The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, December 11, 2018 — 7

Storr battles through adversity

To say that redshirt sophomore 
Kanen 
Storr 
has 
dealt 
with 
adversity over the past year would 
come as no surprise to anyone 
familiar with his situation. And 
during Sunday’s 32-7 win over 
Indiana (2-3 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) 
for the Michigan wrestling team 
(3-0, 1-0), the story was much the 
same, as No. 8 Storr battled through 
adverse conditions to gain a win 
over 15th-ranked Cole Weaver.
Storr came into the match on the 
heels of a rough week at practice. 
Though he typically bases his 
offense on quick feet movement 
and multiple leg attacks, Storr felt 
sluggish and knew he would have 
to get creative in order to win.
And that’s exactly what he did. 
Eventually winning, 3-1, Storr 
managed to get his hand raised 
without scoring a takedown, a rare 
sight for the transfer. Scoring on an 
escape and a crafty two-point near 
fall to start the second period, Storr 
secured the win for his team.
“It was a great performance as 
a team,” Storr said. “Individually, I 
wasn’t feeling too good. I kinda had 
a down week, but overall, I came 
out here, I gutted out a win. I didn’t 
feel my best, so there’s a lot to be 
proud of there but a lot to build off 
of also.”
Circumstances like these are 
nothing new for Storr. After all, 
Storr’s tenure with the Wolverines 
began 
due 
to 
tumultuous 
conditions at his first school of 
choice — Iowa State.
As a high school student and a 
Michigan wrestling standout, Storr 
always had his eyes set on Ames, 
Iowa and the Cyclone program 
headed by Kevin Jackson. From 
the get-go, Storr connected with 
Iowa State’s coaching staff on an 
emotional and professional level.
The relationship truly began 
when Storr traveled to Mexico 
with USA Wrestling and Jackson 
to compete in the Pan American 
Games. Since that moment, Storr 
was sold on the Cyclones’ culture 
and nothing was going to stop 

him from committing, not even a 
strong recruiting effort from his 
hometown Wolverines.
“They really introduced me to 
my faith, they had a philosophy 
of wrestling that I just fell in love 
with, and he had everything I 
was looking for,” Storr said. “And 
Michigan did too, that’s why it was 
really complicated. But then I just 
went with my gut and my initial 
thought of going there, so just had 
a really good connection with the 
assistant staff there.”
But then Iowa State started 
to lose. A lot. Midway through a 
blistering 1-12 season, the Cyclones 
announced they were going to 
scrap Jackson, and with him, the 
assistants that Storr had come to 
know and love.
Wanting to uphold the high 
standard of success Iowa State 
had come to embody, the Cyclones 
brought on then-Virginia Tech 
head coach Kevin Dresser. And 
although the program immediately 
started winning again, Storr felt 
out of place.
“I love Iowa State and the 
community and the fans there, 
but they brought in a new staff,” 
Storr said. “I got recruited by a 
different staff my freshman year. 
Last year they brought in a new 
staff. I was excited to give him a 
shot, chemistry just didn’t work 

out. They’re doing great things out 
in Ames, Iowa right now, so I mean, 
they’re a great staff, good coaches, 
but the chemistry wasn’t there for 
me.
“We didn’t connect on a personal 
level. I wasn’t getting (a positive 
atmosphere) at Iowa State.”
Storr asserts the opposite is true 
at Michigan. The Wolverines focus 
on improvement through positivity 
— an environment more conducive 
to Storr’s personality and, ergo, his 
success.
The first one to defend that 
sentiment is Michigan coach Sean 
Bormet, who has tried to make 
Storr’s transition as smooth as 
possible.
“I think our whole staff has 
a very positive philosophy, and 
I think, in general, kids feed off 
positivity,” Bormet said. “And I 
think kids feed off an environment 
where they’re empowered and 
encouraged to bring their absolute 
best every day and leave everything 
out on the mat every day. And that’s 
really how we approach our entire 
team and our roster, so I think 
Kanen’s been feeding off of that.”
The question has never been one 
of Storr’s wrestling ability. He won 
a ranked match without scoring 
a takedown, after all. Instead, 
it’s been one of comfort, and at 
Michigan, the shoe seems to fit.

Thome struggles with back issue

This year’s version of the 
Michigan women’s basketball 
team was said to be senior 
center Hallie Thome’s squad.
She — along with fellow 
senior Nicole Munger — was 
set to fill the void, both from a 
leadership and play perspective, 
left by the departures of Jillian 
Dunston and Katelynn Flaherty.
Through 10 games this season, 
it’s clear that both Thome and 
Munger have adapted to some of 
their newfound responsibilities. 
The Wolverines’ underclassmen 
— who make up a majority of the 
team — continually mention the 
guidance they’ve received from 
their two senior teammates.
Freshman 
forward 
Naz 
Hillmon, 
specifically, 
has 
benefited 
from 
Thome’s 
leadership.
“I have to give a lot of credit 
to her,” Hillmon said. “In the 
preseason, she definitely helped 
me a lot and has just given me a 
lot of tips and pointers of how 
to get in the paint, get those 
rebounds. So as much as we 
credit the guards, I’ve got to 
give some credit to Hallie.”
Added Michigan coach Kim 
Barnes Arico: “I think all the 
upperclassmen have taken the 
freshmen under their wing 
and they’re just all terrific 
basketball players. I think for 
Naz, part of the reason she came 
to Michigan was to have an 
opportunity to play with Hallie 
Thome. So I think they love 
being on the court together.”
While the leadership has 
been there, Thome’s recent 
performances on the court 
have 
been 
lackluster. 
Over 
the first three games of the 
season — albeit against subpar 
competition — Thome averaged 
upwards of 21 points per game. 
Since then, she’s averaged just 
9.4.
Thome’s 
unique 
size 
— 
6-foot-5 — and dominant play 
at the end of last year garnered 

the 
attention 
of 
multiple 
WNBA scouts. So far, though, 
that dominant play has been 
infrequent.
Against Oakland last Sunday, 
Thome 
suffered 
from 
back 
spasms, 
which 
ultimately 
sidelined her for much of the 
game. With the contest well 
in hand, Thome played just 12 
minutes and scored six points.
“She’s having some back 
spasms and she has had them in 
the past, sometimes in practice, 
and it takes a little time to get 
through them,” Barnes Arico 
said. “She usually is able to work 
them out, but today they weren’t 
calming down during the course 
of the game. So we decided it 
was best she just rest it.”
Though Thome has dealt with 
them before, back spasms are 
notoriously tricky to manage. 
It doesn’t help that she’s had to 
face consistent double-teams. In 
the North Carolina State game, 
Thome was forced to dish it 
out on numerous occasions to 
perimeter players like Munger, 
who ended up leading the team 
in scoring as a result.
Michigan would obviously 
miss its star player if Thome 
missed time due to injury. With 
that said, the team is well-
equipped to compensate in the 
meantime.
Thome’s relative struggles 
have 
contributed 
to 
the 
Wolverines’ 7-3 record. But 
Hillmon’s 
development 
and 
the play of sophomore forward 

Hailey Brown have softened the 
blow.
“We are not the same team 
without Hallie Thome,” Barnes 
Arico said. “Her leadership 
today when she got hurt was 
still evident. So it’s nice to have 
people that can come in and 
give her a break or, when she’s 
not a hundred percent, take her 
minutes.
“Obviously you can see that 
today with Naz Hillmon. She 
did an outstanding job for us 
rebounding the ball, finishing 
the ball. Hailey Brown did a 
great job stepping up making 
some plays for us, as did 
(junior guard) Kayla Robbins. 
(Freshman 
forward) 
Emily 
Kiser gave us some good minutes 
there as well. But we still miss 
(Thome). We don’t ever want 
her not to be out there.”
Michigan also has a favorable 
schedule over the next few 
weeks — Morgan State and 
Southern will likely be put away 
with or without Thome.
But Big Ten play looms on the 
horizon, with the Wolverines 
traveling to Nebraska on Dec. 
28. If Thome, healthy and 
rested, can regain her dominant 
form, the Wolverines project to 
be a force to be reckoned with in 
the conference.
“Hallie will be fine,” Munger 
said. “She had a really, really 
good workout. She knows what 
she needs to do so she’s gotten 
back in the gym to get her touch 
back. She’ll be fine.”

JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Writer

Bock excels in Maize & Blue meet

Cameron Bock took a deep 
breath and finished his floor 
routine with a flourish in front 
of the judges. The sophomore 
then had a nearly flawless 
performance before a missed 
landing off the parallel bars. 
Bock earned a score of 13.950 on 
floor and took home all-around 
honors with a total score of 
85.250 for the six events.
“I thought I did pretty well 
on everything except for the 
parallel bars, so that was a little 
disappointing.” Bock said. “But 
it’s still the beginning of the 
season so just have to fix those. 
Overall, it was good.”
Bock was a star in the Maize & 
Blue Intrasquad meet Saturday 
afternoon for the Michigan 
men’s gymnastics team.
“Well, two people stood out to 
me,” said Michigan coach Kurt 
Golder. “One is Cameron Bock, 
he did a really really good job 
right down to that last skill, and 
that was his first mistake.”
The 
competition 
dictated 
that four scores count per 

event, but only gymnasts on 
the Maize team competed in all 
six events. The Blue team was 
down just 2.55 points after the 
second event rotation, though 
the Maize team was clearly the 
stronger of the two squads. The 
ultimate goal for the meet was 
not to win, but to prepare for the 
upcoming season.
“I think this is one of our 
better Maize & Blue meets since 
I’ve been here and one of our 
highest hit percentages,” Golder 
said. “I think it sets us up well 
for the rest of the season. I’m 
really looking forward to it.”
Ultimately, the Maize team 
came out on top of the Blue 
squad, 
332.850 
to 
321.800. 
Junior Mack Lasker was the sole 
event winner on the Blue team 
with a score of 14.550 on the 
pommel horse. The Blue team 
found most of its success on the 
pommel horse, claiming three of 
the top four scores.
Junior Justin Murphy of 
the Blue team was named an 
outstanding performer for his 
parallel bars display. Murphy 
had a score of 13.600.
“Justin 
Murphy, 
because 

he had a surgery two years 
ago and struggled all last year 
recovering from it. (He) never 
got in the lineup and then today 
had a really good day,” Golder 
said. “So just on a personal level, 
(I’m) really happy for him.”
It was the Maize team, 
however, that dominated the 
day. Seniors Emyre Cole and 
Matthew Whitaker had strong 
performances as well. Cole had 
the high score on vault, while 
Whitaker took the top spot in 
parallel bars. Bock was the top 
performer in three of the six 
events.
“I’m just trying to increase 
my (all-around) score,” Bock 
said. “Just to push the envelope 
a little bit to get an even better 
score on every event.”
Added Golder: “It’s everybody 
reach their potential, the team 
reach their potential and shoot 
for a national title. I think that 
this isn’t one of the strongest 
teams, but it’s a team that is 
capable of contending for it and 
if you can get into the Super 
Six, you can win it. And we’re 
definitely one of the top six 
teams in the country.”

CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Redshirt sophomore Kanen Storr beat Indiana’s Cole Weaver on Sunday.

ANNIE KLUS/Daily
Senior center Halle Thome scored six points in 12 minutes on Sunday.

NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Sophomore Cameron Bock earned all-around honors with a score of 85.250 for the six events on the day.

AVI RAJENDRA-NICOLUCCI
For the Daily

