The Wolverine

January 2022

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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56 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2022   OLYMPIC SPORTS LOGAN MASSA'S RETURN GIVES WRESTLING TEAM ANOTHER BIG BOOST A Dec. 7 tweet by head wrestling coach Sean Bormet that included a photo and three simple words — "those who stay …" — said it all. Logan Massa was pictured wearing U-M gear while standing next to fellow gradu- ate students Myles Amine and Stevan Micic, hinting that the two-time All-American (third at 165 pounds as a redshirt freshman and fifth at 174 last season) will return for one more season with the Maize and Blue. Sure enough, Massa wrestled in the Cleveland State Open Dec. 11, and put together five dominant performances. En route to the title at 174 pounds, Massa recorded two tech falls, a pin, a major decision and one regular decision. He was one of four Wolverines to win individual championships at the event, joining fifth-year senior Drew Mattin (133), redshirt sophomore Pat Nolan (141) and senior Mason Parris (285). Massa's return means the Wolverines will have seven All-Americans in their lineup — and all but one have placed among the top four at an NCAA Championship event in their career: 125-pound transfer Nick Suriano (all-time best of first at 133 pounds in 2019), Micic (second at 133 pounds in 2018), Massa (third in 2017 at 165 pounds), Amine (three-time third-place finisher), transfer Patrick Brucki (fourth in 2019 at 197 pounds) and Parris (second in 2021 at heavyweight). That gives U-M a better chance to compete with reigning national champion Iowa and last year's runner-up, Penn State, the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country. "This is the final cog, I think, that Coach Bormet needs for this team to really make a push," college wrestling expert Christian Pyles recently said on FloWrestling Radio Live. "Now that Massa is back and it's official, the team race is officially on. There's more juice, maximum juice." Bormet feels good about his roster ahead of the second semester, which begins with a marquee dual against No. 6 Arizona State in Austin, Texas, Jan. 3, before the Big Ten slate begins with highly anticipated matchups at Ohio State (Jan. 14) and home against Penn State (Jan. 21). With so many graduate returners, there is no doubt the Wolverines have their sights set on the NCAA Championships in Detroit in March. "We're capable of having guys on the podium at every weight class," he told The Wolverine. "We have a lot of guys who are in contention and have the goal of winning an individual NCAA championship, and that's the overarching goal of the team. The goal is to compete and do everything possible to win an NCAA championship as a team in Detroit." His daily focus, though, remains on "the process of development and improving." "Pushing yourself, pushing your teammates and also having the most fun we've ever had," Bormet said of each team member's goals. "We've got guys back for extra years that I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to coach collegiately as much as I'm getting to, and I'm very thankful for it. Not only do we need to do the work, but we also need to enjoy it." — Clayton Sayfie year senior Devin Meyrer (indoor 5,000 meters) and junior Tom Brady (indoor 3,000 meters). Others to watch include junior hurdler Josh Zeller and sopho- more sprinter Dubem Amene, and some strong relay squads. The women should also have some strong relay units and are led by a pair of All-Americans, senior Aurora Rynda (indoor distance medley relay, outdoor 800 meters) and sophomore Ziyah Hol- man (indoor distance medley relay). "We've got some good pieces on both sides, but it will take a whole team ef- fort to be successful," Sullivan noted. The Wolverines also added pieces to both the men's and women's teams that have had success in international com- petition. "We've got a couple of exciting fresh- men," Sullivan said. "Henry Johnson out of Great Britain was a finalist in the European under-20 championships in the 800-meter. We added 400-meter runner Jack Juds from South Africa on the long-sprint side. Those are the two really important additions for us. "Savannah Sutherland was a medal- ist at the World Junior Championships in the 400-meter hurdles. She's going to be a real help for us on our relay in- doors. Then as we move outdoors, she's going to be a pretty big point scorer for us in the 400-meter hurdles. Those are a few of the people that we are excited about." The expectation for both squads is to compete for conference titles, much like the other programs in the athletic department. It is still a work in progress, but Sullivan is committed to keep push- ing for growth. "The overall objectives of the program are to put ourselves in contention to compete for Big Ten championships," he stated. "Year-over-year, that means be- ing a top-three team in the conference. We are very close there on the women's side. There are a few more question marks on the men's side, so we will see how quickly we can rebuild that side of things. "Those are our long-term objectives. It is hard to put a finger on short-term objectives until we get an idea of what the rest of the conference looks like." Both the men's and women's pro- grams kick off competition Jan. 8 at the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor. They will spend seven weeks indoors before moving to outdoor competition March 19. — Anthony Broome Seventh-year senior and two-time All-American Logan Massa (right, with fellow All-Americans Stevan Micic, left, and Myles Amine, center) is returning for his final season of eligibility. PHOTO VIA TWITTER @SEAN_BORMET

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