Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, March 4
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
All Day
Eastern Michigan University
vs
MAC Championships
Photo by: EMU Athletics/Andrew Mascharka
MacCallum's Individual Title Highlights Day Two of MAC Wrestling Championships
3/4/2018 5:50:00 PM | Wrestling
EMU finished third overall and qualified four to the NCAA Tournament
FULL RESULTS
PHOTO GALLERY
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team ended its time at the 2018 Mid-American Conference Championships Sunday, March 4, with a milestone day, led by redshirt junior Kayne MacCallum (Green Oaks, Ill.-Libertyville) who was crowned the individual champion at 184 lbs. It was EMU's first individual champion since 2009.
Overall, the Green and White had one of its best team performances in program history, as they finished third overall with 120.5 points, and qualified four wrestlers to the upcoming 2018 NCAA Championships. The third place finish was the best for the Eagles since 2012 when EMU took third place as well.
Along with MacCallum, redshirt sophomore Sa'Derian Perry (Lakeland, Fla.-Lake Gibson), and redshirt seniors Kyle Springer (New Boston, Mich.-Davenport Assumption (Indiana)) and Gage Hutchison (Buchanan, Mich.-Buchanan) all earned automatic qualifying spots into the NCAA tournament. It will be Hutchison's third-straight NCAA appearance, while the other three earn spots in the championships for the first time in their careers.
Individually, EMU placed eight grapplers in the top-six of their respective weight classes. MacCallum took first at 184 lbs., while Springer, Hutchison, and redshirt sophomore Zac Carson (Akron, Ohio-Lake) took runner-up honors at 149 lbs., heavyweight, and 165 lbs., respectively. Perry and redshirt junior Derek Hillman (Woodhaven, Mich.-Woodhaven) placed third at 141 lbs. and 197 lbs., respectively, while redshirt freshman Andrew McNally (Uniontown, Ohio-Lake) wound up fifth at 174 lbs. Finally, redshirt freshman Tomas Gutierrez (Arvada, Colo-Pomona) took sixth place in his first MAC Championships appearance.
In the 184 lbs. title bout, MacCallum matched up with No. 6 seeded Bryce Gorman of NIU, whom he defeated handily in the regular season dual. The Green Oaks, Ill. native came out firing, getting two takedowns and two nearfall points to lead it, 6-1, after one period. In the second and third, he played solid defense, not allowing Gorman in on any shots, and outlasted the Huskie wrestler to take the crown by 8-2 decision.
The two grapplers with the busiest days were Perry and Springer, as both did serious work in the consolation brackets to earn their automatic NCAA bids. Perry began his day in the consolation semifinals against No. 4 seeded Tim Rooney of Kent State. Just like he did in the regular season, Perry pinned Rooney in the third period, advancing him to the third place match. In the third place match, Perry squared off with No. 5 seeded Mario Gullien of Ohio. For the third time this weekend, Perry was able to catch his opponent on his back, pinning Guillen in just 1:55 to punch his ticket to his first career NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile, Springer, also in the consolation rounds, got to the third place match with a commanding 16-4 major decision in the consolation semifinals. In the third place match, he matched up with returning All-American and the No. 2 seeded Justin Oliver of Central Michigan. After wrestling him close this regular season, Springer made the most of his opportunity this time around as he upset Oliver in sudden victory, 6-4, to take third place.
Springer was not done, however, as he had the opportunity to wrestle the "true" second place match to end the day. Going against No. 3 seeded Kade Kowalski of Ohio, Springer would not be denied his opportunity to make his first ever NCAA appearance in his fifth year, as the veteran stuck Kowalski on the mat in 5:22 to seal the deal. After losing in is opening round match yesterday evening, Springer went on to win four straight to make it all the way back and earn the automatic qualification.
The only other Eagle to earn a win today was McNally, as he bounced back after his consolation semifinals loss to take fifth place with a 16-5 major decision over No. 6 seeded Quinton Rosser of NIU. The final four EMU grapplers that hit the mats today all dropped their bouts, including Carson, Hillman, and Hutchison in the finals, as well as Gutierrez in the consolation rounds. Despite the setback, Hutchison's runner-up finish was still good for an AQ slot.
EMU now awaits the final at-large selections to be made early next week, as well as the bracket reveal, which will occur Wednesday, March 7. The NCAA Championships get underway Thursday, March 15, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Final Team Standings:
1. Missouri, 177.0
2. Central Michigan, 125.0
3. Eastern Michigan, 120.5
4. Kent State, 98.0
5. Ohio, 84.5
6. Buffalo, 81.0
7. Old Dominion, 80.0
8. Northern Illinois, 78.0
PHOTO GALLERY
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team ended its time at the 2018 Mid-American Conference Championships Sunday, March 4, with a milestone day, led by redshirt junior Kayne MacCallum (Green Oaks, Ill.-Libertyville) who was crowned the individual champion at 184 lbs. It was EMU's first individual champion since 2009.
Overall, the Green and White had one of its best team performances in program history, as they finished third overall with 120.5 points, and qualified four wrestlers to the upcoming 2018 NCAA Championships. The third place finish was the best for the Eagles since 2012 when EMU took third place as well.
Along with MacCallum, redshirt sophomore Sa'Derian Perry (Lakeland, Fla.-Lake Gibson), and redshirt seniors Kyle Springer (New Boston, Mich.-Davenport Assumption (Indiana)) and Gage Hutchison (Buchanan, Mich.-Buchanan) all earned automatic qualifying spots into the NCAA tournament. It will be Hutchison's third-straight NCAA appearance, while the other three earn spots in the championships for the first time in their careers.
Individually, EMU placed eight grapplers in the top-six of their respective weight classes. MacCallum took first at 184 lbs., while Springer, Hutchison, and redshirt sophomore Zac Carson (Akron, Ohio-Lake) took runner-up honors at 149 lbs., heavyweight, and 165 lbs., respectively. Perry and redshirt junior Derek Hillman (Woodhaven, Mich.-Woodhaven) placed third at 141 lbs. and 197 lbs., respectively, while redshirt freshman Andrew McNally (Uniontown, Ohio-Lake) wound up fifth at 174 lbs. Finally, redshirt freshman Tomas Gutierrez (Arvada, Colo-Pomona) took sixth place in his first MAC Championships appearance.
In the 184 lbs. title bout, MacCallum matched up with No. 6 seeded Bryce Gorman of NIU, whom he defeated handily in the regular season dual. The Green Oaks, Ill. native came out firing, getting two takedowns and two nearfall points to lead it, 6-1, after one period. In the second and third, he played solid defense, not allowing Gorman in on any shots, and outlasted the Huskie wrestler to take the crown by 8-2 decision.
??: The final moments of @KayneMaccallum's MAC Championship title at 184 lbs! He is our first title winner since 2009! #EMUEagles pic.twitter.com/r7wTVjUZrv
— EMU Wrestling (@EMUWrestling) March 4, 2018
The two grapplers with the busiest days were Perry and Springer, as both did serious work in the consolation brackets to earn their automatic NCAA bids. Perry began his day in the consolation semifinals against No. 4 seeded Tim Rooney of Kent State. Just like he did in the regular season, Perry pinned Rooney in the third period, advancing him to the third place match. In the third place match, Perry squared off with No. 5 seeded Mario Gullien of Ohio. For the third time this weekend, Perry was able to catch his opponent on his back, pinning Guillen in just 1:55 to punch his ticket to his first career NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile, Springer, also in the consolation rounds, got to the third place match with a commanding 16-4 major decision in the consolation semifinals. In the third place match, he matched up with returning All-American and the No. 2 seeded Justin Oliver of Central Michigan. After wrestling him close this regular season, Springer made the most of his opportunity this time around as he upset Oliver in sudden victory, 6-4, to take third place.
Springer was not done, however, as he had the opportunity to wrestle the "true" second place match to end the day. Going against No. 3 seeded Kade Kowalski of Ohio, Springer would not be denied his opportunity to make his first ever NCAA appearance in his fifth year, as the veteran stuck Kowalski on the mat in 5:22 to seal the deal. After losing in is opening round match yesterday evening, Springer went on to win four straight to make it all the way back and earn the automatic qualification.
The only other Eagle to earn a win today was McNally, as he bounced back after his consolation semifinals loss to take fifth place with a 16-5 major decision over No. 6 seeded Quinton Rosser of NIU. The final four EMU grapplers that hit the mats today all dropped their bouts, including Carson, Hillman, and Hutchison in the finals, as well as Gutierrez in the consolation rounds. Despite the setback, Hutchison's runner-up finish was still good for an AQ slot.
EMU now awaits the final at-large selections to be made early next week, as well as the bracket reveal, which will occur Wednesday, March 7. The NCAA Championships get underway Thursday, March 15, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Final Team Standings:
1. Missouri, 177.0
2. Central Michigan, 125.0
3. Eastern Michigan, 120.5
4. Kent State, 98.0
5. Ohio, 84.5
6. Buffalo, 81.0
7. Old Dominion, 80.0
8. Northern Illinois, 78.0
Players Mentioned
165
/ Wrestling
125
/ Wrestling
197
/ Wrestling
HWT
/ Wrestling
184
/ Wrestling
174
/ Wrestling
141
/ Wrestling
149
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2018 MAC Wrestling Championships 197-lb Match:
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2018 MAC Wrestling Championships 285-lb Match:
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