Wrestling team beats Northern Illinois by wide margin
Scotti Sentes was in a pin drought heading into the CMU wrestling team’s bout against Northern Illinois.
After starting the season with five pins in six matches, the sophomore 133-pounder went 14 matches without another — until Sunday at Rose Arena.
“Well before I went out there, Coach was making fun of me,” he said. “Coach (Mark) DiSalvo was saying I started the year with a bunch of pins and then I haven’t gotten one in a while.”
Sentes’ sixth pin of the season — against NIU’s Zach Taylor — capped a 29-6 Mid-American Conference win against the Huskies.
Freshman 174-pounder Ben Bennett helped lead the way — it took him three seconds into the second period to score an escape and, ten seconds later, score a takedown to catapult himself toward a 17-0 win by technical fall.
Even with the technical fall, Bennett said he was hoping to work more on his offense, but was happy with his work on top.
“I would’ve liked to have gotten a shot and gotten my offense going a little more, but I got on top and got my turns going,” he said.
Bennett said the focus for him, especially during practice, is the work in neutral of getting his offense going.
“I feel pretty confident on the top and bottom and that I can get out from and ride most guys,” he said. “Some guys, I have struggled to get my takedowns against and, I figure if I can do that, I should be in good shape.”
The match started at 141 pounds with senior Conor Beebe scoring a 5-3 decision over Pat McLemore.
A two-legged takedown in the third period brought the crowd to its feet and gave No. 14 Tony D’Alie enough to take a 3-2 decision in the next match at 149 pounds.
Coach Tom Borrelli said D’Alie still needs to let himself just wrestle instead of focusing on each and every move he makes.
“He is thinking too much, and he is not just feeling it and letting it happen,” he said. “He is trying to think himself through a match and do everything perfect.”
The teams split the next four matches with the Huskies scoring victories with junior Bryan Deutsch against redshirt freshman Donnie Corby at 157 pounds and freshman Zach Benzio against freshman Dillon Kern at 184 pounds.
The Chippewas took the final four bouts while giving up a lone takedown.
Too Much Depth
The team extended its winning streak to nine matches in a row Friday against Michigan State with a 23-10 victory at Rose Arena.
“Our conditioning is paying off,” Borrelli said. “We can wrestle a really hard third period when other guys are starting to tire out.”
Michigan State earned wins from its ranked wrestlers — No. 4 senior 133-pounder Franklin Gomez earned a 5-3 victory against No. 8 Scotti Sentes and No. 12 David Cheza beat No. 14 Tony D’Alie 7-3.
However, Central earned victories in seven of the remaining eight weight classes.
