Central Michigan University Athletics
Sunday, December 7
Louisville, Ky.
2 p.m.
Central Michigan University
28
at
6
Bellarmine
Bryan Caves posted a pin over 29th-ranked Daulton Mayer to highlight the Chippewas' 28-6 victory at Bellarmine on Sunday.
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Wrestlers Respond, Big Time, With Resounding Win at Bellarmine
12/7/2025 5:33:00 PM | Wrestling
Caves' pin, Anderson's 13-11 victory highlight Chippewas' first dual-meet win of the season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Central Michigan got the message and sent a message.
The Chippewas started fast and never let up on Sunday in posting a 28-6 victory over Bellarmine in a nonconference wrestling dual at Bellarmine's Knights Hall.
It was the Chippewas' first dual victory of the season as they rebounded from a 33-7 loss at Indiana two nights earlier. CMU returns to the mat on Sunday, Dec. 21 when it welcomes Cal State Bakersfield and American for the 5th Annual Chippewa Challenge at McGuirk Arena.
"I felt like we were a little bit flat (against Indiana)," second-year CMU coach Ben Bennett said. "It wasn't necessarily that we lost the dual, I just didn't feel like we wrestled like we're capable of, so the message today was, There's going to be times where things don't go your way. If you want to be successful, how are you going to respond? Are you going to pick yourself back up and keep going or are you going to give up?
"And today they picked themselves up and it was about wrestling with the right effort and the right attitude. These guys were kind of down and out a little bit after Friday night, but they showed up today and that says a lot about how important it is to these guys. They want to have success, they want to figure it out, they want to get better. I think that performance today showed that. We're not going to quit just because things are getting tough."
The Chippewas accumulated 12 takedowns in the dual and notched the first takedown in seven of the 10 matches. They posted two bonus-point victories, highlighted by Bryan Caves' first-period pin of Daulton Mayer in the 285-pound bout.
Mayer entered the match ranked 29th nationally by both InterMat and FloWrestling. He took down Caves almost immediately, but Caves reversed Mayer to cut Mayer's lead to 3-2 and, more importantly, put the Knight on his back. Caves then got the pin at the 50-second mark.
Those six team points extended the Chippewas' lead to 22-3 and, while the Knights (1-3) could have mathematically come back to claim the victory, it all but put it out of reach and into the win column for CMU.
"I told these guys there's going to be a lot of small battles throughout your match, and you're going to lose some of them," Bennett said. "You lose one them, win the next battle. (Caves) gave up the first takedown and he kept wrestling and he kept wrestling. When you keep wrestling good things happen."
CMU's Jimmy Nugent opened the dual with a 10-7 win at 149 pounds and then Mason Shrader (157) followed with a major decision victory. While Nugent won by just three points, he controlled the match from the opening whistle. Chandler Amaker (165) gutted out a 4-2 win to extend CMU's lead to 10-0 three matches into the dual.
"Momentum is a thing in every sport," Bennett said. "You get those first wins and you get the ball rolling and all of a sudden things start building in your direction and it affects the way the rest of the guys wrestle."
After Caves' win at 285, CMU freshman Archer Anderson followed with a dramatic 13-11 win at 125 over junior Damion Ryan. Anderson fell into a 6-1 hole in the first period and trailed, 10-5, in the second period. He never led until he notched the winning takedown as time expired, and he was awarded the takedown points only after a video review.
It was a big victory for Anderson, who lost on a technical fall on Friday at Indiana in his first career dual appearance.
"When you're a really young guy like that -- a true freshman – and you're thrown out there and you find a way to win a crazy match like that," Bennett said. "It was back and forth, back and forth, and he didn't give up, he kept wrestling, kept wrestling for the next point, and found a way to win and that's what happens when you keep wrestling.
"You find a way to get it done. His effort was really, really good."
Central Michigan 28, Bellarmine 6
Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025
At Louisville, Ky.
149 pounds: Jimmy Nugent (CMU) dec. Zac Cowan, 10-7, CMU 3, Bellarmine 0
157: Mason Shrader (CMU) major dec. Gray Ortis, 11-2, CMU 7, Bellarmine 0
165: Chandler Amaker (CMU) dec. Noah Hall, 4-2, CMU 10, Bellarmine 0
174: Grant O'Dell (Bellarmine) dec. Nick Marienfeld, 7-3, CMU 10, Bellarmine 3
184: Wyatt Ferguson (CMU) dec. Gavin Rickets, 4-1, CMU 13, Bellarmine 3
197: Luke Cochran (CMU) dec. Andrew Liber, 9-3, CMU 16, Bellarmine 3
285: Bryan Caves (CMU) pin Daulton Mayer, :50, CMU 22, Bellarmine 3
125: Archer Anderson (CMU) dec. Damion Ryan, 13-11, CMU 25, Bellarmine 3
133: Andrew Austin (CMU) dec. Trayce Eckman, 9-2, CMU 28, Bellarmine 3
141: AJ Rallo (Bellarmine) dec. Nick Blackburn, 5-4
The Chippewas started fast and never let up on Sunday in posting a 28-6 victory over Bellarmine in a nonconference wrestling dual at Bellarmine's Knights Hall.
It was the Chippewas' first dual victory of the season as they rebounded from a 33-7 loss at Indiana two nights earlier. CMU returns to the mat on Sunday, Dec. 21 when it welcomes Cal State Bakersfield and American for the 5th Annual Chippewa Challenge at McGuirk Arena.
"I felt like we were a little bit flat (against Indiana)," second-year CMU coach Ben Bennett said. "It wasn't necessarily that we lost the dual, I just didn't feel like we wrestled like we're capable of, so the message today was, There's going to be times where things don't go your way. If you want to be successful, how are you going to respond? Are you going to pick yourself back up and keep going or are you going to give up?
"And today they picked themselves up and it was about wrestling with the right effort and the right attitude. These guys were kind of down and out a little bit after Friday night, but they showed up today and that says a lot about how important it is to these guys. They want to have success, they want to figure it out, they want to get better. I think that performance today showed that. We're not going to quit just because things are getting tough."
The Chippewas accumulated 12 takedowns in the dual and notched the first takedown in seven of the 10 matches. They posted two bonus-point victories, highlighted by Bryan Caves' first-period pin of Daulton Mayer in the 285-pound bout.
Mayer entered the match ranked 29th nationally by both InterMat and FloWrestling. He took down Caves almost immediately, but Caves reversed Mayer to cut Mayer's lead to 3-2 and, more importantly, put the Knight on his back. Caves then got the pin at the 50-second mark.
Those six team points extended the Chippewas' lead to 22-3 and, while the Knights (1-3) could have mathematically come back to claim the victory, it all but put it out of reach and into the win column for CMU.
"I told these guys there's going to be a lot of small battles throughout your match, and you're going to lose some of them," Bennett said. "You lose one them, win the next battle. (Caves) gave up the first takedown and he kept wrestling and he kept wrestling. When you keep wrestling good things happen."
CMU's Jimmy Nugent opened the dual with a 10-7 win at 149 pounds and then Mason Shrader (157) followed with a major decision victory. While Nugent won by just three points, he controlled the match from the opening whistle. Chandler Amaker (165) gutted out a 4-2 win to extend CMU's lead to 10-0 three matches into the dual.
"Momentum is a thing in every sport," Bennett said. "You get those first wins and you get the ball rolling and all of a sudden things start building in your direction and it affects the way the rest of the guys wrestle."
After Caves' win at 285, CMU freshman Archer Anderson followed with a dramatic 13-11 win at 125 over junior Damion Ryan. Anderson fell into a 6-1 hole in the first period and trailed, 10-5, in the second period. He never led until he notched the winning takedown as time expired, and he was awarded the takedown points only after a video review.
It was a big victory for Anderson, who lost on a technical fall on Friday at Indiana in his first career dual appearance.
"When you're a really young guy like that -- a true freshman – and you're thrown out there and you find a way to win a crazy match like that," Bennett said. "It was back and forth, back and forth, and he didn't give up, he kept wrestling, kept wrestling for the next point, and found a way to win and that's what happens when you keep wrestling.
"You find a way to get it done. His effort was really, really good."
Central Michigan 28, Bellarmine 6
Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025
At Louisville, Ky.
149 pounds: Jimmy Nugent (CMU) dec. Zac Cowan, 10-7, CMU 3, Bellarmine 0
157: Mason Shrader (CMU) major dec. Gray Ortis, 11-2, CMU 7, Bellarmine 0
165: Chandler Amaker (CMU) dec. Noah Hall, 4-2, CMU 10, Bellarmine 0
174: Grant O'Dell (Bellarmine) dec. Nick Marienfeld, 7-3, CMU 10, Bellarmine 3
184: Wyatt Ferguson (CMU) dec. Gavin Rickets, 4-1, CMU 13, Bellarmine 3
197: Luke Cochran (CMU) dec. Andrew Liber, 9-3, CMU 16, Bellarmine 3
285: Bryan Caves (CMU) pin Daulton Mayer, :50, CMU 22, Bellarmine 3
125: Archer Anderson (CMU) dec. Damion Ryan, 13-11, CMU 25, Bellarmine 3
133: Andrew Austin (CMU) dec. Trayce Eckman, 9-2, CMU 28, Bellarmine 3
141: AJ Rallo (Bellarmine) dec. Nick Blackburn, 5-4
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