Michigan
Central Michigan
Wolverines to Wrap Dual Slate at Central Michigan
2/19/2026 2:04:00 PM | Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (8-6) will close out its dual-meet schedule this Sunday (Feb. 22) when the Wolverines travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to take on in-state foe Central Michigan (9-6) at 2 p.m. at McGuirk Arena.
Notes
• The Wolverines have eight wrestlers ranked nationally at their respective weight classes, including three in the top 10 according to InterMat: No. 10 Beau Mantanona (174), No. 7 Brock Mantanona (184) and No. 4 Taye Ghadiali (Hwt).
• Central Michigan is 9-6 this season and is coming off a split weekend, earning a 21-16 win against Kent State (Feb. 13) before falling to George Mason 19-18 at home on Sunday (Feb. 15). Two Chippewa wrestlers are ranked nationally at their respective weights: No. 21 Mason Shrader (157 pounds) and No. 29 Bryan Caves (Hwt). Michigan owns a 30-7 advantage in the all-time series against Central Michigan, dating back to 1982, and has claimed each of the last six, including a 31-11 win at home last season.
• Graduate student heavyweight Taye Ghadiali went 8-0 in Big Ten Conference duals this season with five total ranked wins, including top-10 opponents in three of his last four bouts -- all four of those opponents are now currently ranked in the top 10. He defeated Iowa's No. 8 Ben Kueter 10-0 and Wisconsin's No. 9 Braxton Amos, 2-1 SV, this past weekend to move up to No. 4 in the latest rankings. Ghadiali leads the team with a 19-2 record and boasts bonus points in 12 of his wins -- one fall, seven technical falls and three major decisions.
• Redshirt freshman Beau Mantanona scored the highest-ranked win of his collegiate career to date with a 6-3 overtime victory against Iowa's No. 3 Patrick Kennedy at 174 pounds, rallying with a late score in the third period and another in the sudden victory frame. He is 16-5 with 10 bonus wins and four falls, including a wrestleback pin against Iowa State's No. 8 MJ Gaitan at CKLV. He owns three total wins over top-10 opponents this season -- Rutgers' No. 10 Lenny Pinto was the other -- and two one-score losses to top-five opponents in Kharchla and Nebraska's No. 4 Christopher Minto (4-1 SV).
• Redshirt freshman Brock Mantanona is also ranked top 10, moving up to No. 7 after winning a late scramble en route to a 4-1 decision against Ohio State's then-No. 7 Dylan Fishback on Feb. 1. It was his sixth ranked win of the season and his second over a top-10 opponent, adding to a 10-8 decision against Nebraska's sixth-ranked Silas Allred at the National Duals. Mantanona is 14-5 on the season with nine bonus wins, including his first pin against Northwestern's J.D. Perez.
• The Mantanona brothers have combined for a 30-10 record and 19 bonus wins at back-to-back weights in the Wolverine lineup.
• Graduate student Dylan Ragusin earned a pair of bonus wins during the Wolverines' weekend road trip with an 11-2 major decision at Iowa and a 19-3 tech fall at Wisconsin. Ragusin went 6-2 in duals after missing the first semester while still recovering from his season-ending injury a year ago. He is 93-34 in his collegiate career.
• Graduate student Lachlan McNeil is also inching closer to the 100-win milestone with a 94-30 career record, including a 12-5 mark this season at Michigan.
• Redshirt freshman Cameron Catrabone leads the Wolverines with six pins on the season at 157 pounds and has scored bonus points in six of his last 10 matches with a 14-6 overall record. Catrabone rallied to a 5-4 decision against Iowa's No. 14 Jordan Williams with a late takedown. Catrabone's father, three-time Michigan All-American Jeff Catrabone (1995-98), graduated with U-M's career pins record -- and now ranks second -- with 55.
• Michigan crowned three champions at the JCU Open -- the final open tournament of the season -- with redshirt freshman Teddy Flores, junior Sergio Lemley and redshirt junior Codei Khawaja winning at 133, 149 and 184 pounds, respectively. It was the fourth tournament title for Lemley, who is redshirting this season after bumping up from 141 pounds. He boasts a stellar 22-1 record with 16 bonus wins.
• Eight different Wolverines have made debuts in the U-M starting lineup this season, most recently freshman Cooper Hilton, who earned an 11-5 decision against Northwestern's August Hibler in his only dual appearance, and redshirt freshman Justin Gates, who bumped up to 165 pounds after Dylan Gilcher's season-ending injury. The other six were victorious in U-M's dual opener against VMI (Nov. 9). Freshmen Gauge Botero and Eren Sement made their collegiate debuts at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively, while graduate students Diego Sotelo (125), McNeil (149) and Ghadiali (Hwt) all made their official Michigan debuts. Walters, who opened his college career with back-to-back redshirts after coming in with an injury, made his long-awaited varsity debut at 197 pounds.
Players Mentioned
