Wrestling team places 12th nationally; three earn All-America honors
OMAHA, Neb. — CMU had a goal of winning a team trophy with a top-four finish at the NCAA wrestling tournament over the weekend.
But when Virginia junior Christopher Henrich converted a takedown on CMU redshirt freshman Ben Bennett, it assured no hardware would be brought back to Mount Pleasant.
Henrich leapt out and grabbed Bennett’s leg as the whistle blew in overtime, getting the takedown to end the final CMU wrestler’s chance of a medal. As a team, CMU finished 12th nationally.
The 174-pound Bennett had advanced to the sixth round of the consolation bracket with five wins and two consecutive first-round pins. Bennett also lost his final match in a 3-2 decision to Illinois sophomore Jordan Blanton. Bennett finished the tournament in sixth place, the highest among all Central wrestlers.
“When you have a redshirt freshman finish the highest on your team, it’s real positive for the team’s future,” said coach Tom Borrelli. “He can drag some other guys up with him.”
CMU finished with three All-Americans, one more than the pair of wrestlers — then-freshman Scotti Sentes (seventh at 125) and then-sophomore Mike Miller (runner-up at 174) — that earned the honor last season.
“We have something to build on,” Borrelli said. “Our goal was to take home an NCAA trophy. We didn’t do it this year, but it will always be our goal.”
Senior 157-pounder Steve Brown entered the tournament as the 12th-seeded wrestler at 157 pounds, but finished eighth overall. After being eliminated from the championship bracket in the second round, Brown defeated three consecutive wrestlers, including a 5-2 decision against No. 3 Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech, to become an All-American for the first time in his career.
Sophomore heavyweight Jarod Trice also earned his first All-America honors with an eighth-place finish. Trice suffered an ankle injury in his first-round match and was pinned in the last second of the bout.
“I popped my ankle out in the first round and I didn’t get the motion going that I needed in my last match or in the tournament,” Trice said. “I have to come back next year. I have to start it up again and make it to the top of the podium.”
Trice recovered from the injury enough to defeat Minnesota junior Benjamin Berhow in the fourth round of the consolation bracket to become the third heavyweight All-American in school history.
“We have a lot of work to do for next year to stay competitive nationally,” Brown said. “We have to start to get working in April and find out who really wants to be committed.”
Senior 141-pounder Tony D’Alie finished two matches out of the top eight. Seven CMU wrestlers won their first-round matches. Senior 197-pounder Eric Simaz was CMU’s lone wrestler who did not get a win.
With six of the 10 national qualifiers as seniors, the Chippewas have some holes to fill for next season. However, the team returns four All-Americans in Trice, Bennett, 133-pounder Sentes and 184-pounder Miller.
