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Chippewas Hold Off Upset-Minded Bulls, 30-3

Mike Ragusa

The Chippewas won nine of 10 matches, despite seven coming down to the final seconds, to take the 30-3 Mid-American Conference dual meet win from the Bulls in front of 847 fans at Alumni Arena on Sunday.

Sophomore Mike Ragusa (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) got the Bulls (9-4 overall, 2-2 MAC) lone win with a stellar upset of 13th-ranked Brandon Sinnott as he earned an escape and then a takedown on the far side of the mat in the third overtime period. He allowed an escape, but held on for the 5-4 win, his first against a nationally-ranked competitor.

The bout’s feature match between Michalak and Cerminara lived up to its billing, as both wrestlers felt each other out for the first two periods. Each earned an escape thanks to starting in down positions, but with a minute left, Michalak took Cerminara to the mat on an explosive move. Cerminara battled valiantly to escape and with 15 seconds left, he looked to have not only escaped, but gotten in position to reverse Michalak before both wrestlers fell out of bounds, with no points awarded. With five seconds remaining, Cerminara did escape, but could not get a takedown, allowing Michalak to sneak away with a 3-2 win.

The Chippewas (10-4 overall, 2-0 MAC) jumped out to a 24-0 lead, clinching the meet by the 174-pound match, as they posted wins in both early MAC 1-2 matchups, with Bubba Gritter posting a third-period takedown to beat senior Harold Sherrell (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and Jason Borelli posted an overtime escape to beat junior Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville). The loss was Budd’s first in 14 matches.

At 149 pounds, junior Pat Lloyd (Middletown, NY/Valley Central) took the match to the final buzzer against sixth-ranked Mark DiSalvo. After falling behind 5-1, Lloyd fought back with a mad second-period flurry of an escape and takedown. He earned a third period escape to tie the score, but DiSalvo hung on thanks to a riding-time point.

The Bulls finish up their MAC slate when they head to Kent State on Friday for a 7:00 pm match. Central Michigan 30, Buffalo 3
HWT – #15 Bubba Gritter (CMU) dec. #14 Harold Sherrell, 5-3
125 - #10 Luke Smith (CMU) by forfeit
133 - #11 Jason Borelli dec. SV-2 #13 Mark Budd, 2-1
141 - Brandon Carter dec. Cliff Smith, 8-2
149 - #6 Mark DiSalvo dec. Pat Lloyd, 6-5
157 – Andy Keller (CMU) dec. John Cummings, 10-8
165 – Trevor Stewart (CMU) dec. Mickey Moran, 3-2
174 – Mike Ragusa (UB) dec. SV-2 #13 Brandon Sinnott, 5-4
184 - #20 Christian Sinnott dec. Garrett Hicks, 11-4
197 - #1 Wynn Michalak dec. #4 Kyle Cerminara, 3-2