Friday, March 7
Trenton, N.J.
Noon ET
Central Michigan University
at
MAC Championships
CMU's Andrew Austin has his hand raised after winning his 141-pound semifinal at the MAC Championships in Trenton, N.J. on Friday.
Photo by: COPYRIGHT (c) KANKOJEEPHOTOGRAPHY
Six Chippewas to Wrestle for MAC Titles; CMU Tops Team Standings After Day 1 at MAC Championships
3/7/2025 10:50:00 PM | Wrestling
TRENTON, N.J. – Not bad, for openers.
Make that pretty darned good.
Six Central Michigan wrestlers reached the championship match in their respective weight classes and three others remain alive in the consolation brackets after day 1 Friday at the Mid-American Conference Championships at CURE Insurance Arena.
With 98 points, the Chippewas are in first place, 13 ahead of Lock Haven. Rider (73.5) is third in the 13-team field.
"it was a good day," first-year CMU coach Ben Bennett said. "You just never know what's going to happen, regardless of what the seeds are. I think we had six guys seeded in the top two, so you look at that and you think, we're going to have six in the finals, but there's some good kids in those weight classes.
"Sometimes the seeds don't mean as much as maybe the matchups do. And regardless of the seeds, you've got to show up and wrestle; you've got to show up and do your job and the guys showed up today and they competed hard."
CMU's Sean Spidle (133 pounds), Andrew Austin (141), Mason Shrader (149), Johnny Lovett (157), Chandler Amaker (165), and Alex Cramer (174) will wrestle for titles on Saturday as CMU looks to repeat as the MAC champion.
"I think all six matches that we have in the finals are going to be really, really tough matches," Bennett said. "Nothing's going to be handed to those guys."
By virtue of the fact that they are in the championship match and therefore guaranteed at least a second-place finish, Spidle, Shrader, Lovett, Amaker and Cramer have qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Austin would need to win on Saturday to punch his ticket to the NCAA, while Bryan Caves (285) could qualify if he places third on Saturday.
CMU's Grant Stahl (125), Luke Cochran (197) and Caves are alive in the consolation brackets. Each could finish as high as third place on Saturday. Cochran is guaranteed to finish no worse than sixth.
"On the back side we've got Caves and Stahl," Bennett said. "They've got to win one more to place and Luke's in the consi semis. Those guys are really important to the team too."
Adrien Cramer (184) was the lone Chippewa eliminated on Friday.
The tournament resumes on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET with consolation-bracket matches. The place matches are set to begin at 3 p.m. ET.
Veterans Deliver
Alex Cramer, the top seed at 174, is seeking his third consecutive MAC title and will take on Ohio's Garrett Thompson, the No. 2 seed, in Saturday's final.
Lovett, also seeded No. 1 at 157, is seeking his second MAC title. He won at 149 pounds in 2023. He will wrestle George Mason's DJ McGee, the No. 3 seed, in Saturday's final.
Cramer and Lovett, the Chippewa co-captains who have qualified for the NCAA Championships a combined seven times in their outstanding careers, are graduate students.
McGee defeated Lovett, 4-3, last year in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament. Lovett, who ran his win streak to 17 on Friday, defeated McGee, 3-2, in overtime earlier this season at the Midlands Championships.
Lovett three matches on Friday, one by major decision, another by technical fall.
"Johnny's been incredibly consistent," Bennett said. "I can't remember the last time he's missed a match, missed a dual meet. Just incredibly consistent in terms of everything he does. You know what you're going to get when he goes out there."
Lovett's three wins on Friday gave him 132 for his career. He needs three victories to become the program's all-time wins leader. Four times in his career he has placed in the top three in the MAC Championships, but has just one league title to his name.
"I'm sure it is (motivation) for him," Bennett said. "I try to tell the guys, don't get too caught up in what's going on, just get yourself ready to wrestle a match. Don't get caught up in all the noise and everything going around, just stay focused."
Cramer's final opponent is Thompson, the No. 2 seed. Cramer is ranked eighth nationally by FloWrestling, while Thompson is sixth. Thompson defeated Cramer on a 13-1 major decision the last time they met. Cramer won the first two meetings this season, 4-1 and 2-0.
"They know what each other does, so that always makes it a tough match," Bennett said. "I think if Alex wrestles his match, executes his game plan like he did the first two matches against Thompson, he's going to have a great shot to win.
"The last time, Thompson kind of got to his stuff and wrestled his match. It's just going to come down to setting the tone early, wrestling your match, controlling the ties. Who's going to get to their offense? Alex is more than capable of doing that."
Big Rematch for Spidle
Spidle rolled to a technical fall win in his opening match on Friday and then battled to a pair of one-point victories against tough opponents to reach the final.
He will face Lock Haven's Anthony Noto in the title match. Noto defeated Spidle, 8-6, in the semifinals at last year's MAC Championships when they both were wrestling at 125. Noto was named the MAC Wrestler of the Year and went on to place third at the NCAA Championships.
Noto, the top seed, is ranked 19th nationally; Spidle, the No. 2 seed, is 24th.
"The thing about Sean is he's pretty good at every position," Bennett said. "He's good at getting off bottom; he can ride you. He's really, really tough on top. He's really hard to score on and when he wants to, he has really good offense. He's really a well-rounded wrestler. When he's wrestling up to his abilities, he's really hard to beat.
"He's going to have a really good test. I'm really excited for the match with Noto for Sean having another opportunity to wrestle him. He wrestled (Noto) pretty good last year at 125. It'll be a good test for him. I'm excited for him and for that opportunity for him."
Amaker Surprises
Amaker will face Rider's Enrique Munguia, the top seed, in Saturday's 165 final. Amaker, a redshirt junior, moved into the Chippewa lineup as a replacement for injured Tyler Swiderski earlier this season.
The sixth seed, Amaker opened the tournament with a 4-2 win and then defeated No. 2-seeded Evan Maag of George Mason, the defending MAC champion, by injury default in the semifinals.
Drama from Austin, Shrader
Austin and Shrader provided two of the most dramatic moments in the gym on Friday in their respective semifinal victories.
Trailing 6-5, Austin got a takedown and a four-point near fall in the final 12 seconds to defeat Anthony Ferraro of Edinboro, 12-6. Shrader trailed, 4-3, and then got a takedown in the final 20 seconds to defeat Ohio's Derek Raike.
It is the first time that Austin, a redshirt sophomore, and Shrader, a redshirt junior, have wrestled in the MAC Championships. Both were seeded second in their respective weight classes.
"When you've never wrestled in these events before, it's just a different experience," Bennett said. "For those two to have that kind of poise in those situations against tough opponents to keep their composure and just keep wrestling, it says a lot about those two guys and their belief in themselves.
"Nothing came easy. Those two had to fight for everything. They believed in their training, they believed in their preparation. We just tell them to keep wrestling; you never know what's going to happen and those guys needed every second. They wrestled tough today."
Both Austin and Shrader will face the No. 1 seed in their respective weight classes. Austin will take on Lock Haven's Wyatt Henson, the defending MAC champion at 141 who is ranked 17th nationally.
Shrader, who is ranked 26th, will face Sammy Alvarez of Rider, who is ranked 14th.
Match-by-match results for CMU wrestlers:
125
Grant Stahl (1-1)
L Christopher Vargo, Edinboro, 13-2
W Ben Aranda, Cleveland State, Fall 6:50
133
Sean Spidle (3-0)
W Troy Gurerra, Buffalo, 16-0 TF, 4:11
W Will Betancourt, Rider, 1-0
Semifinal: W Markel Baker, Northern Illinois, 3-2
141
Andrew Austin (2-0)
W Kaden Jett, Ohio, 7-1
Semifinal: W Anthony Ferraro, Edinboro, 12-6
149
Mason Shrader (3-0)
W David McClelland, Clarion, 19-4 TF, 5:51
W Hayden Whidden, SIU Edwardsville, 2-0
Semifinal: W Derek Raike, Ohio, 6-4
157
Johnny Lovett (3-0)
W Logan Cravatas, Ohio, 9-1 MD
W Carson Miller, Kent State, 5-2
Semifinal: W Landen Johnson, Northern Illinois, TF 18-3, 6:41
165
Chandler Amaker (3-0)
W Wesley Barnes, Clarion, 4-1
W Tate Geiser, Cleveland State, 4-2
Semifinal: W Evan Maag, George Mason, MFF
174
Alex Cramer (2-0)
W Rafael Knapp, Buffalo, 6-1
Semifinal: W Logan Messer, George Mason, 10-0
184
Adrien Cramer (0-2)
L Adrian Gracek, Clarion, 4-1
L Jeremy Olszko, Ohio, 7-3
197
Luke Cochran (1-1)
W Nicholas Lodato, Edinboro, 2-1 SV-1
Semifinal: L Brock Zurawski, Rider, 7-1
285
Bryan Caves (2-1)
W Bryson Buhk, SIUE, 11-2 MD
L Daniel Bucknavich, Cleveland State, fall 3:58
W Jacob Christensen, NIU, 4-0
Make that pretty darned good.
Six Central Michigan wrestlers reached the championship match in their respective weight classes and three others remain alive in the consolation brackets after day 1 Friday at the Mid-American Conference Championships at CURE Insurance Arena.
With 98 points, the Chippewas are in first place, 13 ahead of Lock Haven. Rider (73.5) is third in the 13-team field.
"it was a good day," first-year CMU coach Ben Bennett said. "You just never know what's going to happen, regardless of what the seeds are. I think we had six guys seeded in the top two, so you look at that and you think, we're going to have six in the finals, but there's some good kids in those weight classes.
"Sometimes the seeds don't mean as much as maybe the matchups do. And regardless of the seeds, you've got to show up and wrestle; you've got to show up and do your job and the guys showed up today and they competed hard."
CMU's Sean Spidle (133 pounds), Andrew Austin (141), Mason Shrader (149), Johnny Lovett (157), Chandler Amaker (165), and Alex Cramer (174) will wrestle for titles on Saturday as CMU looks to repeat as the MAC champion.
"I think all six matches that we have in the finals are going to be really, really tough matches," Bennett said. "Nothing's going to be handed to those guys."
By virtue of the fact that they are in the championship match and therefore guaranteed at least a second-place finish, Spidle, Shrader, Lovett, Amaker and Cramer have qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Austin would need to win on Saturday to punch his ticket to the NCAA, while Bryan Caves (285) could qualify if he places third on Saturday.
CMU's Grant Stahl (125), Luke Cochran (197) and Caves are alive in the consolation brackets. Each could finish as high as third place on Saturday. Cochran is guaranteed to finish no worse than sixth.
"On the back side we've got Caves and Stahl," Bennett said. "They've got to win one more to place and Luke's in the consi semis. Those guys are really important to the team too."
Adrien Cramer (184) was the lone Chippewa eliminated on Friday.
The tournament resumes on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET with consolation-bracket matches. The place matches are set to begin at 3 p.m. ET.
Veterans Deliver
Alex Cramer, the top seed at 174, is seeking his third consecutive MAC title and will take on Ohio's Garrett Thompson, the No. 2 seed, in Saturday's final.
Lovett, also seeded No. 1 at 157, is seeking his second MAC title. He won at 149 pounds in 2023. He will wrestle George Mason's DJ McGee, the No. 3 seed, in Saturday's final.
Cramer and Lovett, the Chippewa co-captains who have qualified for the NCAA Championships a combined seven times in their outstanding careers, are graduate students.
McGee defeated Lovett, 4-3, last year in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament. Lovett, who ran his win streak to 17 on Friday, defeated McGee, 3-2, in overtime earlier this season at the Midlands Championships.
Lovett three matches on Friday, one by major decision, another by technical fall.
"Johnny's been incredibly consistent," Bennett said. "I can't remember the last time he's missed a match, missed a dual meet. Just incredibly consistent in terms of everything he does. You know what you're going to get when he goes out there."
Lovett's three wins on Friday gave him 132 for his career. He needs three victories to become the program's all-time wins leader. Four times in his career he has placed in the top three in the MAC Championships, but has just one league title to his name.
"I'm sure it is (motivation) for him," Bennett said. "I try to tell the guys, don't get too caught up in what's going on, just get yourself ready to wrestle a match. Don't get caught up in all the noise and everything going around, just stay focused."
Cramer's final opponent is Thompson, the No. 2 seed. Cramer is ranked eighth nationally by FloWrestling, while Thompson is sixth. Thompson defeated Cramer on a 13-1 major decision the last time they met. Cramer won the first two meetings this season, 4-1 and 2-0.
"They know what each other does, so that always makes it a tough match," Bennett said. "I think if Alex wrestles his match, executes his game plan like he did the first two matches against Thompson, he's going to have a great shot to win.
"The last time, Thompson kind of got to his stuff and wrestled his match. It's just going to come down to setting the tone early, wrestling your match, controlling the ties. Who's going to get to their offense? Alex is more than capable of doing that."
Big Rematch for Spidle
Spidle rolled to a technical fall win in his opening match on Friday and then battled to a pair of one-point victories against tough opponents to reach the final.
He will face Lock Haven's Anthony Noto in the title match. Noto defeated Spidle, 8-6, in the semifinals at last year's MAC Championships when they both were wrestling at 125. Noto was named the MAC Wrestler of the Year and went on to place third at the NCAA Championships.
Noto, the top seed, is ranked 19th nationally; Spidle, the No. 2 seed, is 24th.
"The thing about Sean is he's pretty good at every position," Bennett said. "He's good at getting off bottom; he can ride you. He's really, really tough on top. He's really hard to score on and when he wants to, he has really good offense. He's really a well-rounded wrestler. When he's wrestling up to his abilities, he's really hard to beat.
"He's going to have a really good test. I'm really excited for the match with Noto for Sean having another opportunity to wrestle him. He wrestled (Noto) pretty good last year at 125. It'll be a good test for him. I'm excited for him and for that opportunity for him."
Amaker Surprises
Amaker will face Rider's Enrique Munguia, the top seed, in Saturday's 165 final. Amaker, a redshirt junior, moved into the Chippewa lineup as a replacement for injured Tyler Swiderski earlier this season.
The sixth seed, Amaker opened the tournament with a 4-2 win and then defeated No. 2-seeded Evan Maag of George Mason, the defending MAC champion, by injury default in the semifinals.
Drama from Austin, Shrader
Austin and Shrader provided two of the most dramatic moments in the gym on Friday in their respective semifinal victories.
Trailing 6-5, Austin got a takedown and a four-point near fall in the final 12 seconds to defeat Anthony Ferraro of Edinboro, 12-6. Shrader trailed, 4-3, and then got a takedown in the final 20 seconds to defeat Ohio's Derek Raike.
It is the first time that Austin, a redshirt sophomore, and Shrader, a redshirt junior, have wrestled in the MAC Championships. Both were seeded second in their respective weight classes.
"When you've never wrestled in these events before, it's just a different experience," Bennett said. "For those two to have that kind of poise in those situations against tough opponents to keep their composure and just keep wrestling, it says a lot about those two guys and their belief in themselves.
"Nothing came easy. Those two had to fight for everything. They believed in their training, they believed in their preparation. We just tell them to keep wrestling; you never know what's going to happen and those guys needed every second. They wrestled tough today."
Both Austin and Shrader will face the No. 1 seed in their respective weight classes. Austin will take on Lock Haven's Wyatt Henson, the defending MAC champion at 141 who is ranked 17th nationally.
Shrader, who is ranked 26th, will face Sammy Alvarez of Rider, who is ranked 14th.
Match-by-match results for CMU wrestlers:
125
Grant Stahl (1-1)
L Christopher Vargo, Edinboro, 13-2
W Ben Aranda, Cleveland State, Fall 6:50
133
Sean Spidle (3-0)
W Troy Gurerra, Buffalo, 16-0 TF, 4:11
W Will Betancourt, Rider, 1-0
Semifinal: W Markel Baker, Northern Illinois, 3-2
141
Andrew Austin (2-0)
W Kaden Jett, Ohio, 7-1
Semifinal: W Anthony Ferraro, Edinboro, 12-6
149
Mason Shrader (3-0)
W David McClelland, Clarion, 19-4 TF, 5:51
W Hayden Whidden, SIU Edwardsville, 2-0
Semifinal: W Derek Raike, Ohio, 6-4
157
Johnny Lovett (3-0)
W Logan Cravatas, Ohio, 9-1 MD
W Carson Miller, Kent State, 5-2
Semifinal: W Landen Johnson, Northern Illinois, TF 18-3, 6:41
165
Chandler Amaker (3-0)
W Wesley Barnes, Clarion, 4-1
W Tate Geiser, Cleveland State, 4-2
Semifinal: W Evan Maag, George Mason, MFF
174
Alex Cramer (2-0)
W Rafael Knapp, Buffalo, 6-1
Semifinal: W Logan Messer, George Mason, 10-0
184
Adrien Cramer (0-2)
L Adrian Gracek, Clarion, 4-1
L Jeremy Olszko, Ohio, 7-3
197
Luke Cochran (1-1)
W Nicholas Lodato, Edinboro, 2-1 SV-1
Semifinal: L Brock Zurawski, Rider, 7-1
285
Bryan Caves (2-1)
W Bryson Buhk, SIUE, 11-2 MD
L Daniel Bucknavich, Cleveland State, fall 3:58
W Jacob Christensen, NIU, 4-0
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
Wrestling vs Northern Illinois
Friday, January 17
Ben Bennett Insider - 11.15.24
Friday, November 15
Maroon and Gold Intrasquad Highlights
Monday, November 04
Wrestling Halloween Video - 10.31.24
Thursday, October 31