Mason Parris arrived in Ann
Arbor with big shoes to fill.
After watching 2018 graduate
Adam Coon compile a 116-15
career record, Michigan fans
had astronomical expectations
for
Parris,
their
freshman
heavyweight wrestler. Standing
at 6-foot-5 and weighing 265
pounds, Coon was more than just
a massive physical presence — he
served as the icon of the program.
His graduation left first-year coach
Sean Bormet scrambling to replace
the three-time All-American.
Enter Parris.
Hailing from Lawrenceburg,
Indiana, Parris stood out as the
gem of Bormet’s first recruiting
class. As the top heavyweight in
FloWrestling’s
2018
rankings,
Parris headlined the fifth-best
incoming class in the country,
per The Open Mat. Parris’ storied
high school career — one that
included a trio of Indiana state
championships
and
a
206-1
cumulative record on top of four
honor roll appearances — drew the
attention of powerhouse programs
across the country.
Bormet originally planned on
redshirting Parris this season
to stretch his highly-anticipated
collegiate career to an eventual
fifth year. Most wrestlers —
especially heavyweights — opt for
this path under the assumption
they’ll be more polished and
muscular as a fifth-year senior
than as a true freshman.
Not Parris. Bormet had no
qualms about unleashing the
beast.
“It’s a process we went through
in the fall,” Bormet said. “We
wanted to make sure we had a
good chance to evaluate (Parris)
physically,
competitively
and
technically.
We
also
wanted
to
measure
what
kind
of
improvement he’d make with
each competition. We feel like he’s
capable of reaching his goals this
year.”
Parris has learned the jump
from high school to college is
massive, as are his new opponents.
“I have to adjust to wrestling
the bigger guys,” Parris said. “I’ve
taught myself to set up my shots
more because I can’t just power
through guys like I used to. Now
that I’m wrestling guys bigger than
me, I have to use my technique.”
When it came time to shed the
redshirt during the team’s recent
West Coast trip, Parris took the
mat against the NCAA’s No. 1
heavyweight, Oregon State’s Amar
Dhesi. The unfamiliar venue, the
mounting pressure of a college
debut and a daunting matchup
against the nation’s top-ranked
heavyweight all pointed towards
the likelihood of a first match to
forget.
Rather than caving in under the
pressure, Parris displayed poise
and maturity beyond his years.
He dominated the match, winning
11-4, behind four takedowns and a
riding-time advantage of 1:31.
“(Parris) is really confident
in his abilities and he loves to
compete,” Bormet said. “I can see
he really absorbs (information)
just from watching his mental
adjustments from one practice to
the next. He raises his bar pretty
quickly.”
Parris hasn’t just raised the
bar — he has redefined it. In his
second match, he secured crucial
bonus points by pinning Arizona
State’s Brady Daniel to ignite the
Wolverines’ 12-point comeback
against
the
23rd-ranked
Sun
Devils.
Saturday’s match against No. 19
Illinois’ Deuce Rachal followed a
similar script. In his home debut,
Parris — who entered ranked No.
8 among heavyweights despite just
two prior competitions — brought
Crisler Center’s roaring crowd of
4,026 to its feet by pinning Rachal
with an emphatic takedown at the
5:57 mark in the final match of
the night. The thud of Parris’ pin
put an resounding exclamation
point on No. 6 Michigan’s 28-10
victory over the Illini, moving the
Wolverines to 6-0 on the year.
“The thing that sticks out
about Mason most to me is that
he’s fearless,” said redshirt junior
Jackson Striggow. “He’s not afraid
to let it fly out there — he tore up
the number one kid in the nation
with absolutely no fear. It’s really
cool to see a kid so young be able
to do that.”

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
January 14, 2019 — 3B

Wolverines fall to ninth-ranked Terrapins, 83-69

Saturday afternoon in College
Park, Md., the Michigan women’s
basketball team faced its toughest
opponent so far this season.
Despite putting up a fight, the
Wolverines (11-6
overall, 2-3 Big
Ten)
ultimately
fell, 83-69, to No.
9 Maryland (15-1
overall, 4-1 Big
Ten).
“So Maryland
is
a
great
basketball team —
and especially at
home,” Michigan
coach Kim Barnes
Arico told reporters after the
game. “And I thought we matched
up with them exceptionally well
until late in the game.”
The first three quarters were
even, and Michigan only trailed
by one, 53-52, heading into the

fourth.
In the final frame, though, the
Terrapins took full control.
It started with a successful
jumper from forward Stephanie
Jones. Freshman guard Amy Dilk
got called for a foul on the play
and Jones capitalized with the
ensuing
free
throw.
On its next
three offensive
possessions,
Maryland
converted
a
layup followed
by
3-pointers
from
guards
Blair
Watson
and
Taylor
Mikesell.
All
the while, the Terrapins’ full-
blown defensive press hindered
the Wolverines, fueling an 11-4
run for Maryland.
Michigan trailed, 66-58, after
Mikesell’s triple from the left
wing and called a timeout. But

in that timeout, the Wolverines
couldn’t find an answer. Soon it
was too late.
The
Terrapins’
shooting
success continued. They shot
close to 77 percent from the field
in the fourth quarter to finish
the game 32-for-61 from the
field. Mikesell
and
Watson
led the way
and
finished
with 17 and
14
points,
respectively.
“We
got
tight
and
I
think
that
we
couldn’t
get shots to
fall,”
Barnes
Arico said. “We got some good
looks. We didn’t shoot the ball
exceptionally well. I mean, I go
through all the stats here and
we’re pretty much balanced in
everything except for shooting
percentage.”

To
start
the
contest,
Michigan’s defense came out
hot. The Wolverines troubled
Maryland into 10 turnovers in
the first stanza, and this fueled a
17-4 run to give them a 21-14 lead
heading into the second.
But the Terrapins returned
with an adequate
response:
3-pointers.
They
soon made three
triples to tie the
game at 25. Their
ball-control
improved too as
they finished the
game
with
just
five
additional
turnovers.
“Their shooters
had some open looks,” Barnes
Arico said. “They made some
great extra passes to find their
shooters.”
Senior center Hallie Thome
excelled for her team to keep the
game close. Whenever she got the

ball early on, multiple defenders
would swarm around her to make
things difficult. However, she
adjusted by employing quicker
footwork and using her strength
to her advantage. Thome led
Michigan in scoring (25 points)
and rebounding (10 rebounds).
“She did a tremendous job,”
Barnes Arico said. “Her shot
was blocked a number of times.
… She’s special, and Maryland’s
defense really disrupted her but
didn’t stop her.”
Altogether, the Wolverines
showed their skills on the big
stage. The defense showed a lot
of promise and the team won
the rebounding battle as well.
Against a top-10 team, though, it
wasn’t quite enough.
“They’re a tough matchup.
Their size, their length, disrupted
us. The way they blocked shots
early on really disrupted us,”
Barnes Arico said. “… But I think
overall it was really a great
basketball game.”

Michigan beats Illini for sixth-straight win to start season

Heavyweight
Mason
Parris stepped onto the
mat Saturday with eyes
on him.
After upsetting top-
ranked
heavyweight
Amar Dhesi in his first
match since Parris shed
his redshirt, the true
freshman settled into
the
starting
position
with the expectations
and intrigue of every
person in the Crisler
Center. But no pressure,
weight deficit or age
difference
could
stop
Parris
from
pinning
Illinois fifth-year senior
Deuce
Rachal
in
a
decisive win.
“There’s definitely a

huge difference between
high school and college
wrestling,” Parris said.
“I was hungry to go out
and compete and was
excited to do it.”
Capped
by
Parris’
standout
pin
with
one minute left in the
third period, the No.
6 Michigan wrestling
(6-0 overall, 2-0 Big
Ten) defeated the No. 19
Illinois (2-2 overall, 1-1
Big Ten), 28-10, in a meet
of
gritty,
low-scoring
losses
and
one-sided,
high-scoring
matches
for both teams.
Starting with a tough
loss in the 125-pound
division,
sophomore
Drew
Mattin,
ranked
12th in his weight class,
fell
to
16th-ranked

Travis
Piotrowski,
failing
to
deliver
a
single
takedown
for
the Wolverines. In the
141-pound weight class,
redshirt
sophomore
Kanen Storr also fell
short, falling 3-2 in a
ranked matchup. Even
with
redshirt
junior
Stevan
Micic’s
major
decision win in the 133-
pound
weight
class,
the two ranked losses
left
Michigan
losing
4-6
with
momentum
favoring Illinois.
“We weren’t getting
enough attacks off in the
first period and weren’t
giving ourselves enough
chances to score,” said
Michigan
coach
Sean
Bormet. “The pace just
wasn’t in our favor.”

After a series of close
losses, fifth-year senior
Malik Amine changed
the pace, winning 3-0
in a defensive struggle
at 149 pounds despite no
takedown. Amine’s win
made way for 157-pound
Alec Panteleo, also a
fifth-year
veteran,
to
decisively beat Illinois’
Eric
Barone,
ranked
two places behind him.
Panteleo attributed his
success
in
Saturday’s
match to his discipline
and drive to accomplish
his goals in the program.
Adding to Panteleo’s
success,
redshirt
junior
Logan
Massa,
ranked seventh in his
weight class, trounced
16th-ranked
Joey
Gunther by a margin

of 15 points, creating
a
technical
fall
and
turning the tide toward
the Wolverines. Massa
and
Panteleo’s
wins,
with
a
clean
12-3
performance
in
the
174-pound division by
redshirt
junior
Myles
Amine,
ranked
third,
upped the team score
to 19-10 and widened
Michigan’s
lead
from
only one point to 13, an
almost-clear sign of a
win, even with early
losses
and
redshirt
freshman J.T. Correll’s
defeat at 184 pounds to
Illinois’ second-ranked
Emery Parker. Correll
filled in for redshirt
freshman Jelani Embree,
a standout early in the
season who has been

sidelined for weeks with
an undisclosed injury.
To
continue
the
Wolverines’ success and
solidify their undefeated
record, redshirt junior
Jackson
Striggow
handily won his 197-
pound match, leading
up to Parris’ debut in
Ann Arbor. Coming out
strong with an onslaught
of
takedowns
in
the
first two periods, the
freshman
ended
the
first minute of the third
up 14-3 and eventually
pinned
his
opponent,
earning
an
automatic
fall, increasing the team
score by six points and
proving his presence as
a college heavyweight
even after starting the
year as a redshirt.

ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer

LILY FRIEDMAN
Daily Sports Writer

Parris leads
‘M’ to victory

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Junior center Hallie Thome scored 25 points, leading the Wolverines in scoring, as Michigan fell to the ninth-ranked Terrapins in College Park on Saturday, moving to 2-3 in Big Ten play

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Freshman Mason Parris pinned Illinois’ Deuce Rachal as the Wolverines topped the Illini.

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Redshirt junior Logan Massa beat Joey Gunther by a 15-point margin, creating a technical fall.

“(The
Terrapins’) size,
their length,
disrupted us.”

“... We matched
up with them
exceptionally
well until late.”

WRESTLING