Top 10 Sports Stories of 2005
1. Herb Deromedi announces retirement after 12 years as Athletics Director
August 17
His legacy will forever be etched in CMU history and his accomplishments will be hard to match. His tenure spans five decades after he was hired in 1967 as an assistant football coach. Deromedi is the most successful coach in Mid-American Conference history with 110 wins from 1978 to 1993, and three MAC titles. He announced his retirement Aug. 17.
Since becoming AD in 1994, 34 CMU teams have won MAC Championships, including seven in 2004. Deromedi’s retirement is effective Jan. 16, 2006, and David Heeke, senior associate athletics director/chief of staff at the University of Oregon, has been hired to take his post.
2. Football has first winning season since 1998
November 19
The 2005 football season did not get off to the best of starts on or off the field. The team lost its star tailback Jerry Seymour before the season started and then lost its first game at home against Indiana. A few days later Seymour, tailback Spencer Lewis and defensive end James Cooper were kicked off the team and out of school for their involvement in the DeMarcus Graham beating death.
Still, coach Brian Kelly would not use that as a crutch and put his team in contention for a MAC title up until the last three weeks of the season. A pair of losses to Northern Illinois and Western Michigan squashed those hopes, but a dramatic come-from-behind win at Ball State Nov. 19 secured a 6-5 mark.
3. Wynn Michalak becomes first freshman All-American
March 19
Never before in the history of CMU athletics has a freshman been an All-American. But Wynn Michalak changed that when he finished sixth at the NCAA National Championships March 19 in St. Louis. He was the highest national finisher for CMU in 2005. Seeded 12th, Michalak finished the tournament 4-3. He beat UNC Greensboro’s Darren Burns 7-6 to earn the honor.
The team finished 12th overall.
4. Softball upsets eventual national champion Michigan
April 6
Coach Margo Jonker accomplished many feats in her 26 seasons at CMU, but she never beat a No. 1 ranked team.
Until April 6, that is.
No. 1 Michigan, the eventual national champions, came into the game with a 35-2 record, but were upset 5-4 on a game winning hit in the bottom of the sixth inning by senior Christin Sobeck.
It was Central’s first ever win against a top-ranked opponent.
The Wolverines only lost four more games the rest of the season, while Central went on to win the MAC West Division before losing in the MAC Tournament.
5. Adam Kieft and Eric Ghiaciuc get drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals
April 24
Adam Kieft and Eric Ghiaciuc both expected to be drafted somewhere in the middle rounds of the 2005 NFL Draft. What they didn’t expect was to be drafted to the same team. Ghiaciuc was drafted 119th overall by the Cincinnati Bengals April 24. He was followed by Kieft when he was drafted 153rd overall.
The duo became the first CMU players to be drafted since 1997.
Ghiaciuc played in four games for the Bengals this season, starting one. Kieft did not play this season because of a season-ending knee injury suffered in training camp.
6. Field hockey wins MAC Tournament
November 5
The field hockey team did not have the regular season it had hoped for. The Chippewas returned nine starters, but struggled to a 5-5 record in the MAC and a fourth seed in the MAC Tournament. The tournament, held in Mount Pleasant, signaled a new beginning for CMU and it would not disappoint. The team won all three games, capped by a 3-1 win in the finals against Miami University Nov. 5.
Freshman Kelly Jordan scored all three goals to help CMU win its first MAC Tournament championship since 1990.
The Chippewas lost to Boston University 5-3 in a NCAA Tournament play-in game to end their season.
7. Chippewas’ upset of Toledo at Kelly/Shorts
October 29
CMU football fans held their collective breaths when Toledo quarterback Bruce Gradkowski lobbed a pass to receiver Nick Moore on the game’s final play. If the pass was completed, it would have won the game for the Rockets. But lucky for CMU fans, the pass grazed the fingertips of Moore and fell incomplete, and CMU won 21-17. CMU coaches, players and fans sprinted toward the north endzone in celebration.
The win put CMU atop the MAC West standings and in control of its division championship destiny.
Senior quarterback Kent Smith was 20-of-36 passing for 189 yards and rushed for 89.
Even better, the CMU defense held the high-powered Toledo offense in check, holding Gradkowski to 262 passing yards.
8. Men’s track wins both indoor and outdoor MAC Championships; Wolf, Friess All-Americans
February 27
May 14
Eastern Michigan had dominated the previous nine indoor MAC championships, winning them all. So when CMU’s Steve Wezner crossed the finish line of 4x400 meter relay to win its first ever indoor championship Feb. 26, the CMU team was sent into a frenzy. His teammates hoisted him into the air at Jack Skoog Track chanting “Whose house? Our house!” Junior Pierre Vinson and senior Dave Ernsberger were named the “Most Valuable Performers.”
CMU won the outdoor title in dominating fashion May 14, scoring a MAC-record 220 points. Senior Steve Wolf scored 24 points to win the “Most Valuable Performer.” The Chippewas crowned nine individual MAC champions.
9. Gymnastics beats No. 3 Stanford before a crowd of 2,283 at Rose Arena
February 4
The 25-match home winning streak was in serious jeopardy when preseason No. 3 Stanford came to Mount Pleasant Feb. 4. But a standout performance by senior Kara Reighard, who posted a season-best 39.350 score in the all-around competition helped CMU upset the Cardinal 195.925 to 194.675 and extend the winning streak to 26.
Reighard also won the balance beam and floor exercise. Coach Jerry Reighard called the win one of the most exciting of his career.
Freshman Rhiannon Banda-Scott won the vault competition as CMU gymnasts swept the top three spots.
10. Women’s basketball starts season 6-0 for first time in school history
December 9
Coach Eileen Kleinfelter had suffered through four consecutive losing seasons to start her coaching career at CMU. A lack of leadership and experience were contributing factors for the losing seasons. For the first time, Kleinfelter had a senior-laden team who had experience and it paid off. The team jumped out to a 6-0 record for the first time in school history with a 55-49 win at home against Valparaiso Dec. 9.
The start included a 79-57 thumping of Michigan Nov. 30.
