Tom Borrelli’s dad, Bob, saw something in Casey Cunningham before he ever stepped foot on the mat to compete for Central Michigan. Cunningham signed to wrestle for Tom the following season as father and son observed him practice. 

“That kid is going to be an NCAA champion someday,” Bob told Tom during a Junior National practice for Team Michigan. 

Those prophetic words eventually became true. Cunningham won an NCAA title for Central Michigan in 1999 after reaching the finals in 1998 as a junior. He remains the only NCAA champion in program history and the only wrestler to reach the finals twice. 

Casey Cunningham is — without question — the greatest wrestler in Central Michigan history.

What did Bob Borrelli see in Cunningham that led to such a bold prediction?

“He just watched him work,” Tom said. “That’s the kind of kid he was.”

Through the gift of hindsight, Borrelli realizes he was lucky to sign Cunningham. Coaches didn’t have instant access to video and the wrestling club scene hadn’t flourished, which meant the Middleton, Michigan, native went relatively unnoticed.

Cunningham was a two-time state champion, but it was for Michigan’s smallest high school class. He barely won both his finals matches, which didn’t leave a lasting impression on most coaches. 

“He really didn’t stand out that much unless you knew him enough to watch him train at different camps,” Borrelli said. “If it was today’s day and age, someone would have seen him on the computer or seen him at a national tournament. He would have been in a club with the best kids in the state. He’d have been outworking all the kids when college coaches came into the room. A lot of people would have known about him. He kind of flew under the radar because of all of that.”

Borrelli landed Casey’s younger brother, Ryan, who eventually became a three-time All-American with fourth-, seventh-, and third-place finishes at the NCAA championships from 1998-2000. 

That led to a memorable two-year window where Central Michigan was in contention with the best teams in the country. The Chippewas placed fifth at the 1998 NCAA Championships, seventh in 1999, and won a pair of MAC team titles. 

Placing in the top five in 1998 is what stands out, but Borrelli admits that his seventh-place team the following year was superior. 

“Our fifth-place team wasn’t as good as our seventh-place team,” Borrelli said. “The fifth-place team only had three All-Americans. We had five All-Americans the next year and we scored more points. It was just the way the points broke out.”

Central Michigan was a takedown away from a possible trophy finish in 1999. Chris Marshall earned a sizeable lead against Iowa’s Doug Schwab during their 141-pound semifinal before Schwab mounted a comeback and sent the match into overtime. The Hawkeye star secured the winning takedown and eventually won the title. 

Marshall wrestled back for fifth, and, ultimately, Central Michigan was 11 points out of trophy contention. 

How did Central Michigan have such a successful two-season stint? Casey Cunningham’s leadership and a room filled with underappreciated talent. 

“Casey was always doing something — always,” Borrelli said. “He would take jobs in the summer that were difficult. He’d run to practice and run back home. That was his thing. He never drove.

“Other people learned how to work like that. If you were around him, you tried to keep up with him. When the best wrestler on your team works that hard then everyone else thinks they have to work that hard. Everyone else is trying to keep up with him. Our team had chips on their shoulders because they were overlooked (by other schools).”

Borrelli also points to intense practice matches between Casey and Ryan as memorable moments. Ryan, who was one to three weight classes heavier, would get the best of big brother — until he got tired. 

“Ryan was a little bit bigger and he was so strong and athletic,” Borrelli said. “Ryan would always beat Casey for the first seven to 10 minutes if I had them go a seven-minute match after practice. Casey would get him tired and would never let him leave until he beat his ass for 20 more minutes. 

“I would always pull Ryan to the side after it was over and have him sit down next to me. Just so Casey could hear me I would say, ‘Ryan, I want you to understand this: a wrestling match is only seven minutes.’ Casey would storm out of the wrestling room.”

Casey is currently an assistant for Penn State. As fate would have it, he wrestled — and defeated — Nittany Lion wrestlers during his junior and senior NCAA tournament runs. 

1998 NCAA Championships — Top 10 teams
1. Iowa - 115
2. Minnesota - 102
3. Oklahoma State - 99.5
4. Penn State - 70.5
5. CENTRAL MICHIGAN - 53
6. Iowa State - 49.5
7. West Virginia - 48
8. Illinois - 48
9. Oregon State - 43.5
10. Ohio - 43.5

Central Michigan’s 1998 NCAA tournament line-up (5th place)
126: Jay Vesperman — R12
134: Greg Mayer
142: Casey Cunningham — 2nd
158: Ryan Cunningham — 4th
167: Chris Snyder
177: Mike Greenfield — 8th
190: Chris Vike

1999 NCAA Championships — Top 10 teams
1. Iowa - 100.5
2. Minnesota - 98.5
3. Oklahoma State - 84
T- 4. Penn State - 78.5
T-4. Iowa State - 78.5
6. Oklahoma - 73.5
7. CENTRAL MICHIGAN - 67.5
8. Cal State-Bakersfield - 58.5
9. West Virginia - 54
10. Boise State - 46.5

Central Michigan’s 1999 NCAA tournament line-up (7th place)
133: Jay Vesperman
141: Chris Marshall — 5th
149: Greg Mayer — R12
157: Casey Cunningham — 1st
165: Chris Snyder
174: Ryan Cunningham — 7th
184: Mike Greenfield — 7th
197: Chris Vike — 6th

Casey Cunningham’s 1996 NCAA tournament (unseeded at 142 pounds)
R32: WON over Chris Ayres (Lehigh), 7-5 OT
R16: LOST to Roger Chandler (Indiana), 10-2
Consolation: WON over Dustin Young, (Boise State), Fall 3:13
Consolation: LOST to JJ Fasnacht (Pittsburgh), 3-2

Casey Cunningham’s 1997 NCAA tournament (seeded seventh at 142 pounds)
R32: LOST to Francis Dunn (Rider), 5-2
Consolation: WON over Russell Read (Boston U), 5-3
Consolation: LOST to Chris Ayres (Lehigh), 10-8

Casey Cunningham’s 1998 NCAA tournament (seeded fourth at 142 pounds)
R32: WON over David Levitt (Boise State), 16-4
R16: WON over Brent Conly (Lock Haven), 15-2
Quarters: WON over JaMarr Billman (Penn State), 8-5
Semis: WON over Mike Harp (Missouri), 10-0
Finals: LOST to Jeff McGinness (Iowa), 3-1

Casey Cunningham’s 1999 NCAA tournament (seeded first at 157 pounds)
R32: WON over Shane McChesney (Clarion), Fall 2:09
R16: WON over Heath Eslinger (Tennessee-Chattanooga), 12-0
Quarters: WON over Willie Wineberg (Purdue), Fall 1:58
Semis: WON over Bryan Synder (Nebraska), 1-0
Finals: WON over Clint Musser (Penn State), 2-1

Fifth-place teams at the NCAA Championships since 1998
1998: Central Michigan
1999: Iowa State and Penn State (T-4)
2000: Oklahoma State
2001: Illinois
2002: Oklahoma State
2003: Arizona State
2004: Nebraska
2005: Minnesota
2006: Cornell
2007: Oklahoma State
2008: Oklahoma State and Iowa State
2009: Cornell
2010: Oklahoma
2011: American
2012: Ohio State
2013: Cornell
2014: Edinboro
2015: Cornell
2016: Iowa
2017: Missouri
2018: Michigan and NC State (T-4)
2019: Michigan
2020: Canceled
2021: Michigan
2022: Nebraska
2023: Missouri

Watch Casey Cunningham's CMU singlet retirement video