| | |
That's CKCFUMI for Short
WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 5, 2007
Two years ago, the Wolverine wrestling team dominated the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, winning the annual tournament by 29 points and crowning four individual champions. With two Churellas in the finals -- Josh (141 pounds) and Ryan (165) -- and two more Churellas running the tournament -- Mark Sr. and Mark Jr. -- Purdue's SID at the time joked that the tournament ought to be renamed the Cliff Keen, Churella Family, University of Michigan Invitational. The event celebrated its 26th year last weekend and featured a field of 50 teams from across the country, including several team ranked among the nation's best, like Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska and, of course, Michigan. Over the years, the tournament has established itself as one of the premier early-season events and, as it did this season, always provides a shake-up in the national team and individual rankings. But when Mark Churella Sr. founded it during his third year as head wrestling coach at UNLV, he had more modest intentions.
"When we started it years ago as the Caesar's Palace Invitational," said Churella, "the idea was to attract Midwestern and Eastern schools to come to the West to wrestle because the operating budgets and travel budgets of the Western universities were so low that they couldn't afford to go to the Midwest and East. What really allowed the tournament to grow so rapidly -- and we had in excess of 37 teams the very first year we did the tournament -- is we offered any of the top-10 teams in the country that wanted to come free accommodations. That was a real incentive for them to come out and do it."
When UNLV dropped its wrestling program in 1984, Churella felt a commitment to the friendships he made with western coaches to continue the event. Later, it became a commitment to his sons, who had grown up watching the tournament and wanted to participate in it themselves. He never imagined that he would still be overseeing it after 26 years.
This year, in his first year at the Wolverines' volunteer assistant, Churella split his time between the head table and Michigan's coaching corner. The Wolverines gave a good indication of their tournament strength, capturing their third team title in four years behind a strong showing in the championship round that saw them leapfrog two teams into first place.
"I enjoyed my role as executive director and as a coach," said Churella. "I think I played more of a role as a coach and less as an active tournament director. Mark Jr. really took care of that end, especially during the onset of the tournament. So it was a different role, but it's somewhat of an easier role for me since it allows me to focus on many matches rather than just one or two. I've had people ask me what I'm going to do now that the youngest one will be gone, and I tell them that the oldest is now old enough to run it. So I think the boys will probably continue it for years to come." | | | |
