Michigan
Columbia
Michigan to Host Columbia on Sunday for Dual Opener
11/13/2024 5:44:00 PM | Wrestling
Promotions
• Michigan Mania -- Catch your Michigan Wolverines in action for the first time in the 2024-25 season with Michigan Mania!
• Michigan Mania Poster Giveaway -- While supplies last!
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (0-0) will open the dual-meet portion of its 2024-25 schedule when it hosts Columbia (0-0) on Sunday (Nov. 17) at 5 p.m. inside Crisler Center.
Notes
• Through 102 years of U-M wrestling history, Michigan has posted a 69-31-2 record in its first dual meet of the season. In last season's opener, the Wolverines claimed nine individual bouts to cruise to a 33-6 decision at Columbia.
• Michigan boasted a champion and nine total placewinners at the Michigan State Open last Saturday (Nov. 9), including three freshmen making their collegiate debuts: Cameron Catrabone, Teddy Flores and Zar Walker. Catrabone headlined the event with the 157-pound title, going 4-0 with three falls and a major decision.
• Graduate student Chase Saldate took third place in his Maize and Blue debut at 157 pounds at the Michigan State Open. Saldate, a four-time NCAA qualifier who posted an 85-33 record at MSU before transferring to U-M, posted a 4-1 record with a narrow 6-3 loss to Ohio's No. 3-ranked Peyton Kellar in the semifinals.
• Michigan crowned one champion and posted eight total placewinners at the Clarion Open (Nov. 3). Fifth-year senior Joseph Walker headlined the Wolverine contingent with the 174-pound title, going 4-0 with a 4-2 win over Clarion's 28th-ranked John Worthing in the championship match. Freshman Brock Mantanona and fifth-year senior Jaden Bullock also reached the finals at 165 and 184 pounds, respectively.
• Sophomore/freshman Hayden Walters, who competed unattached while redshirting this season, owns top-five finishes in as many tournament appearances. He also took fifth place at the Michigan State Open and fourth at the Clarion Open, posting a 2-2 record in his first collegiate action after missing all season last year with an injury.
• Graduate student Jacob Cardenas is expected to make his Michigan debut in U-M's dual opener this weekend. Cardenas is a two-time All-American at 197 pounds, earning NCAA finishes of fourth (2024) and eighth place (2023). He compiled a 71-22 record over three competitive seasons at Cornell, including a 28-8 mark last year.
• Cardenas claimed 92kg silver at the U23 World Championships two weeks ago in Tirana, Albania. He went 4-1 in the competition, with his biggest win coming in the first round -- a 10-0 tech against Russian Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov -- the junior world champion at 92kg earlier this fall. He fell to Iran's Amir Hossein Firouzpour 11-4 in the gold-medal final after leading 4-4 at the break. Firouzpour previously captured the 92kg U23 world title in 2022 and is a two-time senior-level Asian champion. It was Cardenas' third medal in consecutive world appearances, adding to silver in 2022 and bronze in 2023.
• The Wolverines have seven wrestlers ranked nationally at their respective weight classes, including five in the top 15 according to InterMat: No. 4 Dylan Ragusin (133 pounds), No. 8 Sergio Lemley (141), No. 31 Dylan Gilcher (149), No. 13 Saldate (157), No. 28 Walker (174), No. 15 Bullock (184), and No. 3 Cardenas (197).
• Under first-year head coach and former U-M assistant Donny Pritzlaff, Columbia will make its season dual debut against Cleveland State on Friday (Nov. 15) before traveling up to Ann Arbor. The Lions, who earned seven placewinners at the Princeton Open (Nov. 3), have a pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers in No. 27 Kai Owen (141 pounds) and No. 25 Cesar Alvan (165). Michigan is 4-0 all-time against Columbia, most recently claiming a 33-6 win last season in New York.
• In addition to Cardenas and Saldate, Michigan returns one All-American and three total NCAA qualifiers from its 2023-24 starting lineup. Ragusin broke through to reach the NCAA podium last year, claiming fifth place at 133 pounds while reaching the Big Ten finals and posting a team-best 28-4 record. Lemley (141) and Bullock (184) also boasted strong breakout seasons last year en route to fourth place at Big Tens and their first NCAA Championships appearances. Lemley went 19-9 as a true freshman, while Bullock bounced back from two full seasons out of the lineup to go 20-12.
• Head coach Sean Bormet is in his seventh season at the helm of the Wolverines program. Bormet, who was named the 2022 Big Ten and NWCA Coach of the Year, has guided the Wolverines to a 56-17 dual-meet record under his leadership, including a 35-13 mark in Big Ten duals, the 2022 Big Ten title and four top-five NCAA finishes -- including a runner-up showing in 2022. Michigan has claimed an NCAA champion in two of the last three seasons in Nick Suriano and Mason Parris, the latter of whom also claimed the 2023 Hodge Trophy as the nation's top college wrestler, and boasted 20 NCAA All-Americans under Bormet -- plus four NWCA All-Americans during the COVID-canceled 2019-20 season.
Players Mentioned
