The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 65 TOP TEN OLYMPIC SPORTS FRESHMEN The New York native also tallied three goals and one assist in seven games for the U.S. National U18 Team, who took home the bronze medal, in this year 's World Junior Championships. NHL Central Scouting had Beecher tabbed as the nation's No. 49 pros- pect. "Johnny is going to add some speed and versatility to our lineup," Muckalt said. "He's a power forward that will help us off the rush with his speed." 10. MICHELLE SIDOR Upper Saddle River, N.J. • Basketball ProspectsNation has the 5-8 guard pegged as a 4.5-star recruit and the No. 31 overall player in the country, while ESPN has her listed as a four- star and No. 67 overall. Sidor was named to the 2019 Naismith High School Girls Watch List for the coun- try's best high school player before taking home the 2019 NorthJersey. com Girls Basketball Sports Award. The guard was a three-time USA Today All-New Jersey first-team se- lection (2017-19), scoring in double figures in all 121 contests of her high school career. Her 3,268 career points are the sec- ond most in New Jersey history, and she is just the fourth athlete ever to reach the 3,000-point plateau in the state. Sidor also averaged at least 26 points per game in each of her four varsity seasons, with her 26.6 clip as a senior actually being her lowest mark. "She is just an incredible scorer who can really score the basketball in a variety of ways," U-M head women's basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "When you lose a player like Katelynn Flaherty or a shooter like Nicole Munger, you are always look- ing to fill that void. We feel like Mi- chelle can come in and really help us score. "She is probably one of the most driven individuals that I have ever met." ❏ Johnny Beecher was selected 30th overall in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins. PHOTO COURTESY USA HOCKEY Michigan's Top Three Incoming Men's Olympic Sports Classes 1. Track & Field/Cross Country — Ayden Owens (Wexford, Pa.), a transfer from USC with three seasons of eligibility, brings his world-class decathlon résumé to Ann Arbor at the top of a stellar men's track & field/cross country signing class. Owens is the No. 3 decathlete under 20 years old in world history and posted the second-best decathlon score by a freshman in NCAA history during his first year at USC. Nick Foster (Ann Arbor) and Josh Zeller (Workingham, England) add additional star value to the class with their high school and international accomplishments. Foster is the reigning Mr. Michigan Cross Country and adds his prowess on the track as well, posting the fastest high school mile in the nation in 2019 (4:03.11). Zeller is the fifth- ranked 110-meter hurdle U-20 athlete in the world and posted times in that event faster than any other 2019 American high school senior. Also part of a 14-man Michigan incoming group, Heath Baldwin (Kalamazoo, Mich.) brings his multi-event capability to the Wolverines, boasting 2019 Mr. Michigan Track & Field honors as a hurdler and high jumper. "We expect there to be several members of this recruiting class that will make an immediate difference for us at the Big Ten and national levels as soon as they arrive in Ann Arbor, and many more who will develop to that level during their times at Michigan," track & field head coach Jerry Clayton said to MGoBlue.com. "This is a well- rounded and very talented class that will help us [in] every event across the board." 2. Hockey — Cobbling together a top-10-level class from diverse sources, Michi- gan hockey's incoming eight-man 2019 class includes two grad transfers, a conven- tional transfer and two 2019 NHL first-round choices. The two high draft picks, defenseman Cam York (Anaheim, Calif.) and forward Johnny Beecher (Elmira, N.Y.), will boost the talent level of the roster immediately. York, the Philadelphia Flyers' first-round choice, will conveniently take a position running the point on the Michigan power play using his elite passing and skating skills to fill the spot vacated by Quinn Hughes, who signed a pro contract in the off- season. Beecher, the Boston Bruins' first-round pick, will bring offense with a power forward's mentality. Graduate transfers forward Jacob Hayhurst (from RPI) and defenseman Shane Swit- zer (from Boston University) will bring leadership and experience, while conventional transfer and Swedish native Emil Ohrvall (from RPI through Waterloo of the USHL) will try to transfer his scoring prowess to the collegiate level after a year off from the college ranks. "We are excited about our incoming class," Michigan hockey head coach Mel Pearson told MGoBlue.com. "They are an exciting group who are going to make an impact right away while improving our depth along with the 20 returners that we have coming back from last year's team." 3. Wrestling — Ranked No. 11 by InterMat and No. 12 by FloWrestling, the group is the first full one for Sean Bormet as head coach and features a pair of wrestlers ranked in the top 50 for the 2019 class. Kurt McHenry (Leesburg, Va.) and Cameron Amine (Brighton, Mich.) are the head- liners, but are joined by Noah Comar (Adrian, Mich.) and Cole Mattin (Delta, Ohio). Comar was a four-time state finalist and two-time champ, while Mattin also won a state gold medal. "While this is a light class in terms of quantity, its two anchors (Amine and McHenry) represent wrestlers that the Wolverines expect to perform at a championship level," InterMat noted. "McHenry is a multi-time Cadet world champion in freestyle, while Amine has a clear family lineage of success for the Maize and Blue. "Mattin is the younger brother of Drew, who has qualified for the NCAA Tourna- ment at 125 pounds the last two years." — Bob Miller