CMU entered Saturday's championship round with seven individuals in the finals, and all seven — Brandon Carter (149), Steve Brown (157), Trevor Stewart (165), Brandon Sinnott (174), Christian Sinnott (184), Wynn Michalak (197) and Bubba Gritter (285) — emerged victorious. Those seven individuals earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis in two weeks.
All 10 of CMU's individuals placed in the top four of their weight class. Luke Smith and Conor Beebe were third at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively, while Eric Kruger finished fourth at 141 pounds; both Smith and Beebe earned wild-card bids to the NCAA Championships, giving CMU a school-record tying nine national qualifiers.
The Chippewas' 110 team points beat out runner-up Kent State (75.5 points) and third place Northern Illinois (60.5 points). CMU's run of seven straight conference tournament titles is matched only by Ohio, which also won seven straight from 1970-76.
CMU also collected a pair of the conference's annual specialty awards. Tom Borrelli was named MAC Coach of the Year for the sixth straight season and 10th time overall, while Michalak was named MAC Wrestler of the Year for the third straight season.
Michalak became the fourth individual in MAC history, and first Chippewa, to win four conference titles. CMU's seven titles overall are the second-most in school history.
Brandon Carter was the first Chippewa to punch his ticket to nationals, pinning Ohio's Kevin Christensen at the 2:39 mark. Carter had built a sizable lead on the scoreboard before sticking Christensen in the center of the mat. The conference title is the first of Carter's career and ensures him of his second trip to the NCAA Championships.
Steve Brown capped his first MAC Championships appearance with an individual title at 157 pounds. Brown and Northern Illinois' Bryan O'Connor were deadlocked 2-2 after two periods, but Brown scored a reversal and two-point nearfall early in the third to take control of the match.
For the second time in two weeks, Trevor Stewart and Kent State's Kurt Gross needed extra periods to decide a match at 165 pounds. On Saturday, Stewart avenged an earlier loss to Gross with a 3-2 decision in the second sudden victory period. Stewart and Gross scored escapes in the opening seconds of the second and third period, respectively, and the match was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation.
Both Stewart and Gross were scoreless in the first sudden victory period, and Stewart rode Gross out through the first 30-second tiebreaker. Stewart took a 2-1 lead with an escape in the second 30-second tiebreaker, but Gross evened the score when Stewart was called for stalling.
The decisive point came in the closing seconds of the second sudden victory period when Gross was whistled for a technical violation. Kent State's protest of the result was denied.
Brandon Sinnott secured his third consecutive conference title at 174 pounds with an 8-2 decision over Northern Illinois' Duke Burk. Sinnott's advantage was 3-2 until the closing moments of the bout, when he scored a takedown and two-point nearfall just before the whistle. He also held a riding time advantage of 1:10.
Sinnott is the first individual to win three MAC titles at 174 pounds since Miami's Russ Pickering (1978-80); at that time, the weight class was 167 pounds.
Christian Sinnott followed his twin brother with a 5-3 decision over Eastern Michigan's Charlie Pienaar in the finals at 184 pounds. Sinnott and Pienaar were tied at 2-2 entering the third period, but Sinnott scored an escape and a takedown in the third period to secure the win.
Wynn Michalak made history in dominating fashion, pinning Kent State's Michael Blackwell at the 3:51 mark of the 197-pound championship. Michalak was leading 7-0 at the time of the fall, his 12th of the season and 49th of his career. He will enter the NCAA Championships with an overall record of 26-1.
Bubba Gritter defended his heavyweight title with a 4-1 decision over Kent State's Jermail Porter. A second-period escape, third-period takedown and riding time accounted for Gritter's points. Gritter and Porter also met in the 2007 final, with Gritter also winning that matchup by a 4-1 decision.
Luke Smith, Conor Beebe and Eric Kruger are eligible for wild-card bids to the NCAA Championships. The conference's nine wild-card selections will be announced later Saturday.
Check back to cmuchippewas.com later today for archived video of CMU's seven championship matches on the CMU Sports Zone.
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