Michigan
NCAA Championships
Parris Advances to Heavyweight Final, U-M Secures Four All-Americans
3/19/2021 11:44:00 PM | Wrestling
» Mason Parris pinned Iowa State's Gannon Gremmel at 4:02 in the heavyweight semifinals to advance to the NCAA championship match; he is U-M's second heavyweight finalist in four seasons.
» Michigan secured four All-Americans -- its most since boasting five in 2018 -- in Cameron Amine (165), Logan Massa (174), Myles Amine (197) and Mason Parris (Hwt).
» U-M sits in fifth place (58.5 points) in the team standings after the second day at the NCAA Championships.
Site: St. Louis, Mo. (Enterprise Center)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 2 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: 5th place (58.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 20 -- Day 3 at NCAA Championships (St. Louis, Mo.), 10 a.m. CDT
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Junior Mason Parris earned a spot in the heavyweight final to headline the University of Michigan wrestling team's performance on Friday (March 19) on the second day of competition at the 2021 NCAA Championships at the Enterprise Center. With four Wolverines securing All-America status, U-M sits in fifth place with 58.5 points.
Parris, the second seed, pinned Iowa State's sixth-seeded Gannon Gremmel at the 4:02 in the semifinal round -- his second pin of the tournament and sixth of the season. Parris led, 7-1, at the time after scoring on three single-leg takedowns, including one in the opening 10 seconds of the second, before applying the arm bar for the fall. Parris is U-M's second heavyweight NCAA finalist in four seasons, joining Adam Coon, who reached the finals in both 2015 and 2018. He will face Minnesota's No. 1-seeded Gable Steveson, who has handed Parris his only two losses over the last two seasons, in Saturday night's championship final.
The Wolverine heavyweight also earned bonus points in his quarterfinal match with a 14-4 major decision against Riders' seventh-seeded Ethan Laird, scoring on six takedowns -- two in each period -- and accumulating 4:07 in riding-time advantage. Parris has earned bonus points in all 12 of his wins this season, including two pins, a technical fall and a major decision this weekend.
Graduate student Myles Amine, the top seed at 197 pounds, suffered his first loss of the season to Oklahoma State's fourth-seeded A.J. Ferrari, 5-1, in the semifinals after giving up a first-period takedown and 2:30 in riding-time advantage. Amine became just the seventh four-time All-American in Michigan program history -- and the first since Eric Tannenbaum (2005-08) -- with a 7-6 decision against Wyoming's eighth-seeded Stephen Buchanan in the quarterfinals, scoring a takedown per period to lead from start to finish. He scored on a single leg off a restart in the third period to ice it, though a last-second Buchanan takedown deceptively narrowed the final score.
Sophomore/freshman Cameron Amine and sixth-year senior Logan Massa claimed their bloodround matches at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, to lock up NCAA All-America honors in the evening session. Michigan's four All-Americans is the program's most since claiming five in 2018.
Amine, the 11th seed at 165 pounds, earned his win by way of medical forfeit against Iowa's top-seeded Alex Marinelli, who was injured in the closing seconds of his quarterfinal loss. Amine is the first Wolverine freshman All-American since Stevan Micic, Massa and Myles Amine all did so in 2017. In his next match, Amine narrowly fell to Oklahoma State's 10th-seeded Travis Wittlake, 4-1, on a third-period takedown and will wrestle for seventh place Saturday.
Amine went 3-1 at 165 pounds on the day, securing a pair of gritty two-point matches in the morning wrestleback round, including a 6-4 decision against Nebraska's 14th-seeded Peyton Robb on a dropdown double leg in the last 20 seconds of the third period.
Massa, the fifth seed at 174 pounds, reeled off four straight wrestleback wins to advance to the consolation semifinals and secure All-America honors for the second time in his career. The Wolverine veteran comfortably defeated Ohio State's seventh-seeded Kaleb Romero, 6-1, in the bloodround, scoring on takedowns in the first and second periods and accumulating 2:16 in riding-time advantage. Massa earned bonus points in his first and last matches on the day, cruising to a 14-2 major decision against Mason Kauffman to kick off the wrestleback rally before winning by injury default over Rutgers' Jackson Turley -- while leading 11-6 at the time.
Four Wolverines were eliminated after suffering their second losses of the tournament in the morning wrestleback rounds. Fifth-year senior Kanen Storr and junior/sophomore Will Lewan dropped back-to-back overtime heartbreakers at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively, in the Round of 16 after both earned comfortable decision win in their first matches of the day.
The Wolverines will return for the NCAA Championships' fifth session on Saturday (March 20) at 10 a.m. CDT at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo. The morning session will feature third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches. The finals will kick off at 6 p.m. CDT and will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 2)
1. Iowa             109
2. Penn State         94.5
3. Oklahoma State     86.5
4. Arizona State     67
5. MICHIGANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 58.5
6. Missouri          56.5
NC State          56.5
8. Minnesota         55.5
9. Ohio State        45.5
10. Pittsburgh         40.5
Michigan Results (Day 2)
Numbers listed are tournament seeds
125 Pounds -- #11 Dylan Ragusin
Consolations - dec. by #21 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State), 6-0
Eliminated with a 1-2 record
141 Pounds -- #25 Drew Mattin
Consolations - dec. by #26 Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern), 9-2
Eliminated with a 1-2 record
149 Pounds -- #11 Kanen Storr
Consolations - dec. #21 Graham Rooks (Indiana), 7-3
Consolations - dec. by #13 Mitch Moore (Oklahoma), 3-1 SV
Eliminated with a 2-2 record
157 Pounds -- #14 Will Lewan
Consolations - dec. #29 Joshua McClure (North Carolina), 9-2
Consolations - dec. by #11 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), 4-2 SV
Eliminated with a 2-2 record
165 Pounds -- #11 Cameron Amine
Consolations - dec. #28 Rodrick Mosley (Gardner-Webb), 4-2
Consolations - dec. #14 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), 6-4
Consolations - won by medical forfeit over #1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
Consolations - dec. by #10 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State), 4-1
Seventh Place - vs. #2 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State)
174 Pounds -- #5 Logan Massa
Consolations - major dec. #22 Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois), 14-2
Consolations - dec. #19 Michael O'Malley (Drexel), 6-1
Consolations - dec. #7 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State), 6-1
Consolations - injury def. over #26 Jackson Turley (Rutgers), 5:31
Consolations - vs. #12 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly)
197 Pounds -- #1 Myles Amine
Quarterfinals - dec. #8 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming), 7-6
Semifinals - dec. by #4 A.J. Ferrari (Oklahoma State), 5-1
Consolations - vs. #7 Rocky Elam (Missouri)
Heavyweight -- #2 Mason Parris
Quarterfinals - major dec. #7 Ethan Laird (Rider), 14-4
Semifinals - pinned #6 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State), 4:02
Final - vs. #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota)
Players Mentioned
