HICKS: Future bright for wrestling team
It’s no surprise the Central Michigan wrestling team finished the season the same way it started, and it held consistent through the entire year — carried by a three-man machine.
Scotti Sentes, Ben Bennett and Jarod Trice brought the majority of the team’s experience into the season, and their records show that. The trio combined for a 94-21 record, including 14-1 in conference matches.
With the exception of the injury-plagued senior Mike Miller, the trio was the only group remaining from the 2010-starting lineup. They were the only healthy wresters that had received All-American status, or that even experienced the big stage for that matter.
At the conclusion of the Mid-American Conference Championships, those same three Chippewas held individual titles and qualified for returns to the NCAA tournament.
Sophomore Donnie Corby picked up an at-large bid into the tournament, despite a runner-up finish at the MAC Championships, but his lack of experience caught up with him.
Sentes and Trice both finished fourth in their respective weight classes, and Bennett locked up the eighth-place spot at 174-pounds – each securing their second All-American status.
CMU as a team tied for 13th at the tournament with 39 points. With only four qualifiers, the Chippewas tied Stanford for the most All-Americans (three) with the fewest qualifiers (four).
The future
Now, there is two ways to look at the program following the season’s end.
From one angle, you can look back to the 2010 season and compare. From one season to the next, CMU sent seven less NCAA qualifiers into the final tournament, and finished 8-8 in dual meets after a nearly perfect 17-2 finish in 2010.
A team that dominated in all areas was followed by a team that relied on six or seven swing matches each dual-meet to pick up a win.
It’d be easy to see the decline from last season to the current one, but could you ask for a better rebuilding year?
Despite sending seven less wrestlers to the tournament, CMU matched its number of All-American finishes, including two repeat winners.
The good news: the team is only losing two senior wrestlers, who both split time as the 157-pound starter.
Miller had a strong career at CMU, finishing a two-time All-American with a career 64-26 record, including a perfect 8-0 in the MAC. Ryan Cubberly will leave the program with a career 41-23 record.
Sentes, Bennett and Trice will all return next season to pick up where they left off, so long as they don’t chose to take Olympic-redshirts.
Corby showed improvements this season, finishing the dual-meet season winning four out of his last five, and qualifying for his first NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Christian Cullinan solidified a starting spot, after coming in as one of three 125-pounders. Junior Chad Friend and redshirt freshman Craig Kelliher made a lade-season weight class switch, which showed to be helpful for both of them.
Redshirt freshman Scott Mattingly showed potential as the season came to an end, recording a 3-2 decision over Kent State, which would end up being key to CMU grabbing a share of the MAC season title. Moving into the tournament, he came up short, finishing second at 141-pounds.
Head coach Tom Borrelli has built up an impressive resume, coaching a Division I eighth-best 35 All-Americans in his 20 years at CMU.
The last time Borrelli’s team finished with single-digit wins (9-4-1 in 2000), they bounced back and finished 14-5-1 the following season.
After winning its 10th straight conference championship, the future looks bright for the CMU wrestling program.
