Oliver, Smith granted release from wrestling program
Clio sophomore Mason Smith fights on the ground during the finals of the MAC Championship on Mar. 4 in McGuirk Arena.
Central Michigan wrestling will be without its two top-10 ranked wrestlers for the 2018-19 season.
Junior 149-pound wrestler Justin Oliver and sophomore 141-pound wrestler Mason Smith have been granted their release from the program to seek other universities, they confirmed.
Oliver qualified for the NCAA Tournament the last three seasons. He has compiled a record of 89-21 at CMU, including All-American Honors in 2016.
Oliver was ranked as high as No. 3 at 149 pounds this season, according to InterMat, a college wrestling website that ranks athletes. He was seeded sixth in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Oliver hasn’t spoken to any schools yet, but is interested in Penn State, Iowa State, North Carolina State, North Dakota State and “anywhere that will help (him) become the best wrestler (he) can be and win a national title,” according to a FloWrestling report.
“I want to thank my coaches and teammates at Central Michigan University for the past four years," Oliver tweeted. "I’m grateful for the people I’ve met and will miss everyone who’s been apart of this chapter of my life. I wish the coaches and wrestlers nothing but the best moving forward and I hope they achieve everything they want.
"Thank you Central Michigan University, I will always be a Chippewa. As always, Fire Up.”
Oliver, a graduate of Davison High School, finished high school with 172 wins and only five losses before coming to Central Michigan.
Smith finished his CMU career with a 55-19 overall with two NCAA Tournament appearances. In Smith's second season in the starting lineup, he tallied a team-best 31-5 record.
He finished in second place at the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament, after winning the 2017 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships title at 141 pounds. Smith was ranked as high as No. 9 and earned the No. 10 seed in the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Smith finished his four years at Clio High School with a 165-10 record with two individual state titles.
Both Oliver and Smith were named MAC Freshman of the Year in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Their departures, along with the graduations of Colin Heffernan, CJ Brucki and Jordan Ellingwood leaves the Chippewas with only five starters from last season.
There are two other 149-pound wrestlers on the roster who could replace Oliver next season — freshmen Nolan Saxton and Luke Raczkowski. Saxton competed in four dual meets and lost each bout last season.
There is only one other wrestler listed on the roster at the 141-pound spot, redshirt freshman Reiley Brown. He has only cracked the starting lineup once, but compiled a 12-13 record in tournaments last season.
