Michigan
Black Knight Invite
Wolverines to Send Contingent to Army's Black Knight Invite
11/13/2019 2:27:00 PM | Wrestling
» No. 19 Michigan will send 15 representatives to the Black Knight Invite, slated for a 10 a.m. start on Sunday (Nov. 17) in West Point, New York; it is U-M's first appearance at the annual tournament.
» Mason Parris has surged to as high to No. 3 in the national heavyweight rankings; he is unbeaten with a 6-0 record on the season and has already defeated three ranked opponents.
» U-M posted eight placewinners in its previous tournament appearance at the MSU Open, including top-five finishes from Will Lewan (157 pounds), Jelani Embree (184), Jackson Striggow (197) and Parris (Hwt) -- all slated to compete at the Black Knight Invite.
THIS WEEK
Sunday, Nov. 17 -- at Black Knight Invite (West Point, N.Y.), 10 a.m.
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The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (0-1) will send a 15-man contingent to the Black Knight Invite, scheduled for Sunday (Nov. 17) in West Point, New York. Hosted by Army, the tournament will start at 10 a.m. at Christl Arena. It is the Wolverines' first appearance at the Black Knight Invite, which also features Bloomsburg, Central Michigan, Hofstra, Indiana, Maryland and Penn State.
Michigan's Projected Blake Knight Invite Lineup
| Wgt. | Name | Year/Elig. | Hometown (High School) |
| 125 | Jack Medley | Jr./So. | Chesterfield, Mich. (Anchor Bay) |
| 133 | Austin Assad | 5th/Sr. | Northfield, Ohio (Brecksville) |
| 141 | Ben Freeman | Jr./So. | Walled Lake, Mich. (Central) |
| 149 | Nick Freeman | So./Fr. | Walled Lake, Mich. (Central) |
| Nick Lombard | Jr./So. | Monroe Twp., N.J. (Monroe Township) | |
| 157 | Will Lewan | So./Fr. | Chicago, Ill. (Montini Catholic) |
| Tyler Meisinger | Sr./Jr. | San Clemente, Calif. (San Clemente) | |
| 165 | Reece Hughes | Jr./Jr. | Brighton, Mich. (Hartland) |
| Layne Van Anrooy | Jr./So. | Roseburg, Ore. (Roseburg) | |
| 174 | Max Maylor | So./Fr. | Highland, Wis. (Highland) |
| 184 | Jelani Embree | Jr./So. | Eastpointe, Mich. (Warren Lincoln) |
| Bobby Striggow | So./Fr. | Orono, Minn. (Orono) | |
| 197 | Jackson Striggow | 5th/Sr. | Orono, Minn. (Orono) |
| Hwt | Mason Parris | So./So. | Lawrenceburg, Ind. (Lawrenceburg) |
| Zachery Nemec | Jr./So. | Hoffman Estates, Ill. (Fremd) |
Wolverine Bites
• Sophomore Mason Parris remains unbeaten on the season with a 6-0 record, including three wins over nationally-ranked opponents -- most recently a 4-0 decision against North Carolina's No. 20 Andrew Gunning last Friday (Nov. 8). Parris also posted a 5-0 record en route to his second straight Michigan State Open heavyweight title on Nov. 2, outscoring his opposition, 43-7, with a pin and two major decisions. He knocked off two top-10 opponents in Pittsburgh's No. 9 Demetrius Thomas, 15-3, and Central Michigan's Matt Stencel, 9-2, in the final. It was Parris' second MSU Open finals win against Stencel in as many years; the Chippewa ended his season last year in the NCAA Round of 12.
• Junior/sophomore Jelani Embree is 5-1 on the season. He took 184-pound runner-up honors at the MSU Open, posting a 4-1 record while reversing two losses from last season's Big Ten Championships. Embree used a last-second takedown in the tiebreaker to edge Michigan State's 12th-ranked Cameron Caffey, 10-8, in the semifinals, building a big early lead before finishing on an inside trip on the edge to seal it. He also beat Purdue's 17th-ranked Max Lyon, 5-4, behind a first-period takedown and a late escape and locked-hands penalty in the third. Embree lost to Caffey, 7-1, and Lyon, 6-5, at Big Tens to end his season last year.
• Junior/sophomore Jack Medley made his first appearance in the national rankings -- FloWrestling listed him No. 23 at 125 pounds -- after he rolled to a 10-2 major decision against North Carolina's Joey Melendez. After giving up the initial takedown, Medley piled up all of his points on the mat with two reversals, a four-point near fall and 3:19 in riding-time advantage. Medley is 4-2 on the season. He also picked up a solid win with an 11-9 overtime decision against three-time NCAA qualifier Christian Moody of Oklahoma at the MSU Open.
• Sophomore/freshman Will Lewan defeated a pair of top-10 opponents as part of his fourth-place showing at 157 pounds at the MSU Open. Lewan went 5-1 and was unable to compete in the medal match due to reaching his match limit on the day. Lewan, who captured an MSU Open title last season, used a first-period takedown to beat Pitt's fifth-ranked Taleb Rahmani, 3-2, and three seconds of riding time to make the difference in a 3-3 second-tiebreaker win against Oklahoma's 10th-ranked Justin Thomas.
• Sophomore/freshman Nick Freeman was victorious in his dual-meet debut last Friday, cruising to a 9-3 decision against North Carolina's Gino Esposito at 149 pounds behind a takedown, four-point tilt and 3:39 in riding-time advantage. His older brother, junior/sophomore Ben Freeman, also made his dual debut against UNC.
• Four Wolverines are currently taking Olympic redshirts for the 2019-20 season -- fifth-year seniors Myles Amine and Logan Massa, graduate student Stevan Micic and senior/junior Kanen Storr. Micic and Amine have already qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo after placing fifth at 57kg/125 pounds and 86kg/189 pounds, respectively, at the UWW World Championships last month in Kazakhstan. Massa and Storr will look to qualify for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. None of the four are currently enrolled in classes this semester and will retain the year of NCAA eligibility through the athletics activity waiver.
U-M Individual Rankings
| Wt. | Wrestler | InterMat | Flo | TW | TOM | AWN |
| 125 | Jack Medley | NR | 23 | NR | NR | NR |
| 157 | Will Lewan | 12 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 14 |
| 184 | Jelani Embree | 17 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 9 |
| 197 | Jackson Striggow | NR | NR | 27 | NR | NR |
| Hwt | Mason Parris | 3 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
Last Time Out
The Wolverines dropped their 2019-20 dual opener on bonus points, falling to No. 17 North Carolina, 19-17, last Friday (Nov. 8) at Keen Arena. The teams split matches evenly, and Michigan narrowed the final score with wins in each of the last three bouts but could not complete the comeback. Junior/sophomores Jack Medley and Jelani Embree earned bonus points with major decision victories at 125 and 184 pounds, respectively -- with Medley securing an upset with a 10-2 win over No. 19-ranked Joey Melendez. Sophomore heavyweight Mason Parris also earned a ranked win with a controlling 4-0 decision against No. 20 Andrew Gunning in the final bout. [ Full Recap ]
Up Next
Sunday, Nov. 24 -- vs. Central Michigan (Cliff Keen Arena), 2 p.m.
Players Mentioned
