CMU sophomore wrestler Scotti Sentes and MSU senior wrestler Franklin Gomez grew up in a state that does not have Division-I wrestling. In fact, of the top five wrestling teams in the nation, there are no wrestlers hailing from Florida.

But with the state’s reputation in the dregs of the wrestling world, Sentes, from Fort Myers, Fla., and Gomez, from Brandon, Fla., have dedicated their collegiate careers to boosting the image of Florida wrestlers.

The two are the only wrestlers from the state in the top 20 national rankings at the 133-pound weight class. They face each other when CMU and Michigan State meet at 7:30 p.m. today in Rose Arena.

“I didn’t know anything about college wrestling,” Sentes said. “I had never seen a dual meet until I came up to visit Central. A lot of guys down there want to keep on wrestling, but they don’t know how to do it.”

Adding to the lack of exposure is a chilling effect — not having Division-I wrestling in the state causes students to avoid involvement in the sport.

Only the top wrestlers get the chance to move on to the Division-I level because they are the ones who are awarded scholarships, Sentes said. Going out of state for college is expensive and, without a scholarship, some wrestling careers are ended at the high school level.

“If there was Division-I wrestling in Florida, more kids would be motivated to get into the sport,” Gomez said. “At a young age, kids don’t really think about going on and wrestling in college but, as they get older, it starts to affect their decisions.”

Because wrestling is prominent in the Midwest, most of the national tournaments for high school wrestlers are held in the north, Sentes said. College coaches do not get the opportunity to see wrestlers from the South because it is too expensive for them to travel to the tournaments.

Sentes and Gomez were awarded scholarships to move their careers forward. In the process, they have begun to debunk the idea of weak wrestling in Florida. Gomez took home a national championship at 133 pounds last season and Sentes earned All-American honors at 125 pounds as a true freshman.

“I think coaches are starting to understand that wrestlers from Florida are pretty good,” Gomez said. “Before, there wasn’t much respect for a wrestler coming out of Florida but, today, coaches are seeing that they can be as good as from any other state and maybe better.”

First meeting

Despite growing up in rival high schools, Sentes and Gomez have never faced each other on the mat. Gomez graduated the year before Sentes began high school.

“He went to Brandon, which is a big-name school in Florida,” Sentes said. “I went to Riverdale, but I was known for knocking off Brandon guys so, hopefully, I can add Franklin Gomez to that list.”

Gomez came into the season as the top wrestler in the 133-weight class and was the favorite to repeat as a national champion. However, a narrow 3-2 loss to Iowa senior Daniel Dennis last week dropped him to fourth in the nation.

The lost snapped a 29-match win streak, which Gomez will look to jump start with a win in Mount Pleasant.

“I want to be my best, just like in any other match,” Gomez said.

Sentes won his last four matches and has allowed his opponents a total of four combined points. Since bumping up to the 133-pound weight class, Sentes has taken on four opponents in the top 10, but has come away with only one victory.

“I am either going to be the hero or be embarrassed,” Sentes said. “Trying to take on the number one wrestler, I am hoping to be the hero.”