Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Amine Wins Big Ten Title, Wolverines Take Fourth Place
3/7/2021 7:50:00 PM | Wrestling
» Myles Amine defeated Nebraska's top-ranked Eric Schultz, 7-3, to capture the 197-pound Big Ten title, after previously taking second twice at 174 pounds (2018, '19).
» Mason Parris suffered his first loss of the season, falling to Minnesota's Gable Steveson, 12-4, to finish Big Ten runner-up at heavyweight for the second straight year.
» Michigan took fourth place in the team standings (92 points) with eight placewinners and eight NCAA automatic qualifiers.
Site: State College, Pa. (Bryce Jordan Center)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Team Standing: Fourth Place of 14 Teams (92 points)
Next U-M Event: Thu-Sat., March 18-20 -- at NCAA Championships (St. Louis, Mo.)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Graduate student Myles Amine scored three takedowns en route to the 197-pound individual title, headlining the No. 4-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team's fourth-place finish (92 points) at the 2021 Big Ten Conference Championships on Sunday (March 7) at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center. The Wolverines boasted eight individual placers and eight automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships.
Amine, twice a Big Ten runner-up at 174 pounds (2018, '19), earned to a 7-3 decision against Nebraska's top-ranked and previously unbeaten Eric Schultz in the 197-pound final. Amine scored a pair of takedowns in the first period, finishing on a single leg in the match's opening minute and adding a double leg about a minute later. The wrestlers traded escapes early in the second and third periods before Amine iced it with a counter takedown off a Nebraska high-crotch attempt in the final 15 seconds of the bout.
Amine, ranked second in the latest InterMat rankings, improved to 6-0 on the season and has defeated nationally-ranked opponents in each of his last five bouts, including No. 1 Schultz and Iowa's No. 3 Jacob Warner over the weekend. He is the first Michigan wrestler to capture a Big Ten title since 2018 and the first to do so at 197 pounds since Tyrel Todd in 2009.
Junior heavyweight Mason Parris had to settle for Big Ten runner-up for the second straight year, dropping a 12-4 major decision to Minnesota's top-ranked Gable Steveson for his first loss of the season. Steveson scored on five takedowns, including two apiece in the first and third periods.
Freshman Cameron Amine bounced back from his semifinal loss with two wrestleback wins to post a 4-1 tournament record and claim third place at 165 pounds in his Big Ten Championships debut. He earned bonus points with an overtime fall against Michigan State's Jake Tucker in the consolation semis, countering a low single shot to scramble and stick the Spartan at the 7:23 mark for his first pin of the season. Amine defeated Nebraska's 19th-ranked Peyton Robb, 4-1, in the third-place bout, earning a penalty point off an illegal cutback in the first period before icing it with a takedown and rideout in the third.
Sixth-year senior Logan Massa split a pair of wrestleback matches against top-10 opponents to claim fourth place at 174 pounds. He rallied to defeat Ohio State's sixth-ranked Kaleb Romero, 4-3, earning a stall point and escape to even the score before scoring on a third-period single leg for the go-ahead score. Massa, ranked fifth nationally, dropped his third-period match, 11-3, to Nebraska's second-ranked Mikey Labriola after a tough swing in the second period saw Massa driving for a single leg, unable to finish and immediately giving up a re-attack double. The Husker iced it with four back points off a roll attempt late in the period.
Fifth-year senior Kanen Storr took fifth place at 149 pounds for the third consecutive year with a third-period takedown and 5-3 decision against Indiana's Graham Rooks in his medal match. After struggling to finish on several single-leg shots in the first and second periods, he converted on a double leg out of a scramble midway through the third and rode long enough to lock up 1:01 in advantage time. Storr dropped a 6-1 decision to Rutgers' Mike Van Brill in the consolation semifinals after getting put to his back for four points off the edge of the mat late in the bout.
Michigan went 1-for-3 in its seventh-place matches, with freshman Dylan Ragusin claiming a wild 9-8 decision over Minnesota's 13th-ranked Patrick McKee at 125 pounds. Ragusin rallied from an early two-point deficit, scoring two takedowns and a reversal in the second period and riding off McKee's time advantage in the third before kicking the Gopher loose to even the score at 7-7. He hit a throw by, returned it hard for the go-ahead takedown and rode nearly the remainder of the bout to seal the win.
Senior/junior Drew Mattin fell to Illinois' Dylan Duncan, 6-2, in his seventh-place match at 141 pounds, while junior/sophomore Will Lewan medically forfeited out of his second straight match to claim eighth place at 157 pounds.
The Wolverines will take a two-week break to prepare for the NCAA Championships, scheduled for March 18-20 in St. Louis, Missouri. Michigan will send at least eight wrestlers to the national event and have an opportunity to add more when NCAA at-large selections are unveiled on Tuesday (March 9). NCAA seeds and full brackets will be announced on Wednesday (March 10).
Team Standings (Final)
1. Iowa               159.5 2. Penn State         124 3. Nebraska           105.5 4. MICHIGAN           92 5. Minnesota          77.5 6. Purdue             76 7. Northwestern       74 8. Michigan State     73.5 9. Ohio State         69.5 10. Rutgers             52 11. Illinois            32 12. Wisconsin           30.5 13. Indiana             22 14. Maryland            2
Michigan Results (Day 2)
Numbers listed are tournament seeds
125 Pounds -- #9 Dylan Ragusin
Seventh Place - dec. #4 Patrick McKee (Minnesota), 9-8
Finished in seventh place with a 3-2 record
133 Pounds -- #5 Jack Medley
*Ninth Place Semis - dec. Jackson Cockrell (Maryland), 8-5
* Ninth Place - dec. by Tucker Sjomeling (Nebraska), 11-6
Finished in 10th place with a 2-3 record
141 Pounds -- #8 Drew Mattin
Seventh Place - dec. by #5 Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 6-2
Finished in eighth place with a 1-3 record
149 Pounds -- #5 Kanen Storr
Consolations - dec. by #8 Mike Van Brill (Rutgers), 6-1
Fifth Place - dec. #10 Graham Rooks (Indiana), 5-3
Finished in fifth place with a 3-2 record
157 Pounds -- #6 Will Lewan
Seventh Place - medical forfeit by #10 Caleb Licking (Nebraska)
Withdrew to eighth place with a 2-1 record
165 Pounds -- #4 Cameron Amine
Consolations - pinned #8 Jake Tucker (Michigan State), 7:30
Third Place - dec. #7 Peyon Robb (Nebraska), 4-1
Finished in third place with a 4-1 record
174 Pounds -- #4 Logan Massa
Consolations - dec. #6 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State), 4-3
Third Place - dec. by #2 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), 11-3
Finished in fourth place with a 3-2 record
197 Pounds -- #2 Myles Amine
Final - dec. #1 Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 7-3
Finished as the 197-pound champion with a 3-0 record
Heavyweight -- #2 Mason Parris
Final - major dec. by #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota), 12-4
Finished as runner-up with a 2-1 record
* additional matches to determine ninth place
Players Mentioned
