Sentes achieves All-America, finishes seventh place at national wrestling championships
Brian ManzulloST. LOUIS - The wrestling team's 14th overall finish at the NCAA Championships makes coach Tom Borrelli hopeful for the future.
And all eight qualifiers return next season, including two All-Americans.
Sophomore 174-pounder Mike Miller finished as the national runner-up, while freshman 125-pounder Scotti Sentes finished seventh to grab All-America honors.
CMU entered the tournament as the No. 10 dual team and No. 25 in the country in tournament strength. CMU scored 35 team points in the NCAA Tournament, placing it in a tie with Minnesota for 14th overall.
"We have got a lot to build on," Borrelli said. "We haven't had the fall-off that we have had in the past. In the past when we finished sixth or seventh in the country, we fell all the way to mid-30s. So I am encouraged by that."
Miller finished second overall with a loss to Michigan senior Luke Smith in the finals.
Sentes earned the seventh overall spot with a win over conference rival Nic Bedelyon from Kent State. The win gave Sentes a 3-1 lead in the season series. The 8-2 decision also gave Sentes, who is the first true freshman to earn All-American honors at CMU, the most victories by a true freshman in school history with 30.
Junior 149-pounder Steve Brown fell one victory short of earning All-America status with a 9-8 loss against No. 5 Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin. Brown fell behind early in the match, but rallied near the end.
Senior 165-pounder Trevor Stewart also needed one more win to place amongst the All-Americans, but was pinned by Northern Iowa senior Moza Fay.
"I expect big things for our team next year," Borrelli said.
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