Ohio (4-3, 1-2 Mid-American) continues its road trip, traveling to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to take on the Central Michigan Chippewas.
Ohio looks to bounce back after a heartbreaking 20-17 loss to Northern Illinois that came down to the wire. The team is in a tough spot in conference play with only four conference matches to go and sitting third in the MAC West standings behind undefeated Southern Illinois Edgarsville and NIU.
Ohio redshirt seniors Zayne Lehman and Sal Perrine look to continue flipping momentum for the Bobcats after picking up tech falls against Northern Illinois. The 35th-ranked Lehman recorded four takedowns and a near fall in his 22-5 rout, while the 21st-ranked Perrine recorded seven takedowns.
Redshirt junior Derek Raike continues to be dominant for the Bobcats as he picked up his 13th win of the season in a 20-8 major decision. The Bobcats will look to senior Paul Woo to establish momentum early after picking up his fourth win of the season in a 4-1 overtime thriller.
Central Michigan is coming off a two-week hiatus after its previous duel against SIUE last Sunday was postponed due to the inclement weather. Central Michigan’s last match was against the Huskies in a 19-14 loss on Jan. 16.
Central Michigan will look to pick up points early after it struggled in the middle classes in its previous matchup against the Bobcats. The team will be led by 35th-ranked 125-pound freshman Archer Anderson, 133 junior Austin Andrews with an 11-9 record (133) and 149 redshirt junior Jimmy Nugent with a 15-7 record.
31st-ranked senior Mason Shrader will look to swing the momentum for the Chippewas after coming home with a win for Central Michigan in his last match against the Bobcats in a 15-6 decision over freshman Dominic Serio.
Looking at the history between the two teams, Central Michigan holds a 3-2 record over the Bobcats, where the Chippewas had a three-game win streak over the Bobcats from 2022 to 2024. However, Ohio broke its streak with an 18-6 win at The Convo last year.
The Bobcats will look to break the Chippewas undefeated record at home as Ohio sits at 2-1 on the road this season compared to Central Michigan’s 1-2 record.
Match Information
Opponent: Central Michigan Chippewas
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: McGuirk Arena
Where to Watch: ESPN+
Wrestler to Watch (CMU): Mason Shrader
Mason Shrader, a South Lyon, Michigan native, has dominated since high school. Since coming to Central Michigan, he was a 31-0 Michigan Division 1 state champion at 140 pounds.
He has a 65-34 career record, including a Nationals appearance last season as the 24th seed and placing second in the MAC tournament, including an undefeated 6-0 record in MAC duels.
This season, he continued that dominance, heading into this match at 16-5. He searches for back-to-back Nationals appearances this season as he’ll be a handful in a tough match with Raike. Last time they faced off, Shrader defeated Raike in the MAC semifinals by a 6-4 decision.
