Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, March 8
Kent, Ohio
Noon
Central Michigan University
at
MAC Championships
CMU's Corbyn Munson has his arm raised on Friday after claiming a victory during Day 1 of the MAC Championships at Kent State.
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Chippewas Lead After Day 1 at MAC Championships
3/8/2024 9:55:00 PM | Wrestling
Munson, Alex Cramer to wrestle on Saturday for titles; seven other Chippewas remain in the hunt
KENT, Ohio – It's nice to have a halftime lead.
But there's a long way to go.
Two Central Michigan wrestlers punched their ticket to the championship match in their respective weight classes on Friday and nine remain alive in the Mid-American Conference Championships at Kent State's Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.
The Chippewas collected 97.5 points on Friday and lead second-place Rider (91) by 6.5. George Mason (84.5) is third and defending champion Lock Haven (67.5) is forth.
Saturday will make all the difference as wrestlers make their way through the all-important consolation brackets. Wrestling begins at 11:30 a.m. The place matches are set to begin at 3 p.m.
"We're in first place, so that's a better place than anything else," said veteran CMU coach Tom Borrelli, whose Chippewas are chasing their 17th MAC Championships title and first since 2012. "We've got a battle on our hands (on Saturday). It's going to be close. We're going to have to have a good day, we're really going to have to be ready to wrestle.
"The way we look at it is you can't worry about outcomes. You go out, you do the best you can, and you work your tail off and compete so that you're proud of yourself after the match, win or lose, and you accept the outcome."
CMU's Corbyn Munson (149 pounds) and Alex Cramer (174) will wrestle for the championship in their respective weight classes on Saturday.
Cramer, the defending champion, opened with a technical fall victory and then won by major decision in the semifinals. He will wrestle Michael Wilson of Rider, the No. 3 seed, in Saturday's championship match.
Munson, who last season placed fifth in the MAC Championships at 157 and then won a true-fourth place match to qualify for the NCAA Championships, will wrestle Rider's Quinn Kinner, the No. 2 seed, in Saturday's final.
"You have to have leaders and you have to have your No. 1 seeds come through for you," Borrelli said. "If they're No. 1 seeds they need to be in the finals and do everything they can to win the tournament. That's what we expect from them."
The Cramer and Munson title matches take on even greater importance because it pits representatives of the top two teams in the team standings. Rider has two other wrestlers, one at 133, the other at 285, in the finals.
"Corbyn was really disappointed last year," Borrelli said of Munson, who was seeded No. 1 a year ago at 157. "I didn't expect him to be disappointed in this tournament this year. He's had a really good year. He's done a lot of good things that have put him in the position that he's in. He really took care of things earlier in the year and all through the year, so I expected that out of him."
Cramer missed the Chippewas' final four dual meets this season with an injury. He had not stepped on the mat in competition since Feb. 11, but appeared rejuvenated in scoring two bonus-point wins on Friday.
"Alex has just improved by leaps and bounds over the time he's been here," Borrelli said. "I think he's pretty fresh right now. He missed a whole month (of competition), but he continued to train … and I think he feels good about everything."
The Chippewas posted several bonus-point victories early in the tournament which helped to boost their team total.
"I think that's the difference in the team score right now," Borrelli said. "That's why we're in the lead. Every time you get a pin it's two extra team points; every time you get a tech fall it's a point-and-a-half; every time you get a major, it's another point and that's the reason we're in first place right now."
CMU's Sean Spidle (125), Vince Perez (131), Jimmy Nugent (141), Johnny Lovett (157), Tyler Swiderski (165), Cameron Wood (197) and Bryan Caves (285) are alive in the wrestlebacks.
Each, if he keeps winning, can finish as high as third place which, for most, would be a higher placing than their seed, a critical component as the Chippewas seek to end a streak of four consecutive runner-up finishes in the MAC Championships.
Swiderski entered the tournament unseeded and then turned some heads with a 16-5 major decision win over seventh-seeded Eli Brinsky of Clarion and then a 7-4 win over the No. 2 seed, Tate Geiser, of Cleveland State.
Swiderski dropped a tough 5-3 decision to third-seeded Evan Maag of George Mason to fall into the wrestlebacks.
"We know how good he is," Borrelli said of Swiderski, a redshirt sophomore who wrestled in opens last season, his first at CMU after transferring from Lake Erie College. "We know Tyler's very, very capable. He's a real good wrestler. He's probably not a full-sized 165-pounder yet and this is his first year in the program, first year wrestling for us.
"I don't know how much real confidence he has in himself so that's the thing that has to improve, but he's definitely capable of some great things."
Spidle (125)
Defeated Joey Fisher, Clarion, dec., 2-1
Lost to Anthony Noto, Lock Haven, dec., 8-6
Perez (133)
Defeated Eamonn Jimenez, Edinboro, tech fall, 19-0, 4:56
Lost to Gable Strickland, Lock Haven, major dec., 11-2
Defeated Major Lewis, Bloomsburg, tech fall, 15-0, 3:49
Nugent (141)
Defeated Ryan Sullivan, Clarion, dec., 2-0
Lost to Jacob Brya, Northern Illinois, dec., 6-0
Munson (149)
Defeated Colin Roberts, Edinboro, fall, 4:29
Defeated Cade Balestrini, Bloomsburg, fall, 4:51
Defeated Jaivon Jones, Northern Illinois, 4-3
Lovett (157)
Defeated Connor Eck, Lock Haven, dec., 8-4
Defeated Marcus Robinson, Cleveland State, dec., 1-0
Lost to DJ McGee, George Mason, dec., 4-3
Swiderski (165)
Defeated Eli Brinsky, Clarion, major dec., 16-5
Defeated Tate Geiser, Cleveland State, dec., 7-4
Lost to Evan Maag, George Mason, dec., 5-3
Alex Cramer (174)
Defeated Dominic Lopez, SIU Edwardsville, tech fall, 15-0, 5:37
Defeated John Worthing, Clarion, major dec., 11-0
Adrien Cramer (184)
Lost to Zayne Lehman, Ohio, dec., 4-1
Defeated Anthony Derosa, Bloomsburg, major dec., 11-0
Lost to Isaac Dean, Rider, dec., 4-1 SV; Cramer eliminated
Wood (197)
Defeated Kolby Flank, Bloomsburg, dec., 8-1
Defeated Austin Starr, Ohio, dec., 10-9
Lost to Sam Mitchell, Buffalo, major dec., 9-1
Caves (285)
Defeated Dan McKiernan, SIU Edwardsville, major dec., 11-2
Lost to Daniel Bucknavich, Cleveland State, major dec., 13-0
But there's a long way to go.
Two Central Michigan wrestlers punched their ticket to the championship match in their respective weight classes on Friday and nine remain alive in the Mid-American Conference Championships at Kent State's Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.
The Chippewas collected 97.5 points on Friday and lead second-place Rider (91) by 6.5. George Mason (84.5) is third and defending champion Lock Haven (67.5) is forth.
Saturday will make all the difference as wrestlers make their way through the all-important consolation brackets. Wrestling begins at 11:30 a.m. The place matches are set to begin at 3 p.m.
"We're in first place, so that's a better place than anything else," said veteran CMU coach Tom Borrelli, whose Chippewas are chasing their 17th MAC Championships title and first since 2012. "We've got a battle on our hands (on Saturday). It's going to be close. We're going to have to have a good day, we're really going to have to be ready to wrestle.
"The way we look at it is you can't worry about outcomes. You go out, you do the best you can, and you work your tail off and compete so that you're proud of yourself after the match, win or lose, and you accept the outcome."
CMU's Corbyn Munson (149 pounds) and Alex Cramer (174) will wrestle for the championship in their respective weight classes on Saturday.
Cramer, the defending champion, opened with a technical fall victory and then won by major decision in the semifinals. He will wrestle Michael Wilson of Rider, the No. 3 seed, in Saturday's championship match.
Munson, who last season placed fifth in the MAC Championships at 157 and then won a true-fourth place match to qualify for the NCAA Championships, will wrestle Rider's Quinn Kinner, the No. 2 seed, in Saturday's final.
"You have to have leaders and you have to have your No. 1 seeds come through for you," Borrelli said. "If they're No. 1 seeds they need to be in the finals and do everything they can to win the tournament. That's what we expect from them."
The Cramer and Munson title matches take on even greater importance because it pits representatives of the top two teams in the team standings. Rider has two other wrestlers, one at 133, the other at 285, in the finals.
"Corbyn was really disappointed last year," Borrelli said of Munson, who was seeded No. 1 a year ago at 157. "I didn't expect him to be disappointed in this tournament this year. He's had a really good year. He's done a lot of good things that have put him in the position that he's in. He really took care of things earlier in the year and all through the year, so I expected that out of him."
Cramer missed the Chippewas' final four dual meets this season with an injury. He had not stepped on the mat in competition since Feb. 11, but appeared rejuvenated in scoring two bonus-point wins on Friday.
"Alex has just improved by leaps and bounds over the time he's been here," Borrelli said. "I think he's pretty fresh right now. He missed a whole month (of competition), but he continued to train … and I think he feels good about everything."
The Chippewas posted several bonus-point victories early in the tournament which helped to boost their team total.
"I think that's the difference in the team score right now," Borrelli said. "That's why we're in the lead. Every time you get a pin it's two extra team points; every time you get a tech fall it's a point-and-a-half; every time you get a major, it's another point and that's the reason we're in first place right now."
CMU's Sean Spidle (125), Vince Perez (131), Jimmy Nugent (141), Johnny Lovett (157), Tyler Swiderski (165), Cameron Wood (197) and Bryan Caves (285) are alive in the wrestlebacks.
Each, if he keeps winning, can finish as high as third place which, for most, would be a higher placing than their seed, a critical component as the Chippewas seek to end a streak of four consecutive runner-up finishes in the MAC Championships.
Swiderski entered the tournament unseeded and then turned some heads with a 16-5 major decision win over seventh-seeded Eli Brinsky of Clarion and then a 7-4 win over the No. 2 seed, Tate Geiser, of Cleveland State.
Swiderski dropped a tough 5-3 decision to third-seeded Evan Maag of George Mason to fall into the wrestlebacks.
"We know how good he is," Borrelli said of Swiderski, a redshirt sophomore who wrestled in opens last season, his first at CMU after transferring from Lake Erie College. "We know Tyler's very, very capable. He's a real good wrestler. He's probably not a full-sized 165-pounder yet and this is his first year in the program, first year wrestling for us.
"I don't know how much real confidence he has in himself so that's the thing that has to improve, but he's definitely capable of some great things."
Spidle (125)
Defeated Joey Fisher, Clarion, dec., 2-1
Lost to Anthony Noto, Lock Haven, dec., 8-6
Perez (133)
Defeated Eamonn Jimenez, Edinboro, tech fall, 19-0, 4:56
Lost to Gable Strickland, Lock Haven, major dec., 11-2
Defeated Major Lewis, Bloomsburg, tech fall, 15-0, 3:49
Nugent (141)
Defeated Ryan Sullivan, Clarion, dec., 2-0
Lost to Jacob Brya, Northern Illinois, dec., 6-0
Munson (149)
Defeated Colin Roberts, Edinboro, fall, 4:29
Defeated Cade Balestrini, Bloomsburg, fall, 4:51
Defeated Jaivon Jones, Northern Illinois, 4-3
Lovett (157)
Defeated Connor Eck, Lock Haven, dec., 8-4
Defeated Marcus Robinson, Cleveland State, dec., 1-0
Lost to DJ McGee, George Mason, dec., 4-3
Swiderski (165)
Defeated Eli Brinsky, Clarion, major dec., 16-5
Defeated Tate Geiser, Cleveland State, dec., 7-4
Lost to Evan Maag, George Mason, dec., 5-3
Alex Cramer (174)
Defeated Dominic Lopez, SIU Edwardsville, tech fall, 15-0, 5:37
Defeated John Worthing, Clarion, major dec., 11-0
Adrien Cramer (184)
Lost to Zayne Lehman, Ohio, dec., 4-1
Defeated Anthony Derosa, Bloomsburg, major dec., 11-0
Lost to Isaac Dean, Rider, dec., 4-1 SV; Cramer eliminated
Wood (197)
Defeated Kolby Flank, Bloomsburg, dec., 8-1
Defeated Austin Starr, Ohio, dec., 10-9
Lost to Sam Mitchell, Buffalo, major dec., 9-1
Caves (285)
Defeated Dan McKiernan, SIU Edwardsville, major dec., 11-2
Lost to Daniel Bucknavich, Cleveland State, major dec., 13-0
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