Michigan State University
Central Michigan
Central Michigan Rallies to Defeat Spartans on Senior Night
2/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State wrestling team held a 12-9 lead with four matches remaining, but ultimately lost a hard-fought dual to Central Michigan, 21-12, on Senior Night at Jenison Field House.
"It was a very dramatic dual," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel. "Central gets a lot of credit for wrestling us really tough and really well, but that said, we had some adversity tonight. We still have a number of kids who have the flu (two starters out tonight). But I thought our kids stepped up and wrestled really hard. It was a heck of a dual and wasn't decided until pretty late."
The Spartans recognized the six seniors in the 2015 class - Luke Jones, Nick McDiarmid, Kevin Nash, Nick Proctor, John Rizqallah and Ryan Watts - in a ceremony prior to the dual.
"When you have young men in your program for five years, they really become part of your family," Minkel continued regarding Senior Night. "In a sense, they're kind of like your adult kids, so you're full of joy when their happy, and you just suffer with them when things go badly because you're in it with them. It's very emotional. My senior group here are just fine young men. I'm enormously proud of them whether they win or lose because you know how hard they work, how resilient they are, and how much they've committed to our program."
Wrestling for the last time in Jenison Field House, McDiarmid won his fifth match in a row with a dramatic 3-1 sudden victory against Jackson Lewis at 197 pounds. McDiarmid's win sparked a four-match winning streak for the Spartans (5-13) after they dropped the first two bouts of the dual at 174 and 184 pounds.
With the match tied at 1 in the third, Lewis appeared to close in on a takedown with 30 seconds left, but McDiarmid made an acrobatic save on one leg and regained his balance, sending the bout into overtime. A native of nearby Fowlerville, Michigan, McDiarmid made quick work of Lewis in the extra period, quickly getting around his back for the winning takedown in just nine seconds to earn the 3-1 decision.
Chris Nash maintained his late-season momentum with his fourth win in a row at heavyweight, edging Newton Smerchek, 3-2, on a takedown with just seven seconds left in the match.
The Spartans tied the dual at 9 after Mitch Rogaliner defeated Brent Fleetwood at 125 pounds, 3-1. Following a scoreless first period, both wrestlers traded escape points before Rogaliner stayed low and struck with a quick takedown with 50 seconds remaining in the only takedown of the match.
Garth Yenter won the fourth match in a row for the Spartans at 133 pounds as Michigan State took a 12-9 lead with four weight classes remaining. For the second consecutive year, Yenter found success against the Chippewas, as he dominated Carter Ballinger in a 10-4 decision. Yenter scored an early takedown less than 30 seconds into the match, and added three near-fall points to go up 5-0. He also produced a takedown later in the first and another in the third, and had 4:10 of riding time. Last season, Yenter topped No. 11 Joe Roth of CMU, 8-4.
Although the Spartans battled back to take the lead following their initial 9-0 deficit, Central Michigan (9-6) won the final four matches of the dual to claim the 21-12 victory.
Hermilo Esquivel hung close with 10th-ranked Zach Horan at 141 pounds, but fell in a narrow 3-1 decision. Nick Trimble also nearly upset a ranked opponent, but was edged by No. 16 Colin Heffernan, 1-0, at 149 pounds. Starting down to begin the last stanza, Trimble rose to his feet several times, but ultimately couldn't escape the clutch of Heffernan in a dramatic final period.
Cody LeCount defeated Travis Curley, 5-1, at 157 pounds and Jordan Wohlfert beat Matt Pasqualini, 7-4, at 165 in the last two matches of the dual to secure the victory for the Chippewas.
Michigan State returns to action for the Big Ten Championships March 7-8 in Columbus, Ohio.
"Two weeks from today, we'll be at the Big Ten Championships," said Minkel. "We're going to recover from this and get our heads together and we're going to come back swinging. I think anybody who has watched our team sees the progress we've made and sees the resiliency that this group has. We're going to go to the Big Tens and do our very, very best."
Central Michigan 21, Michigan State 12
174: Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) pins Nick Proctor (MSU) in 36 seconds. CMU leads, 6-0
184: Austin Severn (CMU) dec. John Rizqallah (MSU), 4-2 (SV1). CMU leads, 9-0
197: Nick McDiarmid (MSU) dec. Jackson Lewis (CMU), 3-1 (SV1). CMU leads, 9-3
285: Chris Nash (MSU) dec. Newton Smerchek (CMU), 3-2. CMU leads, 9-6
125: Mitch Rogaliner (MSU) dec. Brent Fleetwood (CMU), 3-1. Tied, 9-9
133: Garth Yenter (MSU) dec. Carter Ballinger (CMU), 10-4 (RT 4:19). MSU leads, 12-9
141: No. 10 Zach Horan (CMU) dec. Hermilo Esquivel (MSU), 3-1. Tied, 12-12
149: No. 16 Colin Heffernan (CMU) dec. Nick Trimble (MSU), 1-0. CMU leads, 15-12
157: Cody LeCount (CMU) dec. Travis Curley (MSU), 5-1 (RT 1:10). CMU leads, 18-12
165: Jordan Wohlfert (CMU) dec. Matt Pasqualini (MSU), 7-4 (RT 2:25). CMU wins, 21-12
Attendance: 325
Play-by-Play
174: Proctor (MSU) vs. Ellingwood (CMU)1st:0-2 (2:35) T2
Ellingwood pins Proctor in 36 seconds.
184: Rizqallah (MSU) vs. Severn (CMU)1st:0-2 (1:37) T21-2 (1:16) E1
2nd:No scoring
3rd:2-2 (1:51) E1
SV:2-4 (0:04) T2
Severn dec. Rizqallah, 4-2 (SV1)
197: McDiarmid (MSU) vs. Lewis (CMU)1st:No scoring
2nd:0-1 (1:09) E1
3rd:1-1 (1:50) E1
SV:1-3 (0:51) T2
McDiarmid dec. Lewis, 3-1 (SV1)
285: Nash (MSU) vs. Smerchek (CMU)1st:No scoring
2nd:0-1 (1:55) E1
3rd:1-1 (1:56) E13-1 (0:07) T23-2 (0:02) E1
Nash dec. Smerchek, 3-2
125: Rogaliner (MSU) vs. Fleetwood (CMU)1st:No scoring
2nd:0-1 (1:45) E1
3rd:1-1 (1:55) E13-1 (0:50) T2
Rogaliner dec. Fleetwood, 3-1
133: Yenter (MSU) vs. Ballinger (CMU)1st:2-0 (2:36) T25-0 (1:50) NF35-1 (1:23) E17-1 (0:30) T2
2nd:No scoring
3rd:9-1 (1:25) T29-2 (0:47) E19-4 (0:05) T210-4 (RT 4:19)
Yenter dec. Ballinger, 10-4
141: Esquivel (MSU) vs. Horan (CMU)1st:0-2 (0:16) T21-2 (0:12) E1
2nd:1-3 (1:50) E1
3rd:No scoring
Horan dec. Esquivel, 3-1
149: Trimble (MSU) vs. Heffernan (CMU)1st:No scoring
2nd:SW Trimble (0:58)0-1 (0:43) E1
3rd:SW Heffernan (0:39)
Heffernan dec. Trimble, 1-0
157: Curley (MSU) vs. LeCount (CMU)1st:0-2 (1:08) T2
2nd:1-2 (1:55) E1
3rd:1-4 (0:02) T21-5 (RT 1:10)
LeCount dec. Curley, 5-1
165: Pasqualini (MSU) vs. Wohlfert (CMU)1st:0-2 (2:49) T21-2 (1:03) E11-4 (0:15) T2
2nd:1-5 (1:33) E13-5 (0:48) T23-6 (0:43) E1
3rd:4-6 (1:01) E14-7 (RT 2:25)
Wohlfert dec. Pasqualini, 7-4
Players Mentioned
