Michigan
NCAA Championships
Suriano, Amine Advance to NCAA Finals; Michigan Secures Six All-Americans
3/18/2022 11:57:00 PM | Wrestling
» Michigan sits in second place (84.5 points) in the team standings after the second day at the NCAA Championships.
» Nick Suriano (125 pounds) and Myles Amine (184) claimed decision wins in the NCAA semifinals. Suriano beat Arizona State's Brandon Courtney 4-1, while Amine edged Cal Poly's Bernie Truax 3-1 in overtime.
» Michigan tied a program record with six All-Americans; Will Lewan (157), Cameron Amine (165), Logan Massa (174) and Mason Parris (Hwt) are in the consolations semifinals.
Site: Detroit, Mich. (Little Caesars Arena)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 2 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: 2nd place (84.5 points) after Day 2
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 19 -- at NCAA Championships - Day 3 (Detroit, Mich.), 11 a.m.
DETROIT, Mich. -- Graduate students Nick Suriano and Myles Amine earned spots in the championship finals to headline the University of Michigan wrestling's performance Friday (March 18) on the second day of competition at the 2022 NCAA Championships in front of 17,592 fans at Little Caesars Arena. With six Wolverines securing All-America status, the Wolverines sit in second place with 84.5 points, trailing Penn State (108) and ahead of Arizona State (63.5).
The Wolverines went 5-for-7 in the morning quarterfinal round to put five in the NCAA semifinals for the third time in program history and second time since 2018. Michigan tied a program record with its six All-Americans; U-M also boasted six All-Americans in 1965.
Suriano, the top seed at 125 pounds, defeated Arizona State's fourth-seeded Brandon Courtney, 4-1, in the semifinals, taking an early lead with a snap-down takedown in the first period before riding out the second period en route to 2:24 in total time advantage. He picked up big bonus points in the morning quarterfinal round, pinning Virginia Tech's Sam Latona at the 2:19 mark after going feet to back off a single leg -- his second takedown of the period. It was his third fall of the season, and he improved to 14-0 with 12 bonus wins.
Suriano, now a three-time NCAA finalist who claimed the 133-pound title in 2019 while at Rutgers, will face Princeton's Patrick Glory in the championship bout. Both New Jersey natives, they have never before met in collegiate wrestling.
Amine, the No. 1 seed at 184 pounds, required overtime to edge Cal Poly's fifth-seeded Bernie Truax, 3-1, in the semifinal round. Amine was the strong aggressor throughout the bout but could not finish on several single-leg attacks, drawing a first-period stall call before finishing on his fifth attempt early in the sudden-victory frame. Amine just missed on bonus points of his own in the quarterfinals, rolling to a 12-5 decision over Illinois' ninth-seeded Zach Braunagel with four takedowns, including a four-point single leg off the opening whistle, and 1:47 in riding time.
Amine became a five-time All-American with this quarterfinal win -- and the first and only to achieve the feat through five top-eight placements at the NCAA Championships. Factoring in the NWCA's COVID All-America awards from 2020, Penn State's Nick Lee, North Carolina State's Hayden Hidlay and Rutgers' Sebastian Rivera also earned five All-America honors.
Amine will take on Penn State's second-seeded Aaron Brooks -- the defending NCAA 184-pound champion -- in a NCAA Championship finals rubber-match. The two wrestlers have dealt each other their lone losses on the season, with Amine claiming the most recent meeting, 6-4, in the Big Ten finals.
Senior/junior Will Lewan, junior/sophomore Cameron Amine and graduate student Logan Massa all secured NCAA All-America honors with quarterfinal victories but lost their semifinal bouts to higher-seeded opponents to drop down into tomorrow morning's consolation semifinal round.
Lewan, seeded eighth at 157 pounds, dropped a close 3-2 decision to Princeton's fifth-seeded Quincy Monday in the semifinals on a first-period takedown. He was the aggressor in the third period, earning a late stall call but not two and not a takedown. Lewan locked up his second All-America citation with a 3-1 decision over Oregon State's 17th-seeded Hunter Willits in the quarterfinals behind his own first-period takedown -- a single leg in the last 10 seconds of the frame.
Cameron Amine, seeded sixth at 165 pounds, claimed one of the biggest wins of the quarterfinal round with a 3-1 overtime decision over Iowa's third-seeded Alex Marinelli -- a reversal of the Big Ten final, which the Hawkeye won, 2-1, on a stall point. Michigan wiped an Iowa first-period takedown off the board on a challenge before Amine went on the attack late. He could not finish on a single in the air in the second then again on the edge in the overtime before blasting a double leg halfway across the mat to secure the go-ahead score with 17 seconds left in sudden victory. Amine fell to Missouri's second-seeded Keegan O'Toole, 4-0, in the semifinals on a first-period takedown and 1:32 of riding time.
Massa, seeded third at 174 pounds, dropped a heartbreaker to Virginia Tech's second-seeded Mekhi Lewis in the semifinals with a third-period fall. The score was tied and Massa was in deep on a single-leg shot when Lewis rolled through and pinned him at the 6:19 mark. Massa claimed an 8-3 decision over Oklahoma State's sixth-seeded Dustin Plott in the quarterfinals to lock up his third NCAA All-America citation, scoring on three single-leg takedowns -- one per period -- and riding for 2:16.
Senior heavyweight Mason Parris, seeded seventh, bounced back from a quarterfinal loss with back-to-back bonus wins in the wrestlebacks, including a 12-1 major decision over Ohio State's 13th-seeded Tate Orndorff in the bloodround. Parris scored four takedowns and rode for 4:19 to pick up a bonus point and secure his third All-America citation. Parris also rolled to 12-4 major decision over Iowa's third-seeded Anthony Cassioppi with a big six-point single leg in the first period, putting the Hawkeye in neutral danger for the takedown and four near-fall points. Parris sacrificed a third-period lead to Arizona State's second-seeded Cohlton Schultz in the quarterfinals, giving up two counter takedowns off his single-leg attacks over the final 90 seconds.
The Wolverines dropped heartbreakers in their other two Round-of-12 matchups, eliminating sophomore/freshman Dylan Ragusin and graduate student Stevan Micic from the tournament.
Ragusin dropped a pair of one-point decisions, falling to Arizona State's third-seeded Michael McGee, 8-7, in the 133-pound quarterfinals on a third-period takedown and Illinois' seventh-seeded Lucas Byrd, 6-5, in the bloodround. Ragusin battled back in the former match, scoring a takedown in the first and a reversal in the third, but he gave up the escape and could not score again. He again fell behind early against Byrd in the evening session, rallied with a takedown in the second, but gave up another takedown late in the middle period. He pushed the action in the third and earned one stall point but not two.
Micic earned a pair of bonus wins in the morning wrestleback rounds at 141 pounds, including a 10-2 major decision against Northwestern's Frankie Tal-Shahar with four takedowns and 2:16 riding time. He also earned a win by injury default over Iowa's second-seeded Jaydin Eierman while leading 5-1 in the second period. He sacrificed a third-period lead against Penn's 12th-seeded C.J. Composto, giving up a third-period takedown before getting put to his back in sudden victory in a 10-4 decision. Micic finished his collegiate career as a three-time All-American.
Graduate student Patrick Brucki was also eliminated in the morning wrestlebacks at 197 pounds. He won his first bout of the day with an 8-6 overtime decision over Cornell's Jacob Cardenas; after giving up a third-period lead, he finished on a low single just 15 seconds into the sudden-victory frame. He fell to Pitt's fifth-seeded Nino Bonaccorsi, 3-1, in his next bout on a first-period takedown. Brucki finished as a two-time All-American.
The Wolverines will return for the NCAA Championships' fifth session at 11 a.m. on Saturday (March 19) at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich. The morning session will feature third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches. The finals will kick off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 2)
1. Penn State        108.0 2. MICHIGAN          84.5 3. Arizona State      63.5 4. Iowa               62.0 5. Nebraska           54.0 6. Northwestern       49.0 7. Virginia Tech      48.0 8. Cornell            45.0 9. Missouri           42.0 Ohio State         42.0
Michigan Results (Day 2)
Numbers listed are tournament seeds
125 Pounds -- #1 Nick Suriano
Quarterfinals - pinned #24 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), 2:19
Semifinals - dec. #4 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State), 4-1
Final - vs. #3 Pat Glory (Princeton)
133 Pounds -- #6 Dylan Ragusin
Quarterfinals - dec. by #3 Michael McGee (Arizona State), 8-7
Consolations - dec. by #7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois), 6-5
Eliminated with a 3-2 record
141 Pounds -- #24 Stevan Micic
Consolations - major dec. #26 Frankie Tal Shahar (Northwestern), 10-2
Consolations - injury def. #2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa), 4:36
Consolations - dec. by #12 C.J. Composto (Penn), 10-4 SV
Eliminated with a 3-2 record
157 Pounds -- #8 Will Lewan
Quarterfinals - dec. #17 Hunter Willits (Oregon State), 3-1
Semifinals - dec. by #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton), 3-2
Consolations - vs. #1 David Carr (Iowa State)
165 Pounds -- #8 Cameron Amine
Quarterfinals - dec. #3 Alex Marinelli (Iowa), 3-1 SV
Semifinals - dec. by #2 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri), 4-0
Consolations - vs. #4 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin)
174 Pounds -- #3 Logan Massa
Quarterfinals - dec. #6 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 8-3
Semifinals - pinned by #2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech), 6:19
Consolations - vs. #5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa)
184 Pounds -- #1 Myles Amine
Quarterfinals - dec. #9 Zach Braunagel (Illinois), 12-5
Semifinals - dec. #5 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly), 3-1 SV
Final -- vs. #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State)
197 Pounds -- #4 Patrick Brucki
Consolations - dec. #19 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), 8-6 SV
Consolations - dec. by #5 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt), 3-1
Eliminated with a 2-2 record
Heavyweight -- #7 Mason Parris
Quarterfinals - dec. by #2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State), 6-5
Consolations - major dec. #13 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State), 12-1
Consolations - vs. #4 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
Players Mentioned
