2008 Woodie Awards
Perfect 10
Wrestling shuts out Ohio to win MAC title
By: Aaron Vigneault and Aaron Sides
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Sports
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After the 45-0 shutout, coach Tom Borrelli made the rounds, thanking the parents of all seven seniors (Brandon Carter, Bubba Gritter, Ben Kelto, Wynn Michalak, Brandon Sinnott, Christian Sinnott and Luke Smith) for their support over a four-year span that saw the group win every MAC dual it competed in, going 20-0
"Sometimes you have a special group of kids that happen to come together and bond well," Borrelli said. "You can't say enough about them, sometimes you get lucky as a coach."
CMU has now won 52 of its last 53 MAC duals. It also has won 29 consecutive since the 2002-03 season.
"The other MAC schools are getting pretty sick of it, but we believe we can continue to win," Borrelli said.
Borrelli knows a decade worth of MAC titles is something special, but insists they are a by-product of the team's ultimate goals.
"I don't want this to sound arrogant, but most of (CMU's) athletic teams get really caught up in what they do in the MAC. If they go far in the MAC tournament, it's almost a reward," Borrelli said. "We want to win a national championship - that's our goal. When all you're focused on is the MAC, sometimes you come up a little short. I think we need to change our attitude and believe we can compete on a national stage."
Smith started the dual with a pin of the Bobcats' Heath Allen at 4 minutes, 4 seconds, one of seven matches in which CMU scored bonus points.
The Chippewas have been able to dominate the MAC in large part because seniors, such as Michalak, bought into the message that Borrelli was delivering. Michalak finished his MAC career Sunday with an 18-1 mark with a pin of Ohio's Chris Iammarino, the best career total at CMU since Casey Cunningham finished with an identical record in 1999.
"It's what we do. We wrestle as hard as we can every match, and winning the MAC is just something we did while clawing away at the larger goal of a national championship," Michalak said.
While clinching a 10th consecutive MAC title was nice, Sunday also offered CMU's seniors their final chance to wrestle in front of family and friends. It was no doubt an emotional day for the departing seniors, but they did their best to set aside those feelings and go out to compete.
"When we first got introduced, it was a little emotional," said senior heavyweight Bubba Gritter. "I just had to get that out of my head and get ready to wrestle."
Though he was able to avoid getting caught up in the moment during the meet, senior 149-pounder Brandon Carter said he knows it will catch up with him eventually.
"I don't think it's really sunk in yet that this is our last go in this arena," he said.
The seniors were able to make their last appearance at home a memorable one. Borrelli said he knew the seniors wanted to go out big.
"As much as they tried to stay focused, these guys really wanted to perform well today," he said. "I could see in their eyes that they were emotional, but they know how to compete."
Sophomore 157-pounder Steve Brown scored seven points in the third period of his 13-5 win against the Bobcats' Clay Tucker.
Arguably the most spectacular exit of all the seniors came in the 149-pound match with Carter winning by fall in 1:58. He said he could not think of a better way he could have gone out at Rose Arena.
"I couldn't ask for more," he said.
Senior heavyweight Bubba Gritter closed the win with a 20-6 major decision against Ohio's Tim Samson. Gritter scored eight takedowns.
With their final home dual and a regular season MAC title behind them, the seniors now are focused on the next big accomplishments they hope to reach - a MAC tournament title and a national championship.
"We need to change our mindsets now," Gritter said. "We need to fine tune our wrestling and get ready for better competition."
The MAC Championships take place in Kent, Ohio and begin on March 7.
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