Kornacki: Seven Freshman Starters Show Bright Future
1/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 9, 2017
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan wrestling team could contend for all the marbles next season, when an outstanding group of current freshmen are rejoined by three of the squad's strongest contributors.
All-America heavyweight Adam Coon and Big Ten 184-pound champion Domenic Abounader had season-ending injuries, and Alec Pantaleo, an All-American at 149 pounds, is redshirting along with them.
Those losses could've zapped the spirit of this team -- which wrestles seven freshmen among 10 starters -- but instead the young Wolverines have responded to the call from coach Joe McFarland to post a No. 15 national ranking.
Four Michigan wrestlers are ranked in the top 10 nationally in their weight classes.
Logan Massa (165 pounds) and Myles Amine (174 pounds), ranked second and ninth in the NCAA, respectively, were winners Friday night (Jan. 6) against third-ranked Iowa, and fellow freshman Stevan Micic lost, 2-0, to the No. 1 wrestler in the nation at 133 pounds, three-time All-American Cory Clark.
"Cory Clark is the No. 1 guy and a senior," said Micic, ranked eighth nationally. "But I wasn't concerned about that. I was ready to go and attack right away. He slowed me down a little, and a couple little changes would've enabled the match to come out my way.
"I can make those little fixes (in practice), and there are big gains to be made on the mat."
Micic (MEECH-eech) is wide-eyed and fiery and knows he can compete with anybody right now.
"As a team," said Micic, "I would say, 'Yeah, it's next year.' But I'm planning to make this year my year. Even though we're a young team, I know a lot of us have really big goals, and they're all achievable.
"My goal is to be an NCAA champion this year and the Big Ten champion at 133 pounds. I know it's achievable, and I'm going to do it."
He credited his coaches, improved conditioning and wrestling partners in practice for "making me a lot better wrestler."
Micic is 11-3 overall.
"He's a super tough kid," said McFarland. "It came down to that one close call (against Clark) that we thought was a takedown or reversal. We challenged it and didn't get it. He gets that reversal, and it's a whole different decision.
"But that's Stevan's mentality. He's thinking about being a national champion this year."
What Micic learned Friday night will serve him well. That could be said of all 10 Wolverines who wrestled in the 31-7 loss to the Hawkeyes before a spirited, sellout crowd at Cliff Keen Arena.
"We're not there yet," said McFarland, who has 198 wins and a second-place NCAA finish in 2005 after 18 seasons as coach at his alma mater. "They had us on experience, but we had opportunities. We were in some of these matches but didn't do the little things to pull them out. You may be completely fatigued and spent, but you still have to get that job done. In respect to Iowa, they've got a great team, and it was a good experience for us to see that. But we've got to build on that, and the workouts are only going to get tougher now.
"We promised ourselves as a staff that we weren't going to look to next year. We know what we've got coming back next year, but we've got to get these young guys better, and we've got two-and-a-half months left this season. We've just got to get a little more callused as a team to win in those tough situations."
Amine, the two-time Michigan state champion from Detroit Catholic Central redshirted last season but sees a big difference this year.
"As a team, we've been working a lot harder than we have in the past," said Amine. "We have a great group that's willing to put in the hours and make the sacrifices. We try to raise the level and pace of the room, and even though two of our senior leaders, Adam Coon and Domenic Abounader, are out, they are still on us in the room and making sure that all of us are working really hard."
Senior Brian Murphy (157 pounds) joins the three freshmen among the country's elite wrestlers and is ranked 10th.
Massa has ascended the highest by remaining unbeaten and defeating then-No. 2 Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin on his way to winning the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
McFarland described Massa as "super competitive," to the point of challenging the heavyweights in conditioning drills. He ran his record to 16-0 with a 16-6 major decision win over Joey Gunther of the Hawkeyes.
"It was just about being loose and having fun and trying to score points," said Massa, a three-time Michigan state champion at St. Johns High. "I have such good workout partners, some of the best wrestlers in the country, and that helps bring your confidence up."
Massa can take the 90-pound D-Ball, filled with sand, and throw it the length of three wrestling mats some 50 yards, picking it up after each toss only to throw it again and beat heavyweights on the team. He said his competitiveness comes from his family. His father, Bodger, wrestled at Ferris State and older brother Taylor also wrestled for the Wolverines.
"We used to compete in my family in every single thing we did," said Massa. "If it's checkers, we'll start a fight over it in my family. Not physically fighting, but we'll try to win."
Amine was a 6-5 winner over 13th-ranked Alex Meyer.
"I just had to stay offensive," said Amine, "and that was the key to the match. But I could've separated myself in the match. I knew I had to get an escape or reversal to win the match, and I dug down deep for the reversal and escape."
He displayed that "callused" attitude McFarland wants, and Massa had it every second of his six-minute match.
"He's a special kid, isn't he?" McFarland said of Massa. "He's a non-stop, attacking machine. And to see a young kid at that level already, and he was completely spent. That's the way he wrestles.
"Amine has a huge upside to him, and he's a special kid, too. He has a great feel for wrestling and is able to dig down deep and win a close one. He's got some grit."
Amine is 4-2 against top-20 opponents and 15-2 overall.
He has a brother (Malik) and a cousin (Jordan) on the team and is the son of Mike Amine, an NCAA finalist for the Wolverines who wrestled from 1986-89 along with his brother, Sam.
"Growing up in the sport was a blessing," said Myles. "My dad and uncle have been there for us since we were young. We had a wrestling room in our basement, and we went over our technique right away after matches. That was so beneficial. The whole legacy of the family -- you can't ask for something better than that."
He said McFarland's influence, and that of his assistant coaches, has been key to his developing into a top national wrestler as only a freshman.
"They are people who you can go to for anything," said Amine. "Sometimes, I resent them for what they put me through. But deep down I know they are doing what's best for me and making us men."
Massa said McFarland's "hard-nosed approach" and emphasis on conditioning as well as "positive body language" has impacted his dogged mentality. He admitted to "being exhausted" in his match with Gunther but never let on and won the mental battle that led to physical triumph.
Micic said McFarland, associate head coach Sean Bormet and assistant coach Josh Churella have helped him improve by "being honest with me" and pinpointing where development is needed.
The three-time Indiana state champion from Hanover Central High also noted that the "camaraderie" of a large freshman class that is "straight up" with one another has allowed them to grow individually and as a team.
"Looking forward," said Micic, "that's exciting."
Massa added, "We're going to make the most of this year, and this will be the year. You have to look at what's in front of you right now. I'm going to do everything I can to win a national title this year and help my teammates in every way possible to achieve their goals, too."
