CMU wrestling wins fourth-straight MAC dual at Kent State
With graduate student Corbyn Munson not wrestling due to injury, redshirt sophomore Trenton Wachter came into the 149 match for Central Michigan wrestling, trying to get the win in his first conference match of the season.
Wachter did just that as he came up with the takedown in overtime against Kent State’s Matthew Ryan to secure the 6-3 victory and his first Mid-American Conference win.
The match helped the Chippewas secure the meet as they defeated the Golden Flashes 25-15 on Friday.
“That was real big for us,” head coach Tom Borrelli said about Wachter’s win. “And for his first time wrestling in a conference dual meet, that was a real important win for him and for the team.”
CMU will move to 5-1 in MAC play and 7-6 overall, moving its win streak to four matches.
“We had to shuffle our lineup a lot because we had some injuries last weekend,” Borrelli said. “... Those guys really came through for us tonight. And the guys who have been in our lineup all along, they came through for us, too, so it was a good team win.”
In the 125 weight class, redshirt sophomore Sean Spidle continued his successful conference season with a 15-0 win to give the Chippewas the five-point advantage after one match.
Spidle has now won four-straight conference duals, outscoring opponents 53-6 during the four-match stretch.
Following a loss in the 133 match by redshirt senior Vince Perez, sophomore Jimmy Nugent looked to secure his third-straight win as he faced off against Kent State’s Billy Meiszner. Starting the match trailing 3-1 in the first, Nugent fought back and secured the pin late in the third period to secure the win and give the Chippewas the 11-3 lead.
After Wachter secured the 149 match, redshirt senior Johnny Lovett dominated in the 157 weight class, getting the tech fall victory over Kent State’s Ethan Barr. The win gave CMU the 19-3 lead over the Golden Flashes, after securing three-straight matches.
Lovett’s record moves to 5-1 in conference competition and 22-5 overall after the win.
Similar to Wachter, redshirt sophomore Mason Shrader wrestled in his first conference dual of the season, moving up a weight class to 165.
With the score tied at five in the third period, Shrader came up with the takedown with under a minute remaining to give him the 8-5 lead. Shrader went on to win his match, 11-5 to extend the Chippewas lead to 19.
In the 184 match, redshirt sophomore Adrien Cramer got the decision victory, 5-1.
Kent State took the last two matches of the meet to cut its deficit. However, it was too late for the Golden Flashes, as the Chippewas took home the 25-15 victory.
CMU will have a quick turnaround as it faces off against Clarion on Sunday at 2 p.m. for its last conference dual of the season.
“You just got to take care of business,” Borrelli said about his message to the team. “We got to manage our weight the right way, get some rest and get ready for a bus ride and then (the) match against Clarion.”
