johnny Lovett, remain alive after Day 1 of the biggest tournament in college wrestling. The third Chippewa, Corbyn Munson, dropped two matches on Thursday and was eliminated.
Cramer (174 pounds) and Lovett (157) both went 1-1 on Thursday and are in the consolation bracket in their respective weight classes. It's do or die for both from here on out as they need to win three consecutive matches to earn All-America honors.
"You have to win tight matches," said Tom Borrelli, who is coaching his last tournament at CMU after a brilliant 33-year career. "Every match is going to be tight. On the back side (wrestlebacks), every time you wrestle a match, you're wrestling a guy who lost in his last match.
"So a lot of it's psychological. If you can keep your head together and stay focused enough to win those tight matches – you keep advancing and you keep wrestling another guy who just lost."
Cramer, the 19th seed, will wrestle 29th-seeded Alex Faison of North Carolina State on Saturday. Lovett, the 26th seed at 157, will wrestle ninth-seeded Will Lewan of Michigan.
Cramer (23-8) opened the tournament on Thursday with a pin in 2:37 of 14th-seeded Gaven Sax of North Dakota State. It was Cramer's 11th consecutive victory and all but two of those wins have come with bonus points.
Cramer then dropped a tough 2-1 decision to third-seeded Edmond Ruth of Illinois. Ruth defeated Cramer on a 23-6 technical fall earlier this season in a dual meet.
Thursday's match was decided on a third-period stalling call against Cramer. The one-point awarded to Ruth broke a 1-1 tie.
"I thought Alex had the perfect game plan," Borrelli said. "If he would have kept the referee from getting involved in the match who knows what would have happened. Maybe we get a takedown in overtime; maybe we beat him in a rideout. His strategy and his game plan were awesome. Unfortunately, the referee got involved."
Lovett (28-9) dropped a 1-0 decision to Ohio's Peyten Kellar, the No. 7 seed, in his opening bout. He then rebounded to defeat Purdue's Joey Blaze, the 23rd seed, 4-1, with a takedown in sudden victory.
The win was the 100th of Lovett's career. He is the 27th member of the Chippewas' 100-win club.
"All the matches are very close," Borrelli said. "If you've been here enough times you understand that. Very rarely do you break a match open – you're in sudden victory or a tie-breaker or it's a one-takedown match.
"That's the name of the game. If you can win those tight matches you're going to do well in this tournament. Johnny, he took the majority of the shots in that match. He was close to getting two or three takedowns, didn't get any of them, and then he took the shot in sudden victory and finished."
Munson, who was seeded 15th, opened with an 11-4 loss to No. 18 Cody Bond of Appalachian State. He then fell to No. 31 Finn Solomon of Pittsburgh, 6-4. It was the final bout of Munson's career. He finished the season 26-7 and went 115-60 in his six-year career. His win total ranks eighth in program history.
"Corbyn's come a long ways," Borrelli said. "Most of our guys come a long ways. He's done really well in our program. He's been a very good leader this year. I can't be disappointed in him. I'm sure he's disappointed in himself more than anything. He competed pretty hard. He hasn't been the same since he got hurt (late in the season). I don't want to make excuses for him, but he just hasn't been right."
Such was the case on Thursday as three Central Michigan wrestlers jumped into the fray with the best of the best at T-Mobile Center.
Two Chippewas, Alex Cramer and Johnny Lovett, remain alive after Day 1 of the biggest tournament in college wrestling. The third Chippewa, Corbyn Munson, dropped two matches on Thursday and was eliminated.
Cramer (174 pounds) and Lovett (157) both went 1-1 on Thursday and are in the consolation bracket in their respective weight classes. It's do or die for both from here on out as they need to win three consecutive matches to earn All-America honors.
"You have to win tight matches," said Tom Borrelli, who is coaching his last tournament at CMU after a brilliant 33-year career. "Every match is going to be tight. On the back side (wrestlebacks), every time you wrestle a match, you're wrestling a guy who lost in his last match.
"So a lot of it's psychological. If you can keep your head together and stay focused enough to win those tight matches – you keep advancing and you keep wrestling another guy who just lost."
Cramer, the 19th seed, will wrestle 29th-seeded Alex Faison of North Carolina State on Saturday. Lovett, the 26th seed at 157, will wrestle ninth-seeded Will Lewan of Michigan.
Cramer (23-8) opened the tournament on Thursday with a pin in 2:37 of 14th-seeded Gaven Sax of North Dakota State. It was Cramer's 11th consecutive victory and all but two of those wins have come with bonus points.
Cramer then dropped a tough 2-1 decision to third-seeded Edmond Ruth of Illinois. Ruth defeated Cramer on a 23-6 technical fall earlier this season in a dual meet.
Thursday's match was decided on a third-period stalling call against Cramer. The one-point awarded to Ruth broke a 1-1 tie.
"I thought Alex had the perfect game plan," Borrelli said. "If he would have kept the referee from getting involved in the match who knows what would have happened. Maybe we get a takedown in overtime; maybe we beat him in a rideout. His strategy and his game plan were awesome. Unfortunately, the referee got involved."
Lovett (28-9) dropped a 1-0 decision to Ohio's Peyten Kellar, the No. 7 seed, in his opening bout. He then rebounded to defeat Purdue's Joey Blaze, the 23rd seed, 4-1, with a takedown in sudden victory.
The win was the 100th of Lovett's career. He is the 27th member of the Chippewas' 100-win club.
"All the matches are very close," Borrelli said. "If you've been here enough times you understand that. Very rarely do you break a match open – you're in sudden victory or a tie-breaker or it's a one-takedown match.
"That's the name of the game. If you can win those tight matches you're going to do well in this tournament. Johnny, he took the majority of the shots in that match. He was close to getting two or three takedowns, didn't get any of them, and then he took the shot in sudden victory and finished."
Munson, who was seeded 15th, opened with an 11-4 loss to No. 18 Cody Bond of Appalachian State. He then fell to No. 31 Finn Solomon of Pittsburgh, 6-4. It was the final bout of Munson's career. He finished the season 26-7 and went 115-60 in his six-year career. His win total ranks eighth in program history.
"Corbyn's come a long ways," Borrelli said. "Most of our guys come a long ways. He's done really well in our program. He's been a very good leader this year. I can't be disappointed in him. I'm sure he's disappointed in himself more than anything. He competed pretty hard. He hasn't been the same since he got hurt (late in the season). I don't want to make excuses for him, but he just hasn't been right."
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