2008 Woodie Awards
Wrestling wins seventh consecutive MAC Championships title
Chippewas will send nine to NCAA Championships; Smith, Beebe earn wild-cards
By: Aaron Vigneault
Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: Sports
The wrestling team will send nine individuals to the NCAA Championships after winning its seventh consecutive Mid-American Conference Championships on Saturday in Kent, Ohio.
Seven individual titles propelled the Chippewas to the tournament win with 110 points. Kent State was second with 75.5, while Northern Illinois was third with 60.5.
CMU went 7-0 in the championship round, with Brandon Carter (149 pounds), Steve Brown (157), Trevor Stewart (165), Brandon Sinnott (174), Christian Sinnott (184), Wynn Michalak (197) and Bubba Gritter (285) all winning individual titles and securing automatic bids to the NCAA Championships on March 20 in St. Louis. The team win ties CMU with Ohio's run of seven consecutive MAC Championships wins from 1970 to 1976.
"I think we're right were we need to be," said coach Tom Borrelli. "I don't know how many teams can say they're sending nine guys to the (NCAA) tournament. We're peaking at the right time and have a lot of people at the tournament to make a run."
Borrelli was named MAC Coach of the Year for the six consecutive time, while Michalak was named MAC Wrestler of the Year for the third straight time.
Michalak became just the fourth individual in MAC history to win four conference titles. He finished his MAC career in style by pinning Kent State's Michael Blackwell at the 3:53 mark in the finals. The fall was the 49th of Michalak's career and improved his season record to 26-1.
Borrelli has enjoyed having Michalak for the last four years and is proud of the way the senior finished his MAC career.
"It's pretty neat, especially the way he went through the tournament," Borrelli said. "He did everything he could for our team. That's something he's done all along."
The road to the NCAA Championships wasn't easy for all the Chippewas. Senior 125-pounder Luke Smith and sophomore 133-pounder Conor Beebe had to earn wild-card bids after losing on Friday.
Smith lost an 11-6 decision Friday to Eastern Michigan's Andrew Novak, but battled back with a major decision and a pin to finish third Saturday.
Seven individual titles propelled the Chippewas to the tournament win with 110 points. Kent State was second with 75.5, while Northern Illinois was third with 60.5.
CMU went 7-0 in the championship round, with Brandon Carter (149 pounds), Steve Brown (157), Trevor Stewart (165), Brandon Sinnott (174), Christian Sinnott (184), Wynn Michalak (197) and Bubba Gritter (285) all winning individual titles and securing automatic bids to the NCAA Championships on March 20 in St. Louis. The team win ties CMU with Ohio's run of seven consecutive MAC Championships wins from 1970 to 1976.
"I think we're right were we need to be," said coach Tom Borrelli. "I don't know how many teams can say they're sending nine guys to the (NCAA) tournament. We're peaking at the right time and have a lot of people at the tournament to make a run."
Borrelli was named MAC Coach of the Year for the six consecutive time, while Michalak was named MAC Wrestler of the Year for the third straight time.
Michalak became just the fourth individual in MAC history to win four conference titles. He finished his MAC career in style by pinning Kent State's Michael Blackwell at the 3:53 mark in the finals. The fall was the 49th of Michalak's career and improved his season record to 26-1.
Borrelli has enjoyed having Michalak for the last four years and is proud of the way the senior finished his MAC career.
"It's pretty neat, especially the way he went through the tournament," Borrelli said. "He did everything he could for our team. That's something he's done all along."
The road to the NCAA Championships wasn't easy for all the Chippewas. Senior 125-pounder Luke Smith and sophomore 133-pounder Conor Beebe had to earn wild-card bids after losing on Friday.
Smith lost an 11-6 decision Friday to Eastern Michigan's Andrew Novak, but battled back with a major decision and a pin to finish third Saturday.
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CMU Alumna '78
posted 3/10/08 @ 4:58 PM EST
Now THIS is news that's fitting for the CMU community as a whole! CMLife needs to focuse on stories of greater interest to CMU than that lennox whiner. (Continued…)
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