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Smith Wins Second MAC Championship, Cleveland State Wrestling Finishes Tenth

Smith Wins Second MAC Championship, Cleveland State Wrestling Finishes Tenth
Posted: Mar 09, 2024

KENT, Ohio – Cleveland State finished tenth with five placers at the 2024 MAC Championships led by No. 31 Ben Smith winning his second MAC Championship at 197-pounds.

The Vikings will have two NCAA qualifiers with Smith making his third appearance and No. 21 Daniel Bucknavich making his first appearance.

Central Michigan won the team title with 131 points, Rider came in second with 114.5 points, and George Mason in third with 112.5 points. The Vikings slotted in the tenth spot with 64.5 points.

No. 31 Smith secured his second MAC Championship, the only Vikings to win a conference title in program history, defeating No. 28 Sam Mitchell of Buffalo, 8-3.

In the 285-pound championship, No. 21 Buckanvich fell to No. 27 David Szuba of Rider, 7-3.

Tate Geiser went 2-1 on the second day to place fifth at 165-pounds. Geiser started the day with a 7-2 decision over Hunter Shaut of Buffalo and won his placement match 5-2 over Aaron Ferguson of Kent State.

Marcus Robinson finished his final run in the sixth place at 157-pounds. Ben Aranda placed seventh at 125-pounds after winning his placement match by major decision, 8-0 over JB Dragovich of George Mason.

The NCAA Selection Show is Wednesday, March 13th at 8 p.m. on NCAA.com.

CSU Results at the MAC Championships
Ben Aranda – 125 Pounds (2 Bids)
 Cons. Quarters – Davian Guanajuato (SIUE) DEC Aranda, 8-3
Seventh Place – Aranda (CSU) MD JB Dragovich (GMU), 8-0

Marcus Robinson – 157 Pounds (5 Bids)
 Cons Quarters – Robinson (CSU) MD William Morrow (BU), 15-2
Cons Semi - Nick Stampoulos (UB) MD Robinson (CSU), 11-1
Fifth Place – No. 28 Colton Washlesk (RU) DEC Robinson (CSU), 7-4

Tate Geiser – 165 Pounds (1 Bid)
Cons Quarters – Geiser (CSU) DEC Hunter Shaut (UB), 7-2
Cons Semi – Caden Dobbins (BU) DEC Geiser (CSU), 4-0
Fifth Place – Geiser (CSU) DEC Aaron Feguson (KENT), 5-2

No. 31 Ben Smith – 197 Pounds (2 Bids)
Championship - No. 31 Smith (CSU) DEC No. 28 Sam Mitchell (UB), 8-3

No. 21 Daniel Bucknavich – 285 Pounds (3 Bids)
Championship – No. 27 David Szuba (RU) DEC No. 21 Bucknavich (CSU), 7-3