Wrestling team still among nation's best
Rose Arena erupted and Vince DiDona could barely contain himself.
He ran off the mat, slapping hands with people as he passed them and ran though the door leading to the hallway beneath the arena.
The 184-pound senior had just finished one the biggest matches of his life.
DiDona's 8-6 upset against Nebraska's No. 10 Vince Jones on Sunday stopped the a slide that nearly cost the CMU wrestling team the match.
After winning the meet's first four matches, the Chippewas dropped the next three, including the only two matches that featured two ranked opponents. With three matches left, Nebraska had three ranked wrestlers to take on three unranked CMU wrestlers. A loss looked unavoidable.
But then came DiDona, a fifth year senior that had until this year spent much of his time on the bench.
Although the win by DiDona ultimately led to a 17-17 tie that was followed by a loss to unranked Virginia Tech, CMU is still farther ahead than what people expected.
Gone from last season are six seniors, four of which were All-Americans last spring. But on Sunday, Luke Smith, Brandon Sinnott, Cristian Sinnott, Wynn Michalak and Bubba Gritter sat at their respective coaching spots on the bench as the 2008-09 wrestling team took on two of the nation's best.
CMU is 12-2-1 on the season in duals, and until recently, had not lost a dual match since Nov. 19 against No. 1 Iowa.
DiDona, freshman Scotti Sentes, sophomore 174-pounder Mike Miller and others have all made the team's second-place pre-season ranking in the Mid-American Conference almost laughable. CMU is still the class of the MAC, and still in the elite in the nation.
Central tied the No. 4 team and beat the No. 8, 10, 13, 23 and 24 teams in the nation, losing only to No. 1 Iowa and Virginia Tech. And the team's challenging schedule does not take a break. The Chippewas host No.18 Old Dominion on Feb. 1 (a team they beat 23-12 earlier in the season), travel to No. 12 Missouri on Feb. 13 and host MAC rival and No.23 Kent State on Feb. 19.
The season is far from over, but the Chippewas already have made their mark as the season stretches ever so closer to April.
This is not rebuilding - CMU is talented enough to make a solid run in the NCAA Championships.
sports@cm-life.com
