Wrestling takes second at Reno Tournament of Champions, six Chippewas finish in top three
The undefeated Central Michigan wrestling squad traveled the approximate 2,000 miles southwest to Reno, Nevada for the 2015 Reno Tournament of Champions, Sunday.
The 17th ranked Chippewas took second place in the 24-team tournament, finishing with 119 points, one spot behind No. 11 Illinois.
Six Chippewas finished within the top three of their respective weight classes.
Senior Zach Horan (141), redshirt sophomore Colin Heffernan (149) and junior Corey Keener (133) all advanced to championship matches in their respective weight classes, but each fell just short of claiming first place honors.
Final Team Standings:
1.) Illinois 152
2.) Central Mich 119
3.) Stanford 91
“We were pretty scrappy the whole tournament, but we were a little disappointed in our finish as far as we didn’t have any champions,” said Head Coach Tom Borrelli. “We finished second overall and I’m not sure we could have done much better because Illinois had such a good tournament, but we could have done better in our placing matches.”
Redshirt sophomore Jordan Ellingwood (184), senior Jackson Lewis (197) and senior Lucas Smith (157) each took third place in their respective weight classes.
Sophomore Jordan Atienza battled his way into the fourth place spot in the 165 pound class, pinning Lorenzo De La Riva of California State Bakersfield.
Senior Mike Ottinger (174) finished in fifth place and junior Austin Severn (184) had a shot at doing the same, but was forced into sixth place due to a medical forfeit.
Borrelli said Severn suffered a strained triceps and didn’t want to risk further injury, but expects him to make a full recovery.
The 5-0 Chippewas are off to one of their best starts in recent years and Borrelli said Heffernan has lead the charge thus far this season.
“I think so far (the best wrestler) has been Colin Heffernan,” Borrelli said. “He was second today, he won the Michigan State Open and was undefeated until today, when he lost in the finals. But he’s probably the guy who’s had the best results so far.”
The Chippewas won’t be in action until 2016 when they compete in the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tennessee on New Year’s Day.
Borrelli said Sunday’s second-place finish was another confidence builder the Chippewas will need to carry into 2016 as the level of competition continues to improve.
“We are gaining confidence, which is one of the reasons we come to these tournaments and we find out things about ourselves," he said. "The Southern scuffle will have even more top-25 teams there, so we will learn even more."
