Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Parris Wins Heavyweight Title, Wolverines Take Fifth Place at B1G Championships
3/5/2023 8:49:00 PM | Wrestling
» Mason Parris defeated Penn State's second-ranked Greg Kerkvliet 5-3 in overtime to capture the heavyweight Big Ten title after previously finishing runner-up twice (2020, '21).
» Will Lewan (157 pounds) and Matt Finesilver (184) took third place, Cameron Amine (165) was fourth, Dylan Ragusin (133) placed fifth and Jack Medley (125) and Chance Lamer (149) placed seventh.
» Michigan took fifth place in the team standings (84.5 points) with seven placewinners and seven NCAA automatic qualifiers.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Fifth-year senior Mason Parris finished on an overtime takedown to clinch the heavyweight individual title, headlining the University of Michigan wrestling team's fifth-place finish (84.5 points) at the 2023 Big Ten Conference Championships on Sunday (March 5) at Crisler Center. The Wolverines boasted seven individual placers and automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. Penn State won with 147 points.
Parris, twice a Big Ten runner-up at heavyweight (2020, '21), earned a 5-3 decision against Penn State's No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet in the championship final. Parris led for most of the bout after hitting a fireman's carry just 45 seconds into the first period. He built more than a minute of riding time but it ticked down to 56 seconds before he earned his escape in the third. He was hit with his second stall warning after a pair of PSU half shots late in the third to even the score and forced overtime, when he spun behind Kerkvliet on a go behind and ran through him to complete the winning takedown.
Parris, ranked No. 1 in the national rankings since his 3-1 dual win over Kerkvliet in January, improved to 28-0 on the season and has defeated top-10 opponents in three of his last five bouts. He is the first Michigan wrestler to capture a Big Ten heavyweight since Airron Richardson in 1998.
Fifth-year senior Will Lewan, seeded sixth and ranked 15th, bounced back from a quarterfinal defeat to claim third place at 157 pounds with a 5-1 record. He earned a 3-2 decision over Northwestern's 16th-rankend Trevor Chumbley in the medal round, transitioning a go behind to a single-leg takedown in the first period. He also avenged an earlier-season loss with a 3-1 decision over Michigan State's 12th-ranked Chase Saldate with an overtime go behind.
Michigan traded a pair of forfeits in its other two third-place bouts, with graduate student Matt Finesilver earning the win -- and a pair of bonus points -- to place third at 184 pounds and senior/junior Cameron Amine claim fourth at 165 pounds.
Finesilver, seeded fourth and ranked eighth, rallied to defeat Nebraska's 15th-ranked Lenny Pinto 8-2 in the consolation semifinals. After giving up the initial takedown in the first period, he broke it open in the second, finishing on a single and quickly transitioning it into a four-point bow and arrow.
Amine also defeated Nebraska in the consolation semis, winning a wild one against Bubba Wilson 3-1 in the tiebreaker. After just missing on a pair of single-leg attempts in the sudden-victory frame, Amine started down first in the tiebreaker and was awarded early points for locked hands and escape. Nebraska challenged the former and won, wiping both off the board, but Amine was again awarded a locked-hands point -- on a Michigan challenge -- and escape to take the two-point lead. Wilson started neutral in the second go and could not quite a quality shot off as Amine held on to win.
Junior/sophomore Dylan Ragusin split a pair of top-10 matchups to take fifth place at 133 pounds and avenged an earlier season loss to Ohio State's eighth-ranked Jesse Mendez with a 5-3 decision in the medal round. Ragusin, seeded fifth and ranked 11th, worked out of a deep single shot in the first period then converted on one of his own on the restart midway through the frame. He built his riding time in the second -- finishing with 1:11 in the bout -- and stayed on the attack in the third, just missing on a pair of deep single shots. Ragusin dropped a 6-1 decision to Illinois' ninth-ranked Lucas Byrd in the consolation semifinals after giving up takedowns in the first and late in the third.
Graduate student Jack Medley fell to Rutgers' Dean Peterson 7-1 in his seventh-place match at 125 pounds, while sophomore/freshman Chance Lamer had a double forfeit in his placement match to take seventh place at 149 pounds.
The Wolverines will take a two-week break to prepare for the NCAA Championships, scheduled for March 16-18 in Tulsa, Okla. Michigan will send at least seven wrestlers to the national event and have an opportunity to add more when NCAA at-large selections are unveiled on Tuesday (March 7). NCAA seeds and full brackets will be announced on Wednesday (March 8).
Team Standings (Final)
1. Penn State            147.0 2. Iowa                  134.5 3. Nebraska              104.5 4. Ohio State             99.0 5. MICHIGAN               84.5 6. Minnesota              79.0 7. Northwestern          78.5 8. Wisconsin              55.5 9. Purdue                 47.0 10. Illinois               46.5 11. Rutgers                32.0 12. Indiana                30.0 13. Michigan State       28.0 14. Maryland               24.0
Michigan Results (Day 2)
Numbers listed are tournament seeds
125 Pounds -- #9 Jack Medley
Seventh Place - dec. by #8 Dean Peterson (Rutgers), 7-1
Finished in eighth place with a 2-3 record
133 Pounds -- #5 Dylan Ragusin
Consolations - dec. by #3 Lucas Byrd (Illinois), 6-1
Fifth Place - dec. #2 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), 5-3
Finished in fifth place with a 3-2 record
149 Pounds -- #9 Chance Lamer
Seventh Place - vs. #8 Ethen Miller (Maryland), DFF
Finished in seventh place with a 2-2 record
157 Pounds -- #6 Will Lewan
Consolations - dec. #4 Chase Saldate (Michigan State), 3-1 SV
Third Place - dec. #8 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern), 3-2
Finished in third place with a 5-1 record
165 Pounds -- #2 Cameron Amine
Consolations - dec. #10 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska), 3-1 TB
Third Place - forfeit by Carson Kharchla (Ohio State)
Finished in fourth place with a 2-1 record
184 Pounds -- #4 Matt Finesilver
Consolations - dec. #7 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska), 8-2
Third Place - forfeit #3 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota)
Finished in third place with a 3-1 record
Heavyweight -- #1 Mason Parris
Finals - dec. #2 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State), 5-3 SV
Finished in first place with a 3-0 record
Players Mentioned
