Michigan
NCAA Championships
Parris Caps Perfect Season, Wins Heavyweight National Title
3/18/2023 10:04:00 PM | Wrestling
» Mason Parris defeated Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet, 5-1, to capture the NCAA heavyweight title, earning Michigan its 24th NCAA individual title in program history and second in as many seasons.
» Parris finished the season with a perfect 33-0 record with 21 bonus wins and 17 wins over ranked opponents.
» U-M claimed sixth place (58.5 points); Cameron Amine also placed fourth and Will Lewan took eighth.
Site:Â Tulsa, Okla. (BOK Center)
Event:Â NCAA Championships (Day 3 of 3)
U-M Team Standing:Â 6th place (58.5 points)
Next U-M Event:Â Season completed
• Photo Gallery
TULSA, Okla. -- University of Michigan fifth-year senior Mason Parris scored a first-period takedown and never trailed en route to a 5-1 decision over Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet and the heavyweight title at the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday (March 18) in front of 16,855 fans at the BOK Center. The Wolverines claimed sixth place (58.5 points) in the final team standings with three total All-Americans.
Parris' win over Kerkvliet was his third this season -- after previously falling to the Nittany Lion three times last season. He fended off an early single leg in the air and, after getting his leg back, immediately shot in and finished on a fireman's dump and rode out the period, accumulating nearly 2:30 in riding-time advantage. He escaped quickly in the second and, when Kerkvliet took injury time in the third, he went down again and picked up another late escape. Kerkvliet's lone point came on a third-period stall call, while Parris added a post-match point for his 1:45 in riding time.
Parris is the Wolverines' 24th NCAA champion in program history and second in as many seasons, following Nick Suriano, who claimed the 125-pound title in Detroit last year. Parris also claimed Michigan's s fourth NCAA heavyweight crown, joining Dave Porter (1966, '68) and Kirk Trost (1986).
He finished the season with a perfect 33-0 record and earned 21 bonus wins, including three over his NCAA Tournament run, and 17 wins over nationally-ranked opponents; he went a combined 10-0 over this season's eight heavyweight All-Americans.
Senior/junior Cameron Amine, seeded 11th at 165 pounds, split his consolation bouts in the morning medal round to take fourth place for the second year in a row. He defeated Stanford's ninth-seeded Shane Griffth -- the 2021 NCAA champion -- by a 2-1 score in the tiebreaker. He rode the Cardinal wrestler in the first tiebreaker go, then escaped with 10 seconds remaining in the second to seal the win. Amine dropped a close 3-2 decision to Princeton's fifth-seeded Quincy Monday on a late takedown in the third-place bout. A three-time All-American, Amine defeated the third and sixth seeds in addition to the former NCAA champion over the three-day tournament.
Fifth-year senior Will Lewan, seeded ninth at 157 pounds, placed seventh after falling to Virginia Tech's seventh-seeded Bryce Andonian in his medal match. Lewan gave up a four-point turn early in the third period but responded with a reversal and a takedown -- the only one of the match -- but ran out of time on his rally. He is a three-time All-American after placing fifth last season and earning NWCA second team honors in 2020 after COVID-19 canceled the NCAA Championships.
With the three All-Americans this season, Michigan now has 208 over its 101-year history. The Wolverines have boasted at least one All-American in 26 of the last 28 NCAA tournaments, including three or more in each of the last eight.
Top 10 Teams (Final)
1. Penn State 137.5 2. Iowa 82.5 3. Cornell 76.5 4. Ohio State 70.5 5. Missouri 64.5 6. MICHIGAN 58.5 7. Arizona State 55.0 8. Nebraska 54.0 9. Virginia Tech 49.0 10. NC State 48.0
Michigan Results (Day 3)
Numbers listed are tournament seeds157 Pounds -- #9 Will Lewan
Seventh Place - dec. by #7 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), 6-4
Finished in eighth place with a 3-3 record
165 Pounds -- #11 Cameron Amine
Consolations - dec. #9 Shane Griffith (Stanford), 2-1 TB
Third Place - dec. by #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton), 3-2
Finished in fourth place with 4-2 record
Heavyweight -- #1 Mason Parris
Final - dec. #2 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State), 5-1
Finished as the heavyweight champion with a 5-0 record
Players Mentioned
