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