CMU finishes eighth at Southern Scuffle
Fresh off a second place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions December 20, the Central Michigan wrestling team began the new year with an eighth place finish at the Southern Scuffle, Saturday.
In a loaded 31-team, two-day tournament, which featured 10 teams ranked in the USA today Top 25, the 16th-ranked Chippewas more than held their own in Chattanooga. The Chippewas finished with 65.5 points and had five wrestlers reach the quarterfinals while three reached the semifinals.
“We wrestled well and learned some things I really think we can fix,” said Central Michigan Head Coach Tom Borrelli. “As you go through the tournament you feel like you could do better in situations, but for the most part we did pretty well.”
Sophomore Brent Fleetwood finished fourth in the 125-pound weight class. He reached the semifinals after defeating Steve Polakowski of Minnesota 1-0. He then lost to Eddie Klimara of 7th-ranked Oklahoma State 9-3 and dropped a 7-5 decision to Zeke Moisey of West Virginia.
Team Standings
1. Penn State - 183 points
2. Oklahoma State - 153 points
3. Lehigh - 104.5 points
4. Cornell - 98.5 points
5. North Carolina - 97.5 points
6. Minnesota - 79.5 points
7. West Virginia - 76.5 points
8. Central Michigan - 65.5 points
“For him to take fourth in this caliber of a tournament is a big improvement and should help his confidence,” Borrelli said.
Senior Zach Horan (141) finished in sixth place after reaching the semifinals. He won his quarterfinal match over Lehigh’s Cortlandt Schuyler with a last second reversal to get the 7-5 decision. He dropped a 5-2 decision to Mike Prince of Navy and a 10-2 major decision to Thomas Thorn of Minnesota.
Sophomore Justin Oliver started 2016 with an impressive showing of his own, finishing third in the 149-pound weight class. He defeated Zach Finesilver of Duke 8-6 in the consolation round and Matthew Cimato of Drexel 5-2.
“Justin had a really good tournament. He was aggressive and scored a lot in his matches, but most importantly kept wrestling in every situation,” Borrelli said.
Senior Luke Smith (157) fell to the consolation round early after losing a close match to Ian Brown of 10th-ranked Lehigh 7-6, but fought his way back and defeated Dylan Cottrell of West Virginia 13-7 and Dominic Longo of Lehigh to finish in seventh.
Senior Mike Ottinger (174) also delivered a seventh-place finish. He was pinned by Jordan Rogers from Oklahoma State in the consolation round, but rebounded to get the takedown against West Virginia's Ross Renzi, winning the match 4-2.
“I think the younger guys have really been taking what we’ve been teaching them. It’s harder for the older guys because they’ve been doing the same things for so long, but the younger guys have really been improving," Borrelli said.
Juniors Colin Heffernan, Austin Severn and Corey Keener were held out from the tournament.
Borrelli said Heffernan is battling a bacterial infection, while Keener (knee) and Severn (triceps) are still recovering from injuries obtained at the Reno Tournament of Champions two weeks ago.
Borrelli said he expects to get Keener back by next weekend. No timetable was given for Heffernan's and Severn's return.
Big Ten powerhouse and No. 1 overall team in the country Penn State won the tournament with 183 points. Oklahoma State came in second with 158 points.
“Those teams have real tenacious wrestlers and they’re always trying to score,” Borrelli said. “They have a lot of confidence and they’re really aggressive.”
The Chippewas will head back to Mount Pleasant for a home meet against the Oregon State Beavers on Saturday at 2 p.m.
