Senior transfer wrestlers compete for the last time for CMU in Mount Pleasant
Transfers Peter Sturgeon and Chad Friend of the Central Michigan wrestling team were celebrated on senior night at McGuirk Arena Thursday.
“It was nice to have the fans give a nice reception (despite) not knowing me that much,” Sturgeon said.
Sturgeon and Friend have been members of the wrestling program for a combined total of four years.
Head coach Tom Borrelli said they have formed a bond because of being the lone seniors on the roster as well as being transfers.
“It’s funny because (Peter) and Chad are like best friends,” Borrelli said. “They’re like kindred spirits. “
They arrived in Mt.Pleasant in very different ways.
Friend of the 197-pound weight class wrestled at Muskegon Community College. He was a two-time NJCAA All-American and was a national runner-up in 2008.
He redshirted his first year at CMU in 2009 and has compiled a 13-38 record in the past two seasons.
Friend has not been satisfied with his results but has enjoyed his time at CMU.
“I’m happy for the experience I had here,” he said. “It was a good experience and I learned a lot.”
Borrelli said he has represented the program well.
“He’s been a very steady guy for our guys,” Borrelli said. “Not only as a wrestler… Everybody in his major respects him. The professors really respect him in the IT department."
Sturgeon, of the heavyweight class, was forced out of North Carolina-Greensboro as a result of the elimination of their wrestling program.
He arrived on campus last July. His record is 26-10 and he is ranked No. 17 by InterMat in his weight division.
Sturgeon came out victorious in his last match at home in a rematch against Michigan State's Mike McClure 5-4.
“It’s good to get a little revenge on a personal level,” Sturgeon said. “We definitely wrestled well and it’s good to get us back in the win column.”
Friend lost 8-3 to Nick McDiarmid, a winner of 11 more matches than him this season.
Both of their matches began as low scoring affairs. Friend had a 1-0 lead and Sturgeon was tied 2-2 entering the third period.
Sturgeon tallied an escape eight-seconds into the last period and grabbed a take down a minute later to build a safe lead.
“I knew I was going to win,” Sturgeon said. “That kid couldn’t take me down and I wasn’t going to let him.”
McDiarmid escaped Friend’s grasp for a point, then he got a takedown to make it 3-1.
Friend made a last-ditch effort to make it 3-2, but the desperation caused the lead to widen substantially in the end.
“I was hoping he was going to get tired,” Friend said “He started getting tired and I started getting tired too, but I was just trying to keep the pressure on him, but it didn’t go the way I wanted it too.”
