Competition begins Saturday at 1 p.m. The championship matches and consolation finals get underway at noon on Sunday.
Each of the 10 individual weight class winners will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA allocated the MAC multiple automatic bids at five different weight classes.
"This is the part of the season that we build toward all year," said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli. "I'm looking forward to seeing how our young team competes and responds to the atmosphere of the conference tournament this weekend."
CMU Seeking 10th Straight MAC Championships Crown: CMU has won nine consecutive MAC Championships titles and 12 of the last 13 conference tournament crowns. CMU’s current streak of nine straight titles is the longest streak in MAC history.
• The Chippewas have won 14 MAC Championships titles overall. Ohio, the only other program besides CMU to win the conference tournament since 1998, has won 15 MAC Championships titles.
• CMU shared the 2011 MAC regular season title with Kent State and Ohio. Each of the three teams posted identical 4-1 conference records. The championship was CMU's 12th in the past 13 seasons. CMU has won 66 of its last 69 MAC dual meets.
Three Returning Champions in CMU Lineup: Three former MAC champions will be part of CMU's lineup this weekend. Senior Mike Miller is a two-time MAC champion, having won the conference title at 174 pounds in 2009 and 165 pounds in 2007. He will wrestle at 165 pounds this weekend while trying to become the 10th three-time MAC champion in CMU history. Junior Scotti Sentes, who will compete at 133 pounds, won the 125-pound title as a true freshman in 2009. Sophomore Ben Bennett will defend his 2010 conference title at 174 pounds.
Six Chippewas to Make MAC Championships Debut: Six members of CMU's lineup will be competing at the MAC Championships for the first time in their careers: Christian Cullinan (125 pounds), Scott Mattingly (141 pounds), Donnie Corby (149 pounds), Ryan Cubberly (157 pounds), Craig Kelliher (184 pounds) and Chad Friend (197 pounds).
MAC Allocated 18 NCAA Championships Bids: Each of the weight class winners at this weekend's conference tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia. The NCAA awarded the conference multiple automatic bids at five weight classes: 133 (two bids), 157 (three bids), 174 (two bids), 197 (two bids) and heavyweight (four bids). In each of the other five classes, only the MAC champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
Looking Back at the 2010 MAC Championships: Five Chippewas won individual titles as CMU claimed its ninth consecutive conference tournament championship in 2010. Matt Steintrager (125), Conor Beebe (141), Steve Brown (157), Tyler Grayson (165) and Ben Bennett (174) each won their weight class, and all 10 Chippewas finished in third place or better. CMU, the tournament host, scored 94 team points to finish ahead of Kent State (73) and Ohio (62).
Hitting the Century Mark: Nine times the winning team at the MAC Championships has scored at least 100 points, and CMU has accounted for seven of those instances. The nine teams to score at least 100 points at the MAC Championships:
Team (Year) - Points
1. Central Michigan (1999) - 124.5
2. Central Michigan (2005) - 119.5
3. Central Michigan (2009) - 111.5
4. Central Michigan (1998) - 116
5. Central Michigan (2008) - 110 6. Central Michigan (2007) - 106.5
7. Ohio (1972) - 104
8. Ohio (1973) - 103
9. Central Michigan (2006) - 102.5
In the Rankings: CMU was ranked 14th in the final regular season InterMat poll and 24th in the final regular season NWCA/USA Today poll. The InterMat team rankings are based on InterMat's individual weight class rankings, while the NWCA/USA Today poll is voted on by a nationwide pool of head coaches.
Four Chippewas are ranked in the top 20 nationally of their weight class by InterMat: Scotti Sentes (No. 11, 133 pounds), Mike Miller (No. 18, 165 pounds), Ben Bennett (No. 7, 174 pounds) and Jarod Trice (No. 2, heavyweight).
Fearsome Threesome: Scotti Sentes, Ben Bennett and Jarod Trice were a combined 40-6 in dual meets this season and combined to score 153 dual meet points, 54.3 percent of CMU's total of 282 points in 16 duals. Sentes was 13-3 in duals with a team-leading 57 points, Bennett was 14-2 with 51 points and Trice was 13-1 with 45 points.
Five Earn First MAC Wins: Five different Chippewas have earned their first career MAC dual victories this season. Sophomore Christian Cullinan (125 pounds) and redshirt freshman Craig Kelliher (197 pounds) posted wins in the Chippewas' 21-13 win at Northern Illinois, junior Chad Friend (184 pounds) claimed his first conference victory in CMU's 21-17 loss at Ohio, redshirt freshman Scott Mattingly (141 pounds) was victorious in the Chippewas' 19-14 win over Buffalo and senior Ryan Cubberly (157 pounds) picked up his first career MAC victory in the Chippewas' 29-3 win over Eastern Michigan.
Chippewas Win 10th Straight Over Michigan State: CMU's 19-18 win at Michigan State on Jan. 21 was its 10th consecutive victory over the Spartans dating back to 2001. The victory evened the all-time series at 13-13. The Chippewas have won 14 of their last 15 duals against in-state opponents.
Bennett Continues Winning Ways: Sophomore Ben Bennett improved to 25-5 overall, including 14-2 in dual meets, with a pair of major decisions during the final week of the regular season. Bennett leads the team in dual victories and is second in overall victories. Four of his five losses have been to an opponent who has been ranked No. 1 nationally at 174 pounds this season.
Trice Takes on the Top 10: Junior heavyweight Jarod Trice, ranked No. 2 nationally, is 5-3 against opponents in the most recent InterMat top 10, including a 3-1 exhibition loss to No. 3 Ryan Flores (American) at the NWCA All-Star Classic in November.
Top of the Tournament: Scotti Sentes (133 pounds), Ben Bennett (174) and Jarod Trice (heavyweight) combined for seven top-three finishes at the Body Bar Invitational, Cliff Keen Invitational and Midlands Championships. Sentes won the Body Bar and was third at Midlands, Bennett finished runner-up at all three events and Trice was third at the Cliff Keen and runner-up at Midlands.
Trice Travels the World: Junior heavyweight Jarod Trice has competed in a pair of events outside of CMU's schedule this season. In October, Trice placed eighth in Greco-Roman at the University World Championships in Italy. He was the highest placing American in Greco-Roman at the event. In November, Trice represented CMU at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Fresno, Calif. American's Ryan Flores scored a third-period takedown to defeat Trice, 3-1.
CMU Adds Four During Early Signing Period: Four high school student-athletes signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Chippewas for the 2011-12 season, including three of the top-60 ranked recruits in the country. Ty Davis (141 pounds), Zach Horan (133), Joey Kielbasa (157) and Devin Pommerenke (285) committed to CMU during the early signing period. Horan (No. 16), Kielbasa (No. 59) and Pommerenke (No. 42) are ranked among the top 60 recruits nationally by InterMat. The group was ranked as the No. 13 recruiting class in the country by W.I.N. Magazine.
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