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BUFFALO, NY - Central Michigan University, seeking their third straight Mid-American Conference title, sent eight wrestlers to the finals and racked up 60 points on the first day of the MAC wrestling championships hosted by the University at Buffalo.

Next up was Kent State (45¹/₂ points) who sent four wrestlers to the finals, followed by Ohio University (34¹/₂), who sent three to the finals, Buffalo (32¹/₂), Northern Illinois (21¹/₂) and Eastern Michigan (20¹/₂).

All ten of Sunday's championship matches are now set, as four defending champions will look to defend their titles. At the end of tomorrow's matches the ten champions and eight wild cards will advance to the NCAA Championships at St. Louis' Kiel Center from March 16th-18th. Wrestling begins at 1:00 pm tomorrow on two matches with both consolation and championship matches being contested.

At 125-pounds, defending champ Brent Thompson of Kent will face Alexis Rivera of Northern Illinois. Thompson, the top seed, defeated Buffalo's Charlie Voorhees 3-1 in the semifinals and Rivera defeated Claudell Ruffin of Eastern Michigan 5-3 to advance.

Buffalo's Shawn Kegel defeated second-seed Brian Baughman of Kent 6-2 to advance to the finals at 133 pounds. He will face top-seeded Brad Wright of Ohio who defeated Central Michigan's Jordan Webster 3-0.

Chris Marshall of Central Michigan will look to defend his title at 141 pounds when he faces Tom LeCuyer of Northern Illinois. Marshall took a 5-2 decision over Kent's Mark Wentz and LeCuyer upset Shane Hartzler of Ohio 9-0 to advance to the finals.

The 149-pound weight class features the top two seeds at that weight in top-seed Jeremy Hardman of Central Michigan and Sam Murdock of Kent. Hardman defeated UB's Ryan Bentley 7-3 and Murdock escaped with a 3-2 win over Aaron Cooper of Ohio.

Unseeded Anthony Ralph of Kent will battle for the title at 157 pounds. Ralph won his opening match with a fall and then upset top-seeded Jacob Partlow of Buffalo to advance to the finals. He will face Russell Clark of Central Michigan who upset the second seed Matt Merrill of Eastern Michigan.

Another unseeded wrestler from Kent qualified for the championship match at 165 pounds. Like Ralph, Nick Nemeth won in the first round by fall and then upset the top seed to advance. Nemeth defeated John Wervey of Ohio 8-7 to make it to the finals. He will go up against Vernon Cannon of Central Michigan who advanced with a 7-2 win over Buffalo's Gary Cooper.

The 174 pound weight class will feature two of the top wrestlers in the country. Top-seeded Ryan Cunningham of Central Michigan and second-seeded Mike Feeney of Eastern Michigan both cruised to wins in the semifinals and will square off for the championship. Cunningham is the defending champion and both are returning All-Americans from the NCAA Championships.

Another matchup of top seeds will take place at 184 pounds. Top seed David Potter of Northern Illinois defeated UB's Josh States 9-2 and will go up against Central Michigan's Phil Baroni in the championship match. Baroni defeated Mark Shrout of Ohio 6-4 in the semifinals.

Chris Vike of Central Michigan is the fourth defending champion who will try and regain his title. Vike advanced to the finals with a win by fall over Zeb Miller of Kent. He will face Dan Bednar of Ohio who was a 5-3 overtime winner over Buffalo's Joe Downey.

At heavyweight, top seed Tim Courtad of Ohio defeated Mike Garofalo of Buffalo 8-3 and will face Jack Leffler of Central Michigan in the finals. Leffler advanced with a 2-1 win over Kent's Jim Swetter.

The wrestlebacks to determine third and fourth place will take place Saturday night with action beginning on Sunday at 1 pm for the consolation and championship matches.

2000 MAC Wrestling Championships

Championship Matches

125 -#1 Brent Thompson (Kent) vs. #3 Alexis Rivera (Northern Illinois)

133 - #1 Brad Wright (Ohio) vs. #3 Shawn Kegel (Buffalo)

141 -#1 Chris Marshall (Central Michigan) vs. #3 Tom LeCuyer (Northern Illinois)

149 - #1 Jeremy Hardman (Central Michigan) vs. #2 Sam Murdock (Kent)

157 -#3 Russell Clark (Central Michigan) vs. Anthony Ralph (Kent)

165 - #3 Vernon Cannon (Central Michigan) vs. Nick Nemeth (Kent)

174 - #1 Ryan Cunningham (Central Michigan) vs. #2 Mike Feeney (Eastern Michigan)

184 -#1 David Potter (Northern Illinois) vs. #2 Phil Baroni (Central Michigan)

197 -#1 Chris Vike (Central Michigan) vs. #2 Dan Bednar (Ohio)

Hwt -#1 Tim Courtad (Ohio) vs. #3 Jack Leffler (Central Michigan)

Consolation Matches (3rd and 4th place)

125 -Paul Hodermarsky (Ohio) vs. #2 Ahmad Sanders (Central Michigan)

133 - #2 Brian Baughman (Kent) vs. #4 Jordan Webster (Central Michigan)

141 -#2 Shane Hartzler (Ohio) vs. #4 Mark Wentz (Kent)

149 - #3 Aaron Cooper (Ohio) vs. #4 Ryan Bentley (Buffalo)

157 -#2 Matt Merrill (Eastern Michigan) vs. #1 Jacob Partlow (Buffalo)

165 - #2 Gary Cooper (Buffalo) vs. Tim Hoff (Eastern Michigan)

174 - Ben Cooper (Buffalo) vs. #4 Luke Moore (Ohio)

184 -Travis Kraft (Eastern Michigan) vs. #4 Josh States (Buffalo)

197 -#3 Joe Downey (Buffalo) vs. #4 Zeb Miller (Kent)

Hwt -#4 Jon Lourich (Northern Illinois) vs. Mike Garofalo (Buffalo)