Tom Borrelli named MAC Coach of the Year, Ben Bennett named Freshman of the Year

MOUNT PLEASANT – Central Michigan’s wrestling program has collected two of the Mid-American Conference’s annual specialty awards.

Head coach Tom Borrelli was named MAC Coach of the Year for the 11th time in his 19 seasons at CMU, while redshirt freshman 174-pounder Ben Bennett (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) was selected MAC Freshman of the Year.

The awards were voted on by the conference’s six wrestling head coaches.

Borrelli has claimed the MAC Coach of the Year award seven times in the past eight seasons. His 11 coach of the year accolades are the most of any coach in any sport in conference history.

Borrelli led the Chippewas to their 11th MAC title in the past 12 seasons and ninth consecutive conference tournament crown in 2010. CMU qualified all 10 individuals for the NCAA Championships and finished tied for 12th at the national tournament.

Bennett earned All-America honors with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, becoming just the fourth freshman in program history to be named an All-American. He earned an automatic bid to the national tournament after claiming the MAC title at 174 pounds; Bennett posted a 15-0 technical fall against Kent State’s Keith Witt in the conference tournament championship match.

Bennett is the 11th different Chippewa to be named MAC Freshman of the Year and first since Mike Miller in 2007. He ranked second on the team in total victories, posting an overall mark of 26-8.

Courtesy of CMU Sports Information