Wrestling up to No. 22 with NIU and MSU on deck


horan
Pennsylvania junior Zach Horan grapples with his opponent during the Chippewas match against Old Dominion on Feb. 10 in McGuirk Arena.

Looking to keep their perfect 2-0 record intact, Central Michigan wrestling will head to DeKalb, Illinois on Thursday to face the 2-2 Huskies of Northern Illinois.

The Chippewas will host the Spartans of Michigan State on Sunday, which will be the first regular season meet in McGuirk Arena this season.

“We’ll have to stay aggressive. We’ll have to be the aggressor on the mat so (the opponent) has to play to our lead,” said Head Coach Tom Borrelli. “We’re not real worried about what they’re doing. We want to dictate what’s going on the mat. When they’re reacting to what we’re doing, we’re probably going to be in the driver’s seat.”

Central Michigan enters the week ranked No. 22 in the nation according to USA Today — up two places from a week ago.

Other Ranked Mid-American Conference Schools

No. 9 Missouri (1-0)

No. 20 Ohio (3-0)

No. 21 Old Dominion (2-1)

No. 25 Northern Iowa (1-2) 

Four Chippewa wrestlers are individually ranked in their respective weight classes on InterMat Wrestling.

Senior Zach Horan is ranked No. 15 in the 141-pound class. Redshirt sophomore Colin Heffernan and senior Lucas Smith are ranked ninth in the 141-pounds and 149-pound classes, respectively. Senior Mike Ottinger is No. 10 in the 174-pound class.

Thursday’s match begins at 8 p.m. and Sunday’s begins at 2 p.m.

Recruiting

Five high school seniors pledged their commitment to Central Michigan Nov. 25.

The recruits include Dresden Simon from the 141/149-pound class, 125-pounder Drew Hildebrant, 133/141-pounder Reiley Brown, 197-pounder Landon Pelham and heavyweight Matt Stencel.

“We tried to address some of our weight-class needs that we felt like were glaring for the future as far as depth,” Borrelli said in a press release. “We feel like all five will be major contributors to the program down the road.”  

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Central Michigan Life Editor in Chief (Summer 2016)

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