The CMU wrestling team started its push for a national championship with an intrasquad match Friday.

With two weeks before the first regular season dual match, the wrestlers use the exhibition match to earn a starting spot on the roster for the rest of the season.

“This is only the beginning of the development of our starting lineup,” said coach Tom Borrelli. “We use the wrestle-offs and the regular season performances to decide who we are going to send to the national tournament.”

The first match saw the first upset, as senior 125-pounder Matt Steintrager defeated expected senior starter Conor Beebe. Steintrager earned a 3-2 decision after getting the only takedown of the match late in the first period.

“It’s my last year, so it is very important to me to get a chance to start,” Steintrager said. “Conor had to cut a lot of weight and he is a very good wrestler. I thought I wrestled well, but we have more important people to beat than each other.”

Sophomore heavyweight Jarod Trice earned the only pin of the night as he was able to place freshman Michael Murry’s shoulders to the mat in 1:37.

Redshirt freshman 174-pounder Ben Bennett faced off against freshman Zach Aylor with junior Mike Miller sitting out with an injury. Bennett earned a technical fall against Aylor in his first action with the Chippewas.

“I wrestled well, but I still have some improvements to make,” Bennett said. “I need to get better on my feet and be able to get off the bottom quicker.”

Sophomore 133-pounder Scotti Sentes impressed in his first match of the night with a 15-0 victory against redshirt freshman Steve Light.

E-mail the author: D.J. Palomares