Friday, February 21
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
22
vs
12
Michigan State
CMU's Alex Cramer takes down his opponent en route to an 8-0 major decision victory on Friday at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Wrestlers Roll Past Michigan State on Senior Night
2/21/2025 10:46:00 PM | Wrestling
Chippewas close the regular season on Sunday with a dual at No. 19 Michigan
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Senior Night and good vibes all around.
Central Michigan scored bonus points in three of its six wins on Friday in topping Michigan State, 22-12, in a nonconference wrestling dual before a crowd of more than 1,100 at McGuirk Arena.
It was the Chippewas' fifth consecutive victory and it came over an in-state rival out of the Big Ten. It was CMU's first win over a Big Ten opponent in five years and it got the final weekend of the regular season off to a solid start as the Chippewas improved to 9-9.
"It always feels good any time you can win a dual meet and it's important for the guys on our team," said first-year CMU coach Ben Bennett, whose team goes to 19th-ranked Michigan on Sunday (5 p.m.) and then looks to the Mid-American Conference Championships in two weeks. "It should give them some confidence that we can win these matches.
"It's an in-state school. A lot of these guys grew up wrestling each other, they know each other so there's a little bit of a rivalry there.
"It gives us some real good competition at the end of the year, and it gives these guys a real good opportunity to wrestle some quality guys, some ranked guys. It challenges our guys a little bit and if we can find success that's a good thing."
The Chippewas' last win over a Big Ten program came exactly five years to the day, a 21-15 win over the Spartans on Feb. 21, 2020 in McGuirk Arena.
CMU celebrated Senior Night and it was the final appearance at McGuirk for four seniors, Vince Perez, Cameron Wood, Alex Cramer and Johnny Lovett.
Cramer (174 pounds) and Lovett (157) cruised to relatively easy victories. Cramer posted an 8-0 major decision and Lovett won, 9-2.
Both Cramer and Lovett will go down as two of the very best in the long and storied history of CMU wrestling.
Lovett's win was the 128th of his career, which ties him for fifth all-time in program history with Wynn Michalak, who wrestled for the Chippewas from 2004-08. Cramer's win was the 104th of his career.
The co-captains are among the 28 CMU wrestlers who have won 100 career matches.
"Your last home dual of your career, you win your match, the team wins the dual and you have a little bit of fun," Bennett said. "It's hard to feel real good about things if you lose, or if the team loses the dual.
"They really got to enjoy the moment because they had success, the team had success; you wish that for everyone."
Redshirt freshman Grant Stahl sparked the Chippewas with a dramatic 4-1 win at 125. He scored a takedown with just 5 seconds remaining to break a 1-1 tie. It was his third win in his last six matches. He had lost nine straight before his recent streak of success.
"It's huge, it sets the tone and the guys on our team, they love Grant and he's been working his tail off," Bennett said. "I know he hasn't been getting the results he wants, but he's a great kid, busts his butt every day, he's incredibly coachable and you could hear the guys cheering for him up there in the stands.
"They love him and that just tells you what kind of kid he is, what kind of person he is. He's earned it, he earned that match tonight because of the work he's put in. we're happy for him."
Sean Spidle (133) followed with a 10-0 major decision victory to extend CMU's lead to 7-0.
It was Spidle's 15th win in his last 17 bouts and his 11th consecutive win. He has outscored his opponents, 85-14, during his win streak, he has not been taken down in 10 straight matches, and he has posted five consecutive shutouts.
The Chippewas got a technical fall from Mason Shrader (149) and the wins by Lovett and then Cramer put the Chippewas in charge, 19-6.
CMU's Luke Cochran (197) posted a 7-2 victory, his sixth straight and his 11th in his last 14 matches.
Central Michigan 22, Michigan State 12
125: Grant Stahl (C) dec. Caleb Weiand, 4-1, CMU 3, MSU 0
133: No. 26 Sean Spidle (C) major dec. Andy Hampton, 10-0, CMU 7, MSU 0
141: Jaden Crumpler (MSU) dec. Andrew Austin, 4-2, CMU 7, MSU 3
149: No. 31 Mason Shrader (C) tech. fall Clayton Jones III, 18-3, 5:49, CMU 12, MSU 3
157: No. 16 Johnny Lovett (C) dec. Braden Stauffenberg, 9-2, CMU 15, MSU 3
165: Jay Nivison (MSU) dec. Chandler Amaker, 10-3, CMU 15, MSU 6
174: No. 8 Alex Cramer (C) major dec. Ceasar Garza, 8-0, CMU 19, MSU 6
184: Marty Larkin (MSU) dec. Adrien Cramer, 6-0, CMU 19, MSU 9
197: Luke Cochran (C) dec. Lucas Daly, 7-2, CMU 22, MSU 9
285: No. 33 Max Vanadia (MSU) dec. Bryan Caves, 5-3, CMU 22, MSU 12
*Rankings by FloWrestling
Central Michigan scored bonus points in three of its six wins on Friday in topping Michigan State, 22-12, in a nonconference wrestling dual before a crowd of more than 1,100 at McGuirk Arena.
It was the Chippewas' fifth consecutive victory and it came over an in-state rival out of the Big Ten. It was CMU's first win over a Big Ten opponent in five years and it got the final weekend of the regular season off to a solid start as the Chippewas improved to 9-9.
"It always feels good any time you can win a dual meet and it's important for the guys on our team," said first-year CMU coach Ben Bennett, whose team goes to 19th-ranked Michigan on Sunday (5 p.m.) and then looks to the Mid-American Conference Championships in two weeks. "It should give them some confidence that we can win these matches.
"It's an in-state school. A lot of these guys grew up wrestling each other, they know each other so there's a little bit of a rivalry there.
"It gives us some real good competition at the end of the year, and it gives these guys a real good opportunity to wrestle some quality guys, some ranked guys. It challenges our guys a little bit and if we can find success that's a good thing."
The Chippewas' last win over a Big Ten program came exactly five years to the day, a 21-15 win over the Spartans on Feb. 21, 2020 in McGuirk Arena.
CMU celebrated Senior Night and it was the final appearance at McGuirk for four seniors, Vince Perez, Cameron Wood, Alex Cramer and Johnny Lovett.
Cramer (174 pounds) and Lovett (157) cruised to relatively easy victories. Cramer posted an 8-0 major decision and Lovett won, 9-2.
Both Cramer and Lovett will go down as two of the very best in the long and storied history of CMU wrestling.
Lovett's win was the 128th of his career, which ties him for fifth all-time in program history with Wynn Michalak, who wrestled for the Chippewas from 2004-08. Cramer's win was the 104th of his career.
The co-captains are among the 28 CMU wrestlers who have won 100 career matches.
"Your last home dual of your career, you win your match, the team wins the dual and you have a little bit of fun," Bennett said. "It's hard to feel real good about things if you lose, or if the team loses the dual.
"They really got to enjoy the moment because they had success, the team had success; you wish that for everyone."
Redshirt freshman Grant Stahl sparked the Chippewas with a dramatic 4-1 win at 125. He scored a takedown with just 5 seconds remaining to break a 1-1 tie. It was his third win in his last six matches. He had lost nine straight before his recent streak of success.
"It's huge, it sets the tone and the guys on our team, they love Grant and he's been working his tail off," Bennett said. "I know he hasn't been getting the results he wants, but he's a great kid, busts his butt every day, he's incredibly coachable and you could hear the guys cheering for him up there in the stands.
"They love him and that just tells you what kind of kid he is, what kind of person he is. He's earned it, he earned that match tonight because of the work he's put in. we're happy for him."
Sean Spidle (133) followed with a 10-0 major decision victory to extend CMU's lead to 7-0.
It was Spidle's 15th win in his last 17 bouts and his 11th consecutive win. He has outscored his opponents, 85-14, during his win streak, he has not been taken down in 10 straight matches, and he has posted five consecutive shutouts.
The Chippewas got a technical fall from Mason Shrader (149) and the wins by Lovett and then Cramer put the Chippewas in charge, 19-6.
CMU's Luke Cochran (197) posted a 7-2 victory, his sixth straight and his 11th in his last 14 matches.
Central Michigan 22, Michigan State 12
125: Grant Stahl (C) dec. Caleb Weiand, 4-1, CMU 3, MSU 0
133: No. 26 Sean Spidle (C) major dec. Andy Hampton, 10-0, CMU 7, MSU 0
141: Jaden Crumpler (MSU) dec. Andrew Austin, 4-2, CMU 7, MSU 3
149: No. 31 Mason Shrader (C) tech. fall Clayton Jones III, 18-3, 5:49, CMU 12, MSU 3
157: No. 16 Johnny Lovett (C) dec. Braden Stauffenberg, 9-2, CMU 15, MSU 3
165: Jay Nivison (MSU) dec. Chandler Amaker, 10-3, CMU 15, MSU 6
174: No. 8 Alex Cramer (C) major dec. Ceasar Garza, 8-0, CMU 19, MSU 6
184: Marty Larkin (MSU) dec. Adrien Cramer, 6-0, CMU 19, MSU 9
197: Luke Cochran (C) dec. Lucas Daly, 7-2, CMU 22, MSU 9
285: No. 33 Max Vanadia (MSU) dec. Bryan Caves, 5-3, CMU 22, MSU 12
*Rankings by FloWrestling
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