Central Michigan University Athletics
Thursday, February 13
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
36
vs
0
Kent State
CMU's Grant Stahl scores a four-point near fall in the waning seconds of his dramatic 9-8 victory on Thursday at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Wrestlers Shut Out Kent State, 36-0; Host SIUE in MAC Dual Finale on Sunday
2/13/2025 10:42:00 PM | Wrestling
Chippewas win all 10 matches, scoring bonus points in five; hometown hero Grant Stahl posts dramatic comeback victory
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan won all 10 matches, scoring bonus points in five of them, in rolling to a 36-0 Mid-American Conference wrestling dual meet victory over Kent State at McGuirk Arena on Thursday.
The win was CMU's third straight and it lifted the Chippewas to 7-9, 5-1 MAC. They entertain SIU Edwardsville in their final MAC dual of the season on Sunday (2 p.m.). The Golden Flashes are 1-14 and finished 0-7 in league duals.
The Chippewas recorded 21 takedowns to Kent State's two in recording their first shutout since a 44-0 win over Edinboro on Jan. 21, 2024.
CMU got a technical fall win from Mason Shrader at 149 pounds and major-decision victories from Sean Spidle (133), Johnny Lovett (157), Alex Cramer (174) and Bryan Caves (285).
"We've just been stressing to these guys, don't focus on winning and losing, focus on wrestling and scoring points and sometimes that's hard to get across to the guys," first-year CMU coach Ben Bennett said. "I think we did a good job of that tonight.
"We had guys continuing to wrestle for seven minutes, trying to score and when you do that good things usually happen and that's how you get better at wrestling; you've got to continue to wrestle, you can't hold onto leads, you've got to keep pushing yourself, you've got to keep trying to improve and they did that tonight."
CMU got decision victories from Grant Stahl (125), Chandler Amaker (165), Adrien Cramer (184) and Luke Cochran (197).
On a night where there was little drama, Stahl provided some major fireworks with a 9-8 come-from-behind victory.
Stahl, a redshirt freshman and a Mount Pleasant High School graduate, scored a takedown and then a four-point near fall in the final 23 seconds to overcome an 8-2 deficit and bring the partisan crowd to its feet.
"There's a lot of kids here from high school and to be able to come in as a redshirt freshman and win a match, it means a lot," Stahl said. "I've never been down that much in a match and been able to hit a move like that and win it. That was exciting. Great match to have.
"I finally showed for my team and pulled it off, especially in my hometown. Feels good."
Like most college wrestlers, Stahl sported a sterling resumé coming out of high school, winning a state title as a senior and posting a 113-6 record during his final three years as an Oiler.
He entered Thursday's dual 5-18 on the season. His win was his second in his last four bouts after he had lost nine straight. Including his win on Thursday, his last six matches have been decided by three or fewer points, and two have gone to overtime.
"I've just been on the edge, one-score matches, the last five times, just one-score matches," he said. "All it takes is little improvements, just little tiny details, and we have the coaches that get those details down and I believe in them and believe in the work I've put in."
Stahl gave a nod to legendary Chippewa coach Tom Borrelli, who retired after a 33-year career after leading CMU to the MAC title last March.
Borrelli has been back in the wrestling room of late, working as a volunteer assistant coach.
"This whole week, after practice, I've worked with Borrelli on that cement mixer and he knew I could hit it," Stahl said. "Right at the end of the match, I believed, so I just went out there and hit it. It worked. I was able just to stay calm and believe in the work I've put in."
Among the other highlights were the wins by Amaker, Caves and Austin.
• Amaker, a redshirt junior, posted a 5-0 win in the meet's opening bout. It was his second straight shutout as he snapped a six-match losing streak last weekend at Buffalo. His win on Thursday evened his season record at 9-9.
"Chandler, he's been a little up and down and he came out and had a great match, got a takedown, got an escape, got riding time," Bennett said. "That's a pretty solid match.
"I'm happy for Chandler. We start at 125 (pounds) usually so he's not used to starting off, that's a little different for him and he handled it really well."
• Caves was dominant in winning for the third straight time and improving to 16-12 on the season. He recorded three takedowns and a three-point near fall.
"He just went out and got his ties and was aggressive from the first whistle," Bennett said. "When your heavyweight scores 15 points, that's a good thing. I was pleased to see that."
• Austin, a redshirt sophomore, held on for a 4-3 victory – his fifth straight and his seventh in his last eight -- over graduate student Jordan Decatur, who is ranked third in the MAC.
Austin, who is unranked in the MAC, has, in the last month, recorded wins over Edinboro's Anthony Ferraro (pin), Northern Illinois' Jacob Brya (10-3), and now Decatur. Ferrara is ranked fifth in the league and Brya is sixth.
• Spidle ran his win streak to nine straight.
• Shrader won for the seventh time in his last eight matches. He has scored bonus points in five of those seven wins.
• Alex Cramer won for the 12th time in his last 13 bouts.
• Lovett ran his win streak to 12 and has been victorious in 16 of his last 17 matches. His win on Thursday gave him 126 for his career and he is seventh in program history in that category. His next victory will move him into a tie for sixth with Carleton Kincade, who won 127 matches from 1983-88.
Central Michigan 36, Kent State 0
165: Chandler Amaker (C) dec. Hunter Andel, 5-0, CMU 3, Kent State 0
174: No. 8 Alex Cramer (C) major dec. Waylon Wehler, 8-0, CMU 7, Kent State 0
184: Adrien Cramer (C) dec. Kyle Snider, 5-1, CMU 10, Kent State 0
197: Luke Cochran (C) dec. Blake Schaffer, 4-1, CMU 13, Kent State 0
285: Bryan Caves (C) major dec. Brentan Simmerman, 15-5, CMU 17, Kent State 0
125: Grant Stahl (C) dec. Tyler Hagansen, 9-8, CMU 20, Kent State 0
133: No. 26 Sean Spidle (C) major dec. Adan Benavidez, 12-0, CMU 24, Kent State 0
141: Andrew Austin (C) dec. Jordan Decatur, 4-3, CMU 27, Kent State 0
149: No 31 Mason Shrader (C) tech. fall Cael Andrews, 18-2, CMU 32, Kent State 0
157: No. 16 Johnny Lovett (C) major dec. Carson Miller, 15-3, CMU 36, Kent State 0
*National rankings by FloWrestling
The win was CMU's third straight and it lifted the Chippewas to 7-9, 5-1 MAC. They entertain SIU Edwardsville in their final MAC dual of the season on Sunday (2 p.m.). The Golden Flashes are 1-14 and finished 0-7 in league duals.
The Chippewas recorded 21 takedowns to Kent State's two in recording their first shutout since a 44-0 win over Edinboro on Jan. 21, 2024.
CMU got a technical fall win from Mason Shrader at 149 pounds and major-decision victories from Sean Spidle (133), Johnny Lovett (157), Alex Cramer (174) and Bryan Caves (285).
"We've just been stressing to these guys, don't focus on winning and losing, focus on wrestling and scoring points and sometimes that's hard to get across to the guys," first-year CMU coach Ben Bennett said. "I think we did a good job of that tonight.
"We had guys continuing to wrestle for seven minutes, trying to score and when you do that good things usually happen and that's how you get better at wrestling; you've got to continue to wrestle, you can't hold onto leads, you've got to keep pushing yourself, you've got to keep trying to improve and they did that tonight."
CMU got decision victories from Grant Stahl (125), Chandler Amaker (165), Adrien Cramer (184) and Luke Cochran (197).
On a night where there was little drama, Stahl provided some major fireworks with a 9-8 come-from-behind victory.
Stahl, a redshirt freshman and a Mount Pleasant High School graduate, scored a takedown and then a four-point near fall in the final 23 seconds to overcome an 8-2 deficit and bring the partisan crowd to its feet.
"There's a lot of kids here from high school and to be able to come in as a redshirt freshman and win a match, it means a lot," Stahl said. "I've never been down that much in a match and been able to hit a move like that and win it. That was exciting. Great match to have.
"I finally showed for my team and pulled it off, especially in my hometown. Feels good."
Like most college wrestlers, Stahl sported a sterling resumé coming out of high school, winning a state title as a senior and posting a 113-6 record during his final three years as an Oiler.
He entered Thursday's dual 5-18 on the season. His win was his second in his last four bouts after he had lost nine straight. Including his win on Thursday, his last six matches have been decided by three or fewer points, and two have gone to overtime.
"I've just been on the edge, one-score matches, the last five times, just one-score matches," he said. "All it takes is little improvements, just little tiny details, and we have the coaches that get those details down and I believe in them and believe in the work I've put in."
Stahl gave a nod to legendary Chippewa coach Tom Borrelli, who retired after a 33-year career after leading CMU to the MAC title last March.
Borrelli has been back in the wrestling room of late, working as a volunteer assistant coach.
"This whole week, after practice, I've worked with Borrelli on that cement mixer and he knew I could hit it," Stahl said. "Right at the end of the match, I believed, so I just went out there and hit it. It worked. I was able just to stay calm and believe in the work I've put in."
Among the other highlights were the wins by Amaker, Caves and Austin.
• Amaker, a redshirt junior, posted a 5-0 win in the meet's opening bout. It was his second straight shutout as he snapped a six-match losing streak last weekend at Buffalo. His win on Thursday evened his season record at 9-9.
"Chandler, he's been a little up and down and he came out and had a great match, got a takedown, got an escape, got riding time," Bennett said. "That's a pretty solid match.
"I'm happy for Chandler. We start at 125 (pounds) usually so he's not used to starting off, that's a little different for him and he handled it really well."
• Caves was dominant in winning for the third straight time and improving to 16-12 on the season. He recorded three takedowns and a three-point near fall.
"He just went out and got his ties and was aggressive from the first whistle," Bennett said. "When your heavyweight scores 15 points, that's a good thing. I was pleased to see that."
• Austin, a redshirt sophomore, held on for a 4-3 victory – his fifth straight and his seventh in his last eight -- over graduate student Jordan Decatur, who is ranked third in the MAC.
Austin, who is unranked in the MAC, has, in the last month, recorded wins over Edinboro's Anthony Ferraro (pin), Northern Illinois' Jacob Brya (10-3), and now Decatur. Ferrara is ranked fifth in the league and Brya is sixth.
• Spidle ran his win streak to nine straight.
• Shrader won for the seventh time in his last eight matches. He has scored bonus points in five of those seven wins.
• Alex Cramer won for the 12th time in his last 13 bouts.
• Lovett ran his win streak to 12 and has been victorious in 16 of his last 17 matches. His win on Thursday gave him 126 for his career and he is seventh in program history in that category. His next victory will move him into a tie for sixth with Carleton Kincade, who won 127 matches from 1983-88.
Central Michigan 36, Kent State 0
165: Chandler Amaker (C) dec. Hunter Andel, 5-0, CMU 3, Kent State 0
174: No. 8 Alex Cramer (C) major dec. Waylon Wehler, 8-0, CMU 7, Kent State 0
184: Adrien Cramer (C) dec. Kyle Snider, 5-1, CMU 10, Kent State 0
197: Luke Cochran (C) dec. Blake Schaffer, 4-1, CMU 13, Kent State 0
285: Bryan Caves (C) major dec. Brentan Simmerman, 15-5, CMU 17, Kent State 0
125: Grant Stahl (C) dec. Tyler Hagansen, 9-8, CMU 20, Kent State 0
133: No. 26 Sean Spidle (C) major dec. Adan Benavidez, 12-0, CMU 24, Kent State 0
141: Andrew Austin (C) dec. Jordan Decatur, 4-3, CMU 27, Kent State 0
149: No 31 Mason Shrader (C) tech. fall Cael Andrews, 18-2, CMU 32, Kent State 0
157: No. 16 Johnny Lovett (C) major dec. Carson Miller, 15-3, CMU 36, Kent State 0
*National rankings by FloWrestling
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