University at Buffalo
MAC Championships
Green Captures Title at MAC Championships
3/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
MOUNT PLEASANT, MI – Sophomore Desi Green captured the
149-pound title at the Mid-American Conference Championships on
Sunday afternoon at the Rose Center on the campus of Central
Michigan University. The Bulls finished in fourth place with 60.5
points including eight wrestlers earning top four finishes. Senior
Dan Bishop, junior Jimmy Hamel and sophomore Kevin Smith finished
in second place at 125, 197 and 133, respectively.
In the 149-pound championship bout, Green defeated Seth Morton of
Ohio, 3-2, to capture the conference crown and All-MAC First Team
honors. In his victory, the sophomore earned an automatic bid to
the NCAA National Tournament. The 19th nationally-ranked wrestler
went 2-0 en route to capturing the Bulls' first conference
individual title since Mark Budd in 2007.
At 133, Smith finished in second place as seventh nationally-ranked
Scotti Sentes of Central Michigan forfeited in the bout for true
second. In his prior match, the 18th nationally-ranked wrestler
defeated Sean Clair of Eastern Michigan, 4-2 in the first overtime
off a takedown. With his second-place finish, Smith receives
All-MAC Honorable Mention honors as well as his first trip to the
NCAA National Tournament.
For the second consecutive year, Hamel reached the 197-pound
championship match. In order to reach the championship bout, Hamel
upset number one seed Eric Simaz of Central Michigan, 3-1 in
overtime, on Saturday. In the championship bout, Hamel fell to 19th
nationally-ranked Erik Schuth of Ohio, 2-0 off an escape and one
point awarded for riding time. Earning All-MAC Honorable Mention,
Hamel qualifies for his second trip to the NCAA National
Tournament.
Despite his unfortunate injury off an illegal throw by Gabe Ramos
of Ohio in the semifinal match, Bishop finished second in the
125-pound bracket, earning All-MAC Honorable Mention.
In the 165-pound weight class, sophomore John-Martin Cannon
finished in third place. Facing Tyler Grayson of Central Michigan
in the 165-pound championship bout, Cannon fell to the 20th
nationally-ranked wrestler, 7-2. In his second bout of the day,
Cannon defaulted versus Ross Tice of Kent State at 3:24 to finish
in third.
Making his first ever appearance at the MAC Championships, junior
Brian Sheehan finished in fourth place at 174.
In their final appearances at the MAC Championships, seniors Andrew Stella and Jason Weber each finished in fourth place at 157 and
285, respectively. Stella fell to Ohio's Clay Tucker, 6-4, to
finish in fourth. Recording a career best fourth-place finish,
Weber lost in a 6-0 decision to David Wade of Eastern Michigan.
The Bulls close out a successful season with tri-captains Green,
Hamel and Smith having earned spots as national qualifiers at the
2010 NCAA Division I National Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska on
March 18-20.
