125 pounds: Luke Smith (Central Michigan) def. Pat Castillo (NIU) 6-1 in OT

The rubber match between Castillo and Smith was fraught with drama. They split their previous two meetings and both were ranked in the top-15 in the country.

From the get go, Castillo was the aggressor. Using his considerable size advantage, Castillo pursued Smith around the mat with fierce determination. Smith barely attacked the entire match but played solid defense. Smith opened the scoring in the second period with an escape, but a Castillo takedown was controversially stopped by the referees.

Castillo refused to start on the bottom to start the third period, which may have cost him the match. Instead of going for an escape point, Castillo kept attacking with reckless abandon. Smith wanted no part of the onslaught and was finally penalized a point for stalling to send the match into overtime.

But Castillo’s aggressiveness finally caught up to him in sudden death. A bad shot allowed Smith to score a reversal and a near fall to steal the match.

133 pounds: Mark Budd (Buffalo) inj. def. Phillip Plowman (Eastern Michigan)

In a weekend full of injuries, this was probably the ugliest. After a slow start with a lot of hand fighting, Budd snagged a takedown with 11 seconds remaining in the first period for a 2-0 lead.

Plowman was down to start the second when the injury happened. With Plowman on his feet, Budd lifted him for a slam and plowed Plowman headfirst into the mat. Trainers quickly rushed over and the match was soon called.

141 pounds: Josh Wooton (NIU) def. Brandon Carter (CMU) 6-1

There was no denying Wooton this weekend. In his final MAC Tournament, the No. 12-ranked NIU senior was on another level, above all his opponents.

In a curious move, Wooton started the match on one knee, waiting for a Carter attack. Wooton later explained he stayed low on one knee because Carter was strong and usually shoots a double leg attack. The position confused Carter enough that he did not attack the entire match.

Wooton caught Carter with a takedown/near fall to seal the match.

149 pounds: Mark DiSalvo (CMU) def. Jason Bake (Kent State) 5-3

A relatively tame affair. The top-10 ranked DiSalvo was too technically sound for Bake the entire match. Bake could not garner any offense and was limited to escapes only. DiSalvo won much more handily than the score indicated.

157 pounds: Kurt Gross (KSU) def. Jacob Frerichs (Ohio) 2-1 in OT

A snoozer of a match in a weak weight class that ended bizarrely. Frerichs upset CMU’s Andy Keller to gain the final, but neither Frerichs or Gross could get any semblance of offense going.

Both wrestlers scored escapes to send the match to overtime, where Frerichs was inexplicably called for stalling on a Gross attack, thus ending the match.

165 pounds: Johnny Galloway (NIU) def. Trevor Stewart (CMU) 4-2

After an up-and-down season, Galloway showed off his focus and concentration against an overmatched Stewart. While Stewart won their last matchup, Galloway had a victory in hand and boasted a superior physical shape.

Galloway patiently chose his spots for attack rather than attacking with abandon and making overaggressive mistakes. After a first period takedown, Galloway again showed his superior riding technique, clamping down on Stewart’s left ankle and using a vicious leg sweep when Stewart stood up.

With the minute riding time point well in hand, Galloway scored an escape in the third period to end the scoring. Instead of fading in the third period and making defensive blunders, Galloway stayed on the offensive and didn’t allow Stewart to make a late charge.

174 pounds: Brandon Sinnott (CMU) def. Aaron Miller (KSU) 7-5

A see-saw match that didn’t produce a winner until the final seconds. Miller was the aggressor early and had Sinnott’s in position for takedowns several times before Sinnott ran to escape.

But it all changed in the third period as Sinnott came out with an escape and takedown in quick succession. But Miller struck right back with a reversal to tie the score at 3-3. Miller then released Sinnott so he could score again because Sinnott had the one-minute riding time point. Miller attacked with abandon as the seconds waned and did manage to barely hold on for a takedown. But Miller didn’t have good positioning which allowed Sinnott to come back over the top for a reversal in the final seconds to end the comeback.

184 pounds: Alex Camargo (KSU) def. Christian Sinnott (CMU) 7-2

A classic example of how a senior can dominate an underclassman. Camargo is big even for his weight class and he used his strength advantage to bully Sinnott.

While both played defense early, Camargo picked his spots effectively and finished all his shots. With two takedowns in the second period, Camargo showed his mean dominance with a stone face.

197 pounds: Wynn Michalak (CMU) def. Kyle Cerminara (BUFF) 7-5

The most anticipated rematch of the tournament certainly lived up to its billing. Michalak came in as the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the nation, while Cerminara was the No. 2. When the two last met, it was a one-point victory for Michalak, dealing Cerminara his only loss of the season.

After trading escapes, Michalak led 7-5 in the third period. With less than 15 seconds to go, Cerminara desperately shot on Michalak near the mat’s edge and should have tied the score with the takedown. But referees said he did not have control, and Michalak emerged the victor.

Hwt: Harold Sherrell (BUFF) pins Jermail Porter (KSU)

The meeting of these two behemoths put Godzilla vs. King Kong to shame. In one corner, it was the 6-foot-3, 220 pound Sherrell — an extremely strong light heavyweight who wrestled at 197 pounds his entire career. On the other side, the 6-foot-6, 300-plus pound Porter — certainly one of the biggest wrestlers in the nation.

The beginning of the match was almost comical as Sherrell tried his best to attack, but could not reach Porter’s tree-trunk sized thighs. As the second period started, Porter chose down. The comedy continued as Sherrell literally wrapped himself across Porter’s back like a spider monkey as Porter stood up without much effort.

But on the second effort, Sherrell’s strength managed to get Porter to lose his balance and fall backwards. Sherrell then rolled him into a perfect pin as Porter sat helplessly, folded in half. After at least 10 seconds into the move, Porter was unable to move and tapped out, giving the pumped-up Sherrell the title.