Taylor senior Logan Parks after receiving his award on senior night for four years of hard work and dedication to the team Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 in McGuirk Arena. After winning his match he improved his overall collegiate record to 73-57 and is currently ranked 16th nationally.
Central Michigan hosted their rival Michigan State in McGuirk Arena this past Friday. Being the last home meet of CMU’s season, it was senior night for the lone senior, Logan Parks. His family was in attendance and escorted him to center mat to accept his award with flowers and a wide assortment of grins as the spotlight shone down. Logan seemed to have a far-off look, however, mentally preparing to face an opponent he hadn’t beaten in three bouts.
Granger, Ind. redshirt junior Drew Hildebrandt celebrates after his first-round pin of MSU’s Logan Griffin Friday. The win improved Hildebrandt’s record to 28-3 and helped CMU secure a 21-15 win.
Shortly thereafter the matches began, the first of which dig th ranked Drew Hildebrandt pinned his opponent in the first round. Central jumped out to an early lead of 12-0 and increased that to 15-3 after just five matches. The Spartans then rallied in the next three bouts and tied it at 15 before CMU pulled away in the final two bouts with the help of redshirt junior Landon Pelham and fourth ranked redshirt junior Matt Stencel. The win was CMU’s 6th consecutive dual victory to finish the season strong.
Oregon, Ohio redshirt junior Matt Stencel (right) outworks MSU’s Christian Rebottaro in a 4-1 match. Stencel improved his record to 26-4 and has won nine straight matches to be ranked fourth in the nation.
While it may be easy enough to snap some pictures at sporting events, shooting a wrestling meet in a professional capacity requires an incredible amount of luck that the meet unfolds in your general direction, that you anticipate the action and look always for reaction shots in the crowd, on the bench, etc. I have shot many sporting events before, but this particular wrestling meet I was pressed to get the best shots that I possibly could. Thus, I was always working the shot and adjusting myself and my camera on my little corner of mat to find the best shot.
Drew Travis Photography 