Michigan
Maryland
Wolverines to Kick Off B1G Dual Slate at Maryland, vs. Michigan State
1/9/2024 4:41:00 PM | Wrestling
Promotions
• Jan. 14 -- Wrestle 'N Roll, Poster Giveaway, Kids Day, Post-Dual Autographs
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) will kick off its conference dual season with a pair of weekend matchups. The Wolverines will first travel to College Park, Md., to face Maryland (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday (Jan. 12) before opening its home slate against in-state rival Michigan State (7-0, 0-0 Big Ten) at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 14) at Crisler Center.
Notes
• Michigan is 2-1 in duals on the season and looking to rebound after falling 22-17 on bonus points against No. 15 South Dakota State last Thursday (Jan. 4) in Sioux Falls. The Wolverines opened the dual portion of their schedule with first-semester road wins at Columbia (33-6, Nov. 15) and Rider (27-14, Nov. 17). Three Wolverines boast perfect 3-0 dual records: Sergio Lemley (141), Shane Griffith (174) and Lucas Davison (Hwt).
• Michigan has posted a 17-5 Big Ten dual record over the last three seasons, finishing top five in the dual standings all three seasons, including a runner-up finish in 2022 -- the same year U-M captured the conference tournament title.
• Graduate student Lucas Davison is 7-1 on the season and owns six bonus wins, including a 20-4 technical fall over South Dakota State's 33rd-ranked Luke Rasmussen in his most recent bout. Davison, who was the Wolverines' top placer at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 1-2) with a runner-up finish at heavyweight, already owns four ranked wins on the season. He defeated Virginia Tech's No. 18 Hunter Catka (11-2) and Campbell's No. 15 Taye Ghadiali (6-2) at the CKLV before narrowly falling 5-3 to Iowa State's No. 7 Yonger Bastida in the finals.
• Davison is one of two Wolverines nearing the prestigious 100-win milestone. With his 7-1 start to this 2023-24 season, he improved to 98-32 over his collegiate career -- and a 60-16 mark over his last three seasons at heavyweight. Graduate student Will Lewan is 89-32. The most-recent Michigan wrestlers to reach the milestone were Mason Parris and Matt Finesilver, who finished their collegiate careers last season with records of 124-18 and 107-35, respectively.
• Graduate student Shane Griffith earned a top-five win -- and his best since joining the Wolverines last summer -- with a 4-1 overtime decision over South Dakota State's fourth-ranked Cade DeVos. Griffith fought off an SDSU single-leg attack over the final seconds of regulation then finished on one of his one about 30 seconds into the sudden-victory period. Griffith is 6-2 at 174 pounds and now ranked as high as No. 3 nationally.
• Graduate transfer Austin Gomez debuted with a 10-4 decision over SDSU's 18th-ranked Alek Martin in his first appearance in maize and blue at 149 pounds. Gomez, who joined the Wolverines in December after relocating to Ann Arbor last summer as a member of the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club, was a 2022 NCAA All-American for Wisconsin and Big Ten champion, who shared the conference's 2022 Outstanding Wrestler of the Championship award with Michigan's Myles Amine. Gomez was granted a medical hardship after previously missing two full seasons due to injury. He improved to 68-17 in his career and is ranked as high as No. 6 nationally at 149 pounds.
• Freshman Sergio Lemley rallied to defeat SDSU's 14th-ranked Clay Carlson 6-4 at 141 pounds and stay unbeaten in dual competition. Lemley scored four points in the final 30 seconds of the third period with a stall point and a single-leg takedown. It was his second ranked win and highest to date. He is 9-3 this season.
• Freshman Beau Mantanona earned his third straight ranked win in his collegiate dual debut against South Dakota State, using a first-period takedown to beat 30th-ranked Tanner Cook 4-2 at 165 pounds. Mantanona also put together a stellar performance at the Midlands Championship (Dec. 29-30) with a 6-1 record en route to third place. Among his wins, Mantanona pinned Michigan State's 10th-ranked Caleb Fish in a first-period cradle and won a wild overtime scramble to edge Northwestern's 18th-ranked Maxx Mayfield 4-1 in the medal round. Mantanona is 15-3 this season.
• Senior/junior Dylan Ragusin has captured three tournament titles this season at 133 pounds, most recently winning the Midlands Championships last week (Dec. 29-30) with a 5-0 record. He defeated Rutgers' Dylan Shawver 4-1 in the championship final. Ragusin also earned tournament wins at the Michigan State Open (Nov. 11) and Cleveland State Open (Dec. 9). He is 14-0 on the season.
• Senior/junior Jaden Bullock surged in the national rankings after a 5-3 record and a sixth-place finish at the CKLV Invitational. He earned two ranked wins over the tournament -- a 4-3 decision against Ohio State's No. 8 Gavin Hoffman and a 9-6 decision against NC State's 20th-ranked Dylan Fishback. Bullock also earned a ranked win in the dual opener with a 9-5 decision over Columbia's No. 30 Aaron Ayzerov. He is 10-5 on the season and ranked as high as No. 13.
• The Wolverines are nationally ranked at all 10 weights after the addition of Gomez at 149 pounds. U-M boasts six in the top 10 according to InterMat: No. 3 DeAugustino (125), No. 8 Gomez (149), No. 9 Will Lewan (157), No. 5 Cameron Amine (165), No. 4 Griffith (174) and No. 4 Davison (Hwt).
• The Terrapins are 2-1 on the season, most recently defeating Morgan State 35-6 on Dec. 10, while placing 21st at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 1-2). Six Terrapin wrestlers are ranked at their respective weights, most notably No. 5 Jaxon Smith (197), No. 14 Kal Miller (141) and No. 17 Ethen Miller (149). The Wolverines lead 9-1-1 in the all-time series against Maryland with wins in the last seven meetings, including a decisive 44-5 home win last season. Michigan took nine bouts in that dual, including seven bonus wins.
• The Spartans enter the weekend with a perfect 7-0 dual record with wins over American (28-12, Jan. 5) and Ohio (30-11, Jan. 6) at home last weekend in their most recent action. MSU also placed fourth at the Midlands Championships (Dec. 30-31) with six placewinners. Six Spartans are ranked at their respective weights, most notably No. 11 Caleb Fish (165) and No. 22 Chase Saldate (157). Michigan owns a 75-35-5 advantage in the all-time series against Michigan State and has won each of the last 12 meetings, including a 25-10 decision last season in East Lansing.
Players Mentioned
