The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, January 14, 2020— 7

Parris plays hero against Spartans

Sean Bormet saw the look on 
Mason Parris’ face and knew 
what was going to happen.
The 
Michigan 
wrestling 
team may have lost its last four 
bouts. It may have nearly blown 
a 16-point lead to Michigan 
State. But the Wolverines knew 
that in the moment, none of 
that mattered, because they 
had a cheat code the Spartans 
didn’t: sophomore heavyweight 
Mason Parris.
The 
look 
Bormet 
saw 
didn’t betray him. Parris got 
a takedown right off the bat. 
After 29 seconds he had his 
opponent pinned, a result that 
gave the Wolverines six points 
and sealed their 22-14 win 
over Michigan State on Friday 
night.
“I was pretty confident that 
Mason was capable of pinning 
him,” Bormet, the Michigan 
coach, said. “I didn’t know 
exactly how fast he would get 
there. But the minute he got 
the takedown and got those 
arm bars, I could see the look 
on his face and he was gonna 
turn the guy and pin him.”
This is par for the course for 
Parris, who is the third-ranked 
heavyweight in the country 
and has five pins in seven 
matches. But it’s less often he 
has a performance as vital as 
Friday’s.
Coming off a loss to Oregon 
State 
and 
two 
lackluster 
invitational 
finishes, 
the 
25th-ranked Wolverines knew 
the 
opportunity 
they 
had 
kicking off the Big Ten season 
against the unranked Spartans. 
The start of the match reflected 
that, with Michigan taking the 
first five bouts and building a 
16-0 lead.
But Michigan State mounted 
a comeback, taking the next 
four 
bouts 
— 
including 
a 
technical fall that sent the 
Spartans’ side of the arena into 
a frenzy. With only one bout 

remaining, 
the 
Wolverines’ 
lead had shrunk to two.
Many other heavyweights 
would’ve crumbled in that 
situation. But Parris embraced 
the pressure, stepped on the 
mat and did the deed.
“I just saw their whole 
bench, Michigan State’s bench 
just getting off and getting 
really rowdy and everything 
and I mean, props to them, but 
I kinda knew what was coming 
up 
next 
with 
Mason Parris,” 
freshman 
Cole 
Mattin 
said. 
“Whenever 
that guy steps 
on the mat, you 
know 
there’s 
definitely 
a 
probability 
of getting six 
points on the 
board for us and 
I knew that was coming, no 
matter what.”
There’s 
no 
one 
else 
Michigan would rather have 
in a close match, and there’s 
no 
environment 
in 
which 
Parris thrives more. From the 
moment Parris stepped on the 
mat, Bormet was excited — 
not just for his star wrestler, 
but for the Cliff Keen crowd, 
because he knew it was about 
to be on its feet cheering.
Parris 
approaches 
every 
match the same, he says, but he 

loves being the heavyweight, 
because it means his bout is 
always last. There’s always a 
possibility the match comes 
down to him.
“It’s a lot of good pressure 
on me and it helps me wrestle 
better,” Parris said. “ … I 
just kinda wanted to get the 
crowd pumped up and put an 
exclamation point on the dual 
win.”
So when Parris held his 
opponent’s 
shoulders to the 
mat after just 
29 seconds, he 
lifted his arms 
up in response, 
getting 
the 
crowd loud as 
the fight song 
rang over the 
speakers. 
He 
flexed for the 
fans. He wanted 
an exclamation point, and boy, 
did he create one.
The Wolverines all saw it 
coming. But they enjoyed it just 
as much.
“I knew, especially who it 
was coming up next, Mason 
Parris, I kinda knew they didn’t 
really have a chance,” Mattin 
said. “I’m just being honest.
“Mason’s 
obviously 
very, 
very good. He’s super talented, 
he’s great at what he does, and 
he just went out and showed 
it.”

Wolverines reinvigorate rivalry

Whether Indiana wants to 
admit it or not, it has a rival in 
Michigan.
Since the 2015-2016 season, 
the Michigan men’s swimming 
and diving team has traded 
first and second place finishes 
with the Hoosiers at the Big 
Ten Championships. Of the 17 
swimmers and divers named to 
the 2019 All-Big Ten First Team, 15 
came from the two programs. 
“I really like our rivalry with 
them, if they consider it a rivalry 
with us,” senior Tommy Cope said.
One may attribute Indiana’s 
recent dominance over Michigan 
to Cope’s comment. 
The Hoosiers have notched back-
to-back Big Ten championships 
and third-place finishes at the 
NCAA Championships in the past 
two seasons. Back in November, 
Indiana handed the Wolverines 
their first loss of the season at a 
dual meet in Bloomington.
However, on Saturday, No. 
3 Michigan (4-1 overall, 2-1 Big 
Ten) redeemed itself by upending 
the fifth-ranked Hoosiers’ (6-3, 
2-1) recent reign of dominance 
and giving them their first Big 
Ten dual-meet loss in four years, 
resolidifying the rivalry. 
“It’s really fun to go race 

against top-notch people,” Cope 
said.“That’s how I know if I am 
doing well in the sport or not. It’s 
good to race against similar people. 
Iron sharpens iron.”
Saturday’s meet in Ann Arbor 
emulated the two schools’ tense, 
back-and-forth competition that 
has persisted over the years. In a 
meet where every dive and every 
race seemed to matter, both sides 
battled and exchanged first place 
finishes throughout the day. 
Impressive 
individual 
performances by Cope and junior 
Ricardo Vargas led the way for the 
Wolverines. 
Cope took first place in both 
the 100 and 200-yard breastroke 
(1:56.34, 
1:58.97), 
with 
senior 
Charlie Swanson and sophomore 
Will Chan finishing behind him 
in respective events. A crucial first 
place finish by Cope in the 200-
yard individual medley (1:45.61) 
helped Michigan pull away in the 
latter half of the meet. 
Capturing the sentiment of 
the rivalry, Cope splashed the 
water around and pumped his 
fist following his victory in the 
individual 
medley 
to 
mimic 
Indiana swimmers’ ostentatious 
celebrations in previous races.
Vargas, meanwhile, placed first 
in the 500 and 1,000-yard freestyle 
with times of 4:21.85 and 9:01.82, 
with sophomore Patrick Callan 

and senior Felix Auböck placing 
second and third behind Vargas in 
the 500.
Even when Indiana took first 
place in events, Michigan found 
ways to garner points in close races 
to secure second, third and fourth 
places. 
In the 200-yard butterfly, senior 
Miles Smachlo and Vargas finished 
second and third behind the 
Hoosiers’ Brendan Burns to pick up 
seven points for their side. Smachlo 
avenged himself to edge out Burns 
in the 100-yard butterfly with an 
impressive finish of 46.84.
In the diving well, although 
Indiana’s Mory Gould finished first 
place in the 1-meter and 3-meter 
events, junior Ross Todd, senior 
Jake Herremans and junior Chris 
Canning placed behind him in both 
events. The trio netted 18 points to 
cancel out the 18 points Gould won 
for his team.
“Everyone was up and scoring,” 
Michigan coach Mike Bottom said. 
“When (Indiana) won an event, we 
were right behind them with two 
or three people. We took away their 
superstars with our team. And 
that’s how you win these meets.”
Building off mounting mid-
season momentum, the Wolverines 
were able to rise to the challenge 
and prove why they have been 
right behind the Hoosiers in Big 
Ten rankings recently. 

Off the blocks

The pistol fired, sending 
the runners into motion at the 
Wolverine 
Invitational 
and 
signaling the beginning of the 
indoor track and field season 
for both the Michigan men’s 
and women’s teams. 
Out of 30 final events on 
Saturday, the Wolverines had 
25 individuals land podium 
finishes in 18 events — six of 
which were first place. The 
unscored invitational featured 
Eastern 
Michigan, 
Toledo, 
Buffalo, 
Miami 
(Fla.) 
and 
professional 
non-collegiate 
athletes. Among them were 
notable 
runners 
Melissa 
Bishop-Nriagu — a Canadian 
Olympian who ran at the 2012 
and 2016 Olympics — British 
Olympian Tiffany Porter and 
Olympic 
hopefuls 
Mason 
Ferlic and Shannon Osika, both 
former Wolverines.
“So we invite those kids in, 
those young men and women in, 
when we’re not having a scored 
meet,” Michigan co-head coach 
James Henry said. “We want 
our kids to aspire that, ‘I want 
to be there’ and, ‘I’m right next 
to an Olympian,’ and they’re 
out there in the meet and they 
see this is what it’s like. . . . So 
we want them here so they can 
aspire to be a part of that.”
But Michigan 
didn’t 
need 
to look far for 
inspiration. 
Both 
senior 
thrower Briana 
Nelson 
and 
junior 
thrower 
Courtney 
Jacobsen broke 
the 
previous 
school record of 
19.53 meters in 
the weight throw. 
Additionally, 
multiple 
athletes 
recorded 
personal 
records, including high jumpers 
Jada 
Wimberly 
and 
Katt 
Miner — a junior and a senior, 
respectively.
“Me and Jada wanted to 

be really relaxed today and 
not stressed about anything,” 
Miner said. “Our goal was just 
to make bar and just try to be 
consistent. And it just went way 
better than we both expected. 
But I think that’s just because 
we 
weren’t 
stressed 
about 
height or anything at all today.”
Wimberly placed third by 
jumping over a 1.70-meter bar, 
besting her previous indoor 
record of 1.66 meters. Miner 
shattered her 1.71 indoor record 
by clearing a 1.80-meter bar and 
claimed first in the high jump 
event. 
“I think other 
meets, we put 
pressure 
on 
ourselves 
to 
make 
certain 
bars,” 
Miner 
said. “We end 
up just kind of 
getting 
really 
tense and not 
fluid 
through 
it, 
so 
moving 
through them was really nice. 
And then, when we got to higher 
heights, we were just kind of 
like ‘OK, let’s keep it going.’ ”
Other first place finishers 
included 
sophomore 
Eric 
Harris in men’s pole vault, 
freshman Amanda Schaare in 

women’s shot put, sophomore 
John Meyer in men’s shot put, 
sophomore Colton Yesney in 
the men’s 3,000-meter run and 
both the men’s and women’s 
teams in the 4x400-meter relay. 
Additionally, 
freshman 
distance 
runner 
Ericka 
VanderLende placed seconf in 
the mile, only behind Nike-
sponsored runner and Tokyo 
2020 Olympic hopeful Shannon 
Osika. After a successful cross 
country season, VanderLende 
chose to work on her get-off 
and focused more on speed 
work during the 
winter. Despite 
the 
change 
going into her 
first 
indoor 
season, she still 
managed 
to 
finish favorably 
in her event.
At the end 
of 
the 
meet, 
Henry gathered 
both 
teams 
together and had the athletes 
share not only their successes, 
but their disappointments and 
failures as well.
“I want the kids to hear 
all levels of how well we’re 
doing so you can take that and 
become better,” Henry said. 

“So if someone wet the bed, use 
that to get better. If someone 
had an average day, use that to 
get better. If the throwers or 
whatever had a great day, use 
that to step up.
“So all action is a positive 
reaction.”
The goal is to get better. 
That’s why Henry has been 
having his athletes practice this 
self-reflection for over 30 years 
and why he’ll have them do it 
after every meet this year.
“It’s a process for all of 
our kids,” Henry said. “If you 

do well, it’s a 
process. If you 
do 
bad, 
it’s 
a 
process.”
The 
results 
of the Michigan 
men’s 
and 
women’s 
track 
and field teams’ 
first meet make 
one thing clear — 
each 
Wolverine 
is in a different 
part of the process. Some broke 
school and personal records. 
Some ‘wet the bed.’ And some 
didn’t even make it to the 
starting block on Saturday.
But one part of the process is 
clear — they are all expected to 
get better.

Every meet is a part of the 
process. From a non-scoring 
meet in early January to the 
NCAA Championships, there 
is value in every competition. 
Saturday, on an otherwise 
uneventful day, that value 
came from young athletes 
making their indoor debut 
for the Michigan men’s and 
women’s track team.
“The 
biggest 
thing 
I’m 
always looking for is that the 
kids get some competition 
in,” Michigan co-head coach 
James Henry said. “They get 
to the line, they finish the line 
and they’re healthy.”
A 
lot 
of 
freshmen 
did, 
in fact, get to the line and 
finish. In the 800-meter run, 
freshman Ben Jacobs sprinted 
to a fourth-place finish in 1:58. 
In the men’s mile, freshman 
Anthony DeKraker powered 
down 
the 
home 
straight 
coming in third with a time 
of 4:12, with freshman John 
Florence right behind him 
in fifth with a time of 4:17. 
Later in the meet, freshman 
Nick Trevisan came in third 
in the 3000-meter with a time 
of 8:43, surpassing several 
competitors who had taken an 
early lead over the pack.
A 
solid 
showing 
from 
the 
men’s 
newcomers 
was duplicated 
on 
the 
women’s side.
Freshman 
Samantha 
Saenz 
took 
fourth in the 
3000-meter, 
covering the 15 
laps in 10:02. 
And freshman 
Ericka VanderLende — coming 
off her All-American cross 
country season — took second 
place in the women’s mile with 
a mark of 4:49, losing only to 
Nike’s 
professional 
runner 
Shannon Osika.
“In high school, I didn’t 

really do a lot of hard stuff 
in the winter, and now I’m 
doing a lot of hard workouts,” 
VanderLende 
said 
of 
her 
transition to her first track 
season. “So I’m seeing a lot 
of big improvements for the 
indoor season.”
VanderLende’s second place 
finish was only surpassed by 
one Michigan newcomer — 
freshman Amanda Schaare. 
Schaare won the women’s 
shot put with a throw of 15.22, 
besting the rest of the field by 
over two-tenths of a meter. 
“She redshirted last year. 
She wasn’t ready for the big 
leagues,” Henry said. “But she 
was trained to be a big leaguer, 
and she stepped onto the stage 
and she performed like a big 
leaguer. That’s just a part of 
the process.”
Henry stressed the process 
for 
these 
young 
athletes. 
For him, it’s all about the 
Wolverines coming in and just 
getting better and committing 
to it, and all of these young 
competitors 
seem 
to 
be 
responding.
“It’s a process for all of our 
kids, 
especially 
(Michigan 
co-head coach Jerry Clayton)’s 
kids, it’s important,” Henry 
said. “If you do well, it’s a 
process. If you do bad, it’s a 
process.”
Schaare 
is 
a 
shining 
example of this, 
with her year-
long break from 
competition 
allowing 
her 
to be a force in 
the field events 
like she was on 
Saturday.
“That 
kid 
spent the whole 
year training and 
not competing,” 
Henry said. “And when it’s her 
time to get on the stage, she 
shined.”
So, if the athletes who suited 
up for their debut Saturday 
trust the process as Schaare 
has, then there’s no telling just 
how bright the future can be.

Michigan starts season by showcasing young talent in Wolverine Invitational, landing 25 podium finishes

MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
Sophomore heavyweight Mason Parris pinned his opponent after 29 seconds.

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor

I kinda knew 
what was 
coming up next 
with ... Parris.

NICHOLAS STOLL
Daily Sports Writer

CAMERON HUNT/Daily
The Michigan men’s swimming and diving team has enjoyed a rivalry with Indiana since the 2015-16 season.

DREW COX
Daily Sports Writer

SPENCER RAINES
Daily Sports Writer

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
The Michigan women’s track and field team broke numerous school and personal records at the Wolverine Invitational.

Our goal was 
just to make bar 
and just try to 
be consistent.

If you do well, 
it’s a process. If 
you do bad, it’s 
a process.

They get to the 
line, they finish 
the line and 
they’re healthy.

