Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Parris Advances to Big Ten Heavyweight Final, Seven Wolverines Punch NCAA Tickets
3/4/2023 10:36:00 PM | Wrestling
» Michigan advanced Mason Parris to the heavyweight final and has six alive in the wrestlebacks to sit in sixth place overall (64 points) after the first day of competition at the Big Ten Championships.
» Parris defeated Wisconsin's Trent Hillger, 9-3, in the semifinals; he advanced to the Big Ten finals for the third time in his career.
» Seven Wolverines have earned automatic qualifying bids to the NCAA Championships: Jack Medley (125), Dylan Ragusin (133), Chance Lamer (149), Will Lewan (157), Cameron Amine (165), Matt Finesilver (184) and Mason Parris (Hwt).
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Event:Â Big Ten Championships (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Standing:Â 6th Place of 14 Teams (64 points) after Day 1
Next U-M Event:Â Sunday, March 5 -- vs. Big Ten Championships - Day Two (Crisler Center.), 1 p.m.
• Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Fifth-year senior Mason Parris advanced to the heavyweight final while six others are still alive in the consolation bracket as the University of Michigan wrestling team completed the first day of action at the 2023 Big Ten Championships in sixth place (64 points) on Saturday (March 4) at Crisler Center. All seven active Wolverines have clinched NCAA automatic-qualifying bids.
Parris will wrestle for a Big Ten championship for the third time in his career -- he previously reached the final in 2020 and 2021 -- and will face Penn State's second-seeded Greg Kerkvliet. He defeated the Nittany Lion, 3-1, in the dual match earlier this season.
Parris defeated Wisconsin's fifth-seeded Trent Hillger, 9-3, in the semifinals with three takedowns -- two in the first period -- and 2:38 of riding-time advantage. He earned bonus with a 12-2 major decision against Indiana's eighth-seeded Jacob Bullock in the quarterfinals with five takedowns. Parris improved to 28-0 on the season and, with two more today, owns 12 ranked wins.
Junior/sophomore Dylan Ragusin, senior/junior Cameron Amine and graduate student Matt Finesilver all dropped their semifinals -- two of them to the nation's top-ranked wrestlers -- at 133, 165 and 184 pounds, respectively.
Ragusin, seeded fifth at 133 pounds, earned a pair of wins in the morning session before falling to Penn State's No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, 8-2, in the semifinals. After giving up two takedowns in the first period, Ragusin just missed on a deep single leg late in the second and went for it with a bodylock in the waning seconds of the third, instead giving up a takedown to ice the bout for PSU. Ragusin earned bonus in the quarterfinal round with a third-period fall at the 6:00 mark against Northwestern's fourth-seeded -- and 12th-ranked -- Chris Cannon.
Amine, seeded second at 165 pounds, dropped a close 3-2 decision to Iowa's third-seeded Patrick Kennedy on a third-period single leg in the semifinals -- and ran out of time while driving on a double leg at the end of the third. Amine earned a 6-2 overtime win against Michigan State's seventh-seeded Caleb Fish in the quarterfinals, using a feet-to-back bodylock to score the winning points.
Finesilver, seeded fourth at 184 pounds, fell to Penn State's No. 1 Aaron Brooks, 18-6, in the semifinals. He earned bonus points in both of his morning matches, including a second-period pin against Iowa's fifth-seeded Abe Assad, transitioning a head-in-the-hole to a cradle to secure the fall at 4:19.
Will Lewan, seeded sixth at 157 pounds, came through the wrestlebacks to reach the consolation semifinals with a 3-1 record on the day. He dropped a 4-2 decision to Purdue's third-seeded Kendall Coleman in the quarterfinals on a second-period takedown and stall point but bounced back with two decisions in the evening consolation rounds. He used a sudden-victory double leg to defeat Rutgers' Andrew Clark before scoring early in the first en route to a 4-2 over Indiana's Derek Gilcher.
The Wolverines also have Jack Medley and Chance Lamer slotted into the seventh-place bouts at 125 and 149 pounds, respectively.
Medley, seeded ninth, went 2-2 with both losses coming against top-four-seeded opponents, including a quarterfinal technical fall loss to Iowa's Spencer Lee. He avenged two earlier season losses to Rutgers' eighth-seeded -- and 16th-ranked -- Dean Peterson with a 9-0 major decision in the first round, earning the bulk of his points on a second-period head in the hole that he locked up for a four-point cradle. He also earned a 7-2 decision over Penn State's Gary Steen in the wrestlebacks before falling to Wisconsin's fourth-seeded -- and sixth-ranked -- Eric Barnett, 6-1, on takedowns in the first and second periods.
Lamer, also seeded ninth, followed a similar path as Medley, earning a first-round win before falling to Ohio State's top-seeded Sammy Sasso in the quarterfinals and splitting wrestlebacks. He opened with a 5-3 overtime decision over Maryland's eighth-seeded Ethen Miller in the first period, scrambling for the winning takedown midway through the extra frame. He also defeated Rutgers' Tony White, 6-3, with second-period single leg and 1:44 in riding time before defaulting out in the third period in his second wrestleback.
Michigan will wrap up action at the Big Ten Championships tomorrow (Sunday, March 5) at Crisler Center. The third session is slated to begin at 1 p.m., while the finals will start at 4:30 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. Penn State              120.0 2. Iowa                     105.5 3. Nebraska                 98.5 4. Ohio State               77.0 5. Minnesota               73.0 6. Michigan                 64.0 6. Northwestern         64.0 8. Wisconsin                46.5 9. Illinois                 36.5 9. Purdue                   36.5 11. Rutgers                 30.0 12. Indiana                27.0 12. Michigan State      27.0 14. Maryland                19.5
Michigan Results (Day 1)
Numbers listed are tournament seeds
125 Pounds -- #9 Jack Medley
First Round - major dec. #8 Dean Peterson (Rutgers), 9-0
Quarterfinals - tech. fall by #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa), 18-0 (5:00)
Consolations - dec. #10 Gary Steen (Penn State), 7-2
Consolations - dec. by #4 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), 6-1
Seventh Place - vs. #8 Dean Peterson (Rutgers)
133 Pounds -- #5 Dylan Ragusin
First Round - dec. #12 Kyle Burwick (Nebraska), 10-4
Quarterfinals - pinned #4 Chris Cannon (Northwestern), 6:00
Semifinals - dec. by #1 Roman Bravo-Young, 8-2
Consolations - vs. #3 Lucas Byrd (Illinois)
141 Pounds -- #10 Cole Mattin
First Round - dec. #7 Joe Olivieri (Rutgers), 5-3
Quarterfinals - dec. by #2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State), 4-2
Consolations - dec. by #9 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State), 4-1
*Ninth-Place Bracket - dec. by #14 Ethen Miller, 9-3
Eliminated with a 1-3 record
149 Pounds -- #9 Chance Lamer
First Round - dec. #8 Ethen Miller (Maryland), 5-3 SV
Quarterfinals - major dec. by #1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), 12-4
Consolations - dec. #10 Tony White (Rutgers), 6-3
Consolations - injury def. by #5 Shayne Van Ness, 5:50
Seventh Place - vs. #8 Ethen Miller (Maryland)
157 Pounds -- #6 Will Lewan
First Round - dec. #11 Brayton Lee (Minnesota). 2-1 TB
Quarterfinals - dec. by # 3 Kendall Coleman (Purdue), 4-2
Consolations - dec. #13 Andrew Clark (Rutgers), 3-1 SV
Consolations - dec. #10 Derek Gilcher (Indiana), 4-2
Consolations - vs. #4 Chase Saldate (Michigan State)
165 Pounds -- #2 Cameron Amine
First Round - Bye
Quarterfinals - dec. #7 Caleb Fish (Michigan State), 6-2 SV
Semifinals - dec. by #3 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), 3-2
Consolations - vs. #10 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska)
174 Pounds -- #9 Max Maylor
First Round - dec. by #8 Troy Fisher (Northwestern), 8-5
Consolations - dec. by #7 Nelson Brands (Iowa), 3-2
Eliminated with an 0-2 record
184 Pounds -- #4 Matt Finesilver
First Round - major dec. #13 Clayton Fielden (Indiana), 12-0
Quarterfinals - pinned #5 Abe Assad (Iowa), 4:19
Semifinals - major dec. by #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State), 18-6
Consolations - vs. #7 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska)
197 Pounds -- #13 Brendin Yatooma
First Round - dec. by #4 Cam Caffey (Michigan State), 4-1
Consolations - major dec. by #12 Andrew Davisson (Northwestern), 10-2
Ninth-Place Bracket - dec. by #12 Andrew Davison (Northwestern), 3-2
Eliminated with an 0-3 record*
Heavyweight -- #1 Mason Parris
First Round - Bye
Quarterfinals - major dec. #8 Jacob Bullock (Indiana), 12-2
Semifinals - dec. #5 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin), 9-3
Finals - vs. #2 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
Players Mentioned
