The Chips Have Officially Hit the Mat
The annual Intrasquad Meet was this previous weekend and it helped to determine the starting wrestlers for each weight class. There were some pretty close contests in this scrimmage and it also shed some light on some of the successes that the Chippewas are looking to achieve this season. Starting off the event was the weight class of 125 which pitted two freshman up against each other, both of whom are fighting to crack the starting roster in their first year on campus. This match-up consisted of Miguel Silva wrestling for the Gold (G) team against the top freshman recruit in CMU’s 2014 recruiting class, Brent Fleetwood of the Maroon (M) team. Fleetwood got out to the early lead and never looked back, taking the match 8-2 on decision and earning a quick 3 points for the Maroon team. This may be one of the brightest spots for the Chippewas as the talented young freshman showed a lot of promise in his debut on the mat for Central Michigan.
For the next match we head to the 133 weight class, which matched up Tyler Keselring (M), senior, with Carter Ballinger (G), freshman. It must have been a daunting task to go up against a senior in your first match-up, but it was also a great learning experience. Keselring ended up taking the match on a 7-2 decision, giving another 3 points to the Maroon team
One of the highlight match-ups of this event came up next, featuring one of the two wrestlers on this year’s squad to be ranked in his weight class in the Preseason MAC Polls, Zach Horan. In the 141 weight class, Horan (G), a junior from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, was matched up against the freshman from Berlin. No not that Berlin, I am talking about Berlin, New Jersey of course. The freshman Collin Mitchell (M) certainly had a tough draw having to go up against Horan and in the end Horan took that match 21-6 on a Technical Fall, which results in a team getting 5 points, putting the Gold squad on the board.
The match-up to follow was the 149 weight class, which consisted of redshirt freshman Colin Heffernan (G) against another freshman in Justin Oliver (M). It was a close battle between the two of them, a battle that would eventually see Oliver come out on top with a 5-2 decision and 3 more points for the Maroon Squad.
In the weight class of 157 we find the second of the ranked Chippewa wrestlers in the preseason polls in Luke Smith. Smith (M), a junior out of Wheeling, Illinois, was matched up against a senior out of Whitecloud, Michigan in Malcolm Martin (G). This match-up was never really close as Smith showed that he was wrestling at midseason form, coming out on top handily with the 7-1 decision to give the Maroon squad a commanding 12-5 lead.
Following this match-up came one that was a little closer. In the 165 weight class, the local sophomore Jordan Wolhfert (M) from St. Johns, Michigan matched up against Jordan Atienza (G), a freshman from Livonia, Michigan. This was a very close battle all the way down to the end. Eventually Atienza squeaked out the victory in this one, a 3-2 decision, giving the Gold team a much needed 3 points.
Going to the next match-up, we see a match-up in the 174 division of two redshirt freshman eagerly fighting for a varsity spot. Jordan Ellingwood (G) saw himself matched up against his fellow Illinoisan in Hunter Rollins (M). Ellingwood was in command of this match-up the entire way and ended up coming away with the 13-3 major decision, which results in 4 points for the Gold team, tying the match up at 12 points each.
As the score is tied and the meet is drawing to a close, the match-ups begin to get heated up and next on the mat was the 184 weight class. Jackson Lewis (G) was now up against the redshirt freshman out of Orland Park, Illinois CJ Brucki (M). Lewis seemed to be on point with his moves, resulting in a 5-1 decision and another 3 points for the Gold squad, putting them on top for the first time in this contest.
The final match-up, the 285 weight class, saw two sluggers going at each other and was a real intense battle. This match-up consisted of Adam Robinson (M) out of Leslie, Michigan going up against Newton Smerchek (G) from the small Wisconsin town of Casco. If you were to drive there and blink, you may miss it as this town only has a population of just under 600 people but is known for its wrestling program across all levels. Smerchek defended that honor as he ended up taking down Robinson in a close 5-4 decision, giving the Gold team the final 3 points of the match.
The Gold team ended up prevailing over the Maroon team by an overall score of 18-12, but there was a lot to be taken away from this meet. The Chippewas have a great start to their season and definitely got some bright spots in freshman Brent Fleetwood. This meet also showed that both of the highly touted wrestlers of Zach Horan and Luke Smith seem to be in midseason form, which could spell trouble for the Chippewa opponents. This meet led to the formation of the 10 wrestlers that will make up the 2014-2015 starting varsity wrestling team. Those members include Brent Fleetwood (125), Tyler Keselring (133), Zach Horan (141), Justin Oliver (149), Luke Smith (157), Jordan Atienza (165), Jordan Ellingwood (174), Jackson Lewis (184), and Newton Smerchek (285). There is also a weight class of 197 consisting of Austin Severn and Jimmy Szep, but the results of the match were unreported.
The Chippewas officially open their season this Saturday in the Michigan State Open down in East Lansing and will look to start the season off on the right foot. If you find yourself heading down that way, make sure you stop by and check out your Chippewas and remember, as always, Fire Up Chips!
(Written by Mitch Cunningham)
Photo courtesy of cyberwarzone.com
