Wrestling rolls past Bulls on senior day


Central Michigan 30, Buffalo 9


It was the final time five Central Michigan wrestlers would participate in a home conference dual meet and they all walked out with a win.

Seniors Zach Horan, Luke Smith, Jackson Lewis, Mike Ottinger and Adam Robinson all earned victories in the Mid-American Conference meet against Buffalo at McGuirk Arena Sunday. CMU topped Buffalo 30-9 to improve to 8-4 and 5-1 in MAC play.

125 pounds: Brent Fleetwood (16-10) vs. Kyle Akins (15-9)

Fleetwood sat out again Sunday, due to an injury suffered in the team’s meet at Northern Iowa. It was the second-consecutive match without the 125-pound freshman. The forfeit gave Akins the victory and UB a 6-0 head start.

133 pounds: Corey Keener (13-8) vs. Bryan Lantry (15-10)

Coming off a 3-1 decision over Eastern Michigan’s Shayne Wireman on Friday, Keener earned eight early points in the first period, but was outscored in the second period 2-0. 

Keener went on to score four points in the third period to take the 13-5 major decision over Lantry, giving CMU four points and cutting the Bulls' lead to two, 6-4.

141 pounds: No. 14 Zach Horan (12-3) vs. Brandon Lapi (12-13)

Horan won a 9-3 decision over Brandon Lapi. Horan earned the matches first two points at 1:03, ending the first period with a 2-1 lead. 

Lapi tied the match at 2-2 with an escape at the 1:40 point in the second, but Horan took two points right back at 1:15. Horan earned another point from an unnecessary roughness call on Lapi. 

In the third, Horan added another two points on a reversal and another on a stalling call on Lapi.

149 pounds: No. 19 Justin Oliver (23-4) vs. Colt Cotton (8-6)

Wrestling in place of No. 13 Colin Heffernan, Oliver won his 23rd match of the season 14-3. Oliver outscored Cotton, who received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, 8-2 in the first period. 

Oliver added four more points in the second period and two more in the third to win the major decision. Oliver, who had three minutes of riding time at the end of the match, was CMU's third consecutive wrestler to earn a riding time point. His win gave the Chippewas an 11-6 lead after four matches.

157 pounds: No. 14 Luke Smith (25-5) vs. Tim Schaefer (6-12)

The senior Smith won his final conference-home match in an 8-0 major decision over Tim Schaefer. Smith earned five points in the first period, which was stopped twice to clean the mat of the sweat and blood of Schaefer. 

He was the fourth consecutive CMU wrestler to earn a riding-time point. Smith's major decision — which was CMU's third of the meet — extended CMU's lead to 15-6.

165 pounds: Jordan Atienza (22-14) vs. Rrok Ndokal (8-10)

Atienza started the match with a close 2-1 lead in a slow-paced first period. He earned an escape point to start the second period, but lost the lead, 4-3, with 30 seconds remaining in the third period. 

Ndokal's win gave the Bulls their first points other than the original six given to them from CMU's forfeit at 125 pounds. Atienza's loss cut CMU's lead to 15-9.

174 pounds: No. 10 Mike Ottinger (24-5) vs. Muhamed McBryde (6-8)

Ottinger picked up his 24th win of the season, beating McBryde by way of disqualification. 

Leading 7-2 heading into the final period, Ottinger tallied three more quick points before the match ended by a stalling disqualification call on McBryde. The disqualification gave CMU a comanding 21-9 lead with the three upper-weight matches remaining.

184 pounds: Jordan Ellingwood (24-10) vs. Joe Ariola (8-11)

The first period ended scoreless without much offensive aggressiveness. 

Ellingwood began the second period with a quick escape from the bottom-starting position and went on to win the match 4-0 with an extra point for riding time being added. Ellingwood's decision added three points to CMU's team total, making the score 24-9.

197 pounds: Jackson Lewis (15-13) vs. James Benjamin (12-13)

Lewis carried a 4-1 lead into the final period, scoring off an escape early in the third, but later getting slammed to the mat by Benjamin, tying the score at 6-6 with 1:30 remaining in the match. 

Benjamin added a point on an escape to give himself a 7-6 lead with less than one minute remaining. Jackson earned the two-point take down with 28 seconds left, but Benjamin escaped for a tying point at 8-8. 

However, Jackson's riding-time point gave the senior the one point victory and CMU a 27-9 lead.

285 pounds: Adam Robinson (21-10) vs. Jake Gunning (14-8)

The senior Robinson got the start over usual heavyweight sophomore Newton Smerchek on senior night and he picked up the final win to cap-off CMU's win over Buffalo. 

Robinson earned a one-point escape point at the 1:30 mark in the second period. Gunning picked up a point early in the third period to tie the score 1-1, which is how the period would end. It took six additional periods for Robinson to get the 4-3 win.  

The Chippewas (8-4, 5-1 MAC) will next compete at the Kent State Quad in Kent on Feb. 14.

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Central Michigan Life Sports Editor

Central Michigan Life Editor in Chief (Summer 2016)

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