Wolverines Welcome Four During Early Signing Period
11/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan wrestling head coach Joe McFarland announced Tuesday (Nov. 18) that four student-athletes -- Sean Boyle(Lowell, Mass./Blair Academy), Eric Grajales(Brandon, Fla./Brandon HS), Pete Rendina(Monroe, Mich./Dundee HS) and Brandon Zeerip(Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) -- have signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period to attend and compete in wrestling next fall.
"We are very excited about having these four guys join our program," said McFarland. "We were able to fill a lot of our team's needs with this class. All four of them embody the type of student-athlete that we look for at Michigan -- an aggressive style, a tireless work ethic and a commitment to daily improvement. I think they will all fit well into our program and help maintain a strong wrestling tradition at Michigan."
Boyle enters his senior season ranked as the No. 5 high school 125-pound wrestler in the nation by W.I.N. Magazine. A 2008 Asics All-America selection, Boyle captured the 112-pound national prep title and won the prestigious Beast of the East tournament in his first season at Blair Academy. He owns a career record of 148-6, including a perfect 54-0 mark during his sophomore campaign when he won the Massachusetts Division I and All-State titles (112 pounds) while competing for Lowell High School, earning outstanding wrestler honors at both tournaments. Boyle is projected to compete at 125 pounds at Michigan.
"Sean works extremely hard," said McFarland. "He really does a lot of things quite well. He wrestles at a hard pace. Hes got great quickness and handfights well. He's very well coached by Jeff Buxton and his staff, and he knows what hard work is. I'm really excited to see the improvement he continues to make between now and the end of the season."
Heading into his senior season, Grajales holds the No. 1 ranking at 135 pounds in all major polls and owns the No. 2 overall ranking by InterMat. He is a three-time undefeated Florida state champion (2006, '07, '08), boasting a flawless 153-0 record over the stretch. Adding his prep seasons as a seventh and eighth grader -- he was a statefinalist during the latter --Grajales owns a career mark of 228-6. As junior, he claimed 52 of 57 wins by way of fall, establishing a Florida single-season record in the category. A two-time FILA Junior World team member (2006, '07), Grajales participated in the 2008 Olympic Trials after placing fifth in the Greco-Roman Senior Nationals at 55 kg/121 pounds. He is a five-team Fargo Greco-Roman national champion (2004, '05, '06, '08), earning Junior Greco Wrestler of the Year and outstanding-wrestler honors in 2006, and two-time FILA Cadet Greco national champion (2004, '06). He added a FILA Cadet freestyle title in 2004. Grajales will likely wrestle at 133 pounds for Michigan.
"Eric has had a lot of success nationally," said McFarland, "and he is obviously a big-name recruit for us. He's just a great athlete. He scrambles really well. He reminds me a lot of Kellen [Russell] in that respect. Eric is competitive, and he's driven to be the best. So, I really think the sky is the limit for him."
Rendina is a Michigan state champion, capturing the 119-pound title as a sophomore (2007), and a three-time state placewinner, adding third-place performances as a freshman (2006) and junior (2008). Rendina established Dundee High School records for most wins by a freshman, sophomore and junior en route to a 175-7 career prep record entering his final season. An Academic All-American and Michigan Dream Team member, Rendina posted a 9-1 mark at the 2007 Disney Duals. He is projected to compete at 141 or 149 pounds at Michigan.
"Pete is the type of guy that will really improve in our room," said McFarland. "He's an extremely hard worker. I think he's really coming into his own, and he wants to be great. He's focused and driven. He's coming out of a quality program in Dundee, and he's well coached. I think the best thing he brings is his intensity and his work ethic. He really wrestles hard, and he's going to push a lot of guys in our room. That is going to make other guys better, and it's going to make him better."
Zeerip enters his senior season ranked as the No. 7 high school 160-pound wrestler in the nation by W.I.N Magazine. Brother of current sophomore/freshman Justin Zeerip(Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS), Brandon is a three-time Michigan state placewinner, capturing the 145-pound title as a junior (2008) after placing second (119 pounds, 2006) and sixth (125 pounds, 2007) in previous state appearances. A two-time All-American at the Disney Duals, he carries a prep record of 186-7 with 111 career pins. This fall, Zeerip earned first team all-conference honors in football after rushing for a Hesperia school record of 1,345 yards. He is projected to compete at 157 or 165 pounds at Michigan.
"We're excited to have Brandon in our program," said McFarland. "He's really come into his own, and he's really grown into his body. He's very good technically. He understands wrestling. I think he's going to be a great one, because he's just like his brother -- he's really focused, and he has the same work ethic."
Michigan kicks off the 2008-09 season next weekend with a pair of non-conference dual meets. U-M will head to Bethlehem, Pa., to face Lehigh at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 21) before wrapping the road swing on Saturday (Nov. 22) with a 2 p.m. slate against Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
