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