Ben Bennett becomes three-time All American, only third CMU wrestler to do so
Central Michigan junior wrestler Ben Bennett etched his name in the record books with former Chippewas Ryan Cunningham and Wynn Michalak earning Division I All-American status for the third time.
Wrestlers must finish in the top-8 to be an All-American and he placed sixth Saturday at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis.
While Bennett was disappointed he didn’t reach his ultimate goal of an NCAA Championship, he understands the significance of his achievement.
“It’s pretty special,” Bennett said. “(Cunningham and Michalak) are both great wrestlers. We’ve had a lot of other pretty good wrestlers come through the program, so to be mentioned with those guys is a pretty cool thing.”
He closed out the tournament Saturday with a chance to be ranked as high as third, but lost to Austin Trotman of Appalachian State and Minnesota's Kevin Steinhaus.
“I’m sure (Bennett is) disappointed, but he’s still a three-time All-American,” head coach Tom Borrelli said. “It’s pretty special to be in that elite group.”
Borrelli said Bennett was sick during the tournament, but he was not willing to use that as an excuse, neither was Bennett.
“I don’t like to use that as an (excuse) for my performance,” Bennett said. “It happens. Really, there’s not much I can do about it.”
Bennett began the tournament by dominating his first two opponents by a combined score of 18-1 as a three seed.
He was pushed into the wrestlebacks with a loss by pin to Quentin Wright of Penn State, who won the NCAA Championship last season and made the finals this year.
Bennett rebounded with a win over No. 12 Jonathan Fausey of Virginia to earn All-American status and another victory against No. 7 Josh Ihnen of Nebraska by injury default.
He finished the season with a 34-6 overall record. He can be the only wrestler named a four-time All-American in Chippewas history during his senior year next season.
“For me, I’m still disappointed,” Bennett said. “I’m just going to take a week to recover, and for me it’s just getting back to work, and preparing for next year and working to win a national championship next year. That’s my goal.”
Central Michigan’s results
CMU finished 24th with 24 team points.
125 Pounds: Joe Roth
First Round: L, dec. Camden Eppert (Purdue), 4-3
Consolation First Round: W, maj. dec. Jerome Robinson (Old Dominion), 12-3
Consolation Second Round: L, dec. No. 7 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma), 6-3
133 Pounds: Zach Horan
First Round: W, dec. No. 12 Bryan Ortenzio (Penn), 5-4
Second Round: L, dec. No. 5 Joe Colon (Northern Iowa), 9-2
Consolation Second Round: W, dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 4-2
Consolation Third Round: W, dec. Matthew Nelson (Virginia), 5-3
Consolation Fourth Round: L, dec. No. 11 Steven Keith (Harvard), 5-3
141 Pounds: Scott Mattingly
First Round: L, dec. Michael Nevinger (Cornell), 5-0
Consolation First Round: W, pin Nathan Hoffer (Arizona State) at 4:21
Consolation Second Round: L, maj. dec. No. 12 Tyler Small (Kent State), 9-1
157 Pounds: Donnie Corby
First Round: L, dec. No. 12 Steven Monk (North Dakota State), 1-0
Consolation First Round: L, dec. Josh Demas (Ohio State), 4-1 TB1
165 Pounds: Mike Ottinger
First Round: L, dec. Coleman Gracey (Army), 3-2
Consolation First Round: L, dec. Gabriel Burak (Northern Colorado), 9-2
184 Pounds: No. 3 Ben Bennett - All-American - Sixth Place
First Round: W, maj. dec. Erich Schmidtke (Oklahoma), 9-1
Second Round: W, maj. dec. Victor Avery (Edinboro), 9-0
Quarterfinals: L, pin No. 6 Quentin Wright (Penn State) at 2:35
Consolation Fourth Round: W, dec. No. 12 Jonathan Fausey (Virginia), 2-0
Consolation Quarterfinals: W, injury default No. 7 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska)
Consolation Semifinals: L, dec. No. 9 Austin Trotman (Appalachian State), 2-1
Fifth-Place Match: L, dec. No. 5 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota), 3-1
285 Pounds: Peter Sturgeon
First Round: W, dec. Kyle Frey (Drexel), 5-4 TB1
Second Round: L, dec. No. 2 Anthony Nelson (Minnesota), 6-0
Consolation Second Round: L, maj. dec. No. 12 Matthew Gibson (Iowa State), 8-0
