University of Michigan

UofM’s transfer from Cornell, Jacob Cardenas, was the sole champ for the Wolverines this past weekend at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. With five total placewinners, the Wolverines earned seventh place in the team standings with 75 points.

Cardenas, the top seed #3 nationally, pinned Northwestern’s 24th-ranked Evan Bates in the finals after earning a 12-0 major decision over Virginia Tech’s 11th-ranked Andy Smith in the semifinals. With the undefeated weekend, Cardenas improved to 8-0 on the season with eight bonus wins – six technical falls, a major decision and the finals pin. He is the Wolverines’ sixth CKLV champion over the last seven years.

Other than Cardenas, Michigan went 0-4 in the consolation quarterfinal round to send four wrestlers to the 7th place match. Sergio Lemley (141lbs) and Brock Mantanona (165lbs) both finished 7th, while Dylan Ragusin (133lbs) and Jaden Bullock (184lbs) both finished 8th.

Although Michigan will likely send a group of starters and development guys to Midlands in two weeks, their next offiicial varsity competition will be January 10th against Maryland to open the B1G dual season.

Central Michigan University

CMU had a weekend road trip to Oklahoma and Little Rock to continue their tough schedule. Both Oklahoma and Little Rock are ranked top-25 in the country and are solid from top to bottom. Against Oklahoma, CMU captured two matches, with #17 Lovett picking up an 8-3 OT win over KJ Evans. At 197lbs, Luke Cochran upset #29 Bradley Hill. Aure, Shrader, Amaker, and Alex and Adrien Cramer all lost matches to ranked opponents.

Against Little Rock, the Chippewas were able to double up on their individual wins, taking four matches. Most notably, redshirt freshman Kaden Chinavare (Dundee HS) got his first career dual meet victory with a 9-5 decision over Tyson Roach. Kellan Aure, Alex Cramer, and Bryan Caves were the other winners for CMU.

Other Michigan Grapplers in Action

• Two Michigan Grapplers were in dual action for Penn State over the weekend. Josh Barr had a massive major decision over All American #8 Michael Beard (Lehigh) to prove that he’s in the mix to finish high on the podium come March. Braeden Davis dropped a close 4-2 decision to top ranked Ryan Crookham in the same dual.
• Cam Amine put together a solid tournament the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, reaching the finals at 165lbs. After earning decisions in the first three rounds, Amine picked up the deciding takedown in a 4-1 match over Bubba Wilson (Nebraska). In the finals, Amine gave up an OT takedown to lose 4-1 to the top-seed Peyton Hall (West Virginia)
• Amine’s teammate Caleb Fish (Eaton Rapids HS) also had an outstanding tournament for Oklahoma State. He earned major decisions over nationally ranked Paniro Johnson and in-state rival (and former teammate) Chase Saldate. After losing in the second round, Fish battled all the way back to take 3rd for the Cowboys.
• Marcello Milani (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s HS) made his varsity debut for Cornell, as Cornell sent a partial starting lineup to Cliff Keen. Entering as the 12-seed at 125lbs, Milani earned a spot on the podium in 8th place.