Michigan
Michigan State Open
11/4/2026 2:43:00 PM | Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (1-0) will send more than 20 wrestlers to compete in the annual Michigan State Open, slated for a 9 a.m. start on Saturday (Nov. 7) at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Mich.
Notes
• Michigan kicked off the dual slate with a 50-0 win at VMI last Sunday (Nov. 1), earning bonus points in all 10 bouts to tie its program records for most points in a dual and largest margin of victory. The Wolverines previously defeated Marquette 50-0 at the 2001 Wendy's Classic dual tournament.
• Through 105 years of U-M wrestling history, Michigan has posted a 72-31-2 record in its first dual meet of the season.
• Four Wolverine freshmen won in their collegiate debuts at VMI: true freshmen Henry Aslikyan, Moses Mendoza and Kellen Wolbert, who won in three straight bouts at the lowerweights to kick off the dual, and redshirt freshman Niko Sahakian at heavyweight. Josh Knudten also earned the first dual-meet win of his career with a major decision at 174 pounds.
• Aslikyan and Mendoza were among three Wolverines to win by fall against the Keydets, joining Cameron Catrabone in his debut up a weight at 165 pounds. Catrabone shared the team lead -- with Beau Mantanona -- with six pins last season and now has 12 in his career. His father, Jeff Catrabone, boasted 55 career pins to graduate with Michigan's record; he now ranks second in program history.
• The Wolverines stayed put in the national weight-class rankings after the opening weekend; U-M has five wrestlers ranked top 10 at their respective weight classes, including three ranked in the top five, according to FloWrestling: No. 5 Catrabone (165), No. 4 Beau Mantanona (174) and No. 5 Brock Mantanona (184). Sergio Lemley also ranks No. 12 by FloWrestling -- and No. 10 by InterMat -- at 149 pounds, while Daniel Zepeda lists No. 9 at 157 pounds.
• Michigan crowned three champions at last season's MSU Open. Lemley and Codei Khawaja captured titles at 149 and 184 pounds, respectively, in the open division, while Justin Gates claimed the 157-pound freshman/sophomore title in his college debut.
• Michigan returned three All-Americans in Catrabone, Beau Mantanona and Brock Mantanona. All three placed at NCAAs for the first time last year -- Catrabone and Brock Mantanona in their first NCAA appearances at 157 and 184 pounds, respectively, and Beau in his second at 174 pounds. It is the most returning Michigan All-Americans since the 2021-22 season. When adding All-America transfers into the program, U-M had three returning All-Americans last season and seven in 2023-24.
• The Wolverines returned three additional starters, including two NCAA qualifiers, in 2026-27. Lemley is a two-time NCAA qualifier at 141 pounds, but redshirted last season and went 22-1 at 149 pounds. Dylan Gilcher also qualified two seasons ago at 149 pounds before missing most of last year after suffering a season-ending injury at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December.
• Michigan welcomed a talented 10-man freshman class to Ann Arbor this fall. The class, ranked No. 4 nationally for the Class of 2026, combined for 26 state titles over their high school careers and features seven wrestlers ranked among the top recruits by at least one wrestling outlet, most notably No. 11 Mendoza, No. 13 Wolbert, No. 15 Haakon Peterson and No. 23 Aslikyan. With the NCAA's new 5-in-5 rule and the elimination of redshirts, U-M could potentially have several freshmen in its lineup this season.
• The Wolverines also added Zepeda from the transfer portal with four years of eligibility remaining. Zepeda, the older brother of Moses Mendoza, posted a 9-1 record for NC State last season, taking first place at the Reno Tournament of Champions and second at the Southern Scuffle before injury prematurely ended his season. A three-time California state champion for Gilroy High School, Zepeda was the No. 8 overall prospect in FloWrestling's Class of 2025.
• Zepeda and Gilcher will not be immediately available as both continue to return from season-ending knee surgeries in January. Both will likely be cleared for competition before the end of the first semester.
• Ron Weiser Head Wrestling Coach Sean Bormet is in his ninth season at the helm of the Wolverine program. Named the 2022 Big Ten and NWCA Coach of the Year, Bormet has guided the Wolverines to a 73-28 dual-meet record, including a 42-22 mark in Big Ten duals, a Big Ten title (2022) and four top-five NCAA finishes, including trophy finishes in 2022 and 2024. Bormet's leadership has produced two NCAA champions (Nick Suriano, Mason Parris) and 27 NCAA All-Americans, along with four NWCA All-Americans during the COVID-19-canceled 2019-20 season.
