The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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"Ben Ralston is doing a great job for us," McFarland said. "He's handfighting well. He doesn't have quite the amount of experience as you'd like. Ben has done a tremendous job, and I think he's getting better, but we have to continue to improve there." Yates, who dropped from 174 pounds to 165 this season, has big goals. When he first committed to dropping the weight, the Michigan coaches told him, "If anyone can beat top-ranked Penn State 165-pounder David Taylor, you've got a shot at it." Yates took third at 165 pounds at the Cliff Keen Invitational with a 5-1 record, the lone loss a 10-3 decision to No. 3-ranked Nick Sulzer of Virginia. As of mid-December, Yates was 8-2 and ranked eighth in the country. "In order to win an NCAA title, you're going to have to do everything right," Yates said. "At 174, I could make the weight class without being that disciplined, but at 165 I have to be on top of my game, focus on my diet, get extra workouts it. It forces me to be on cue with everything I'm doing." Originally on track to redshirt this season, freshman Brian Murphy, the sixth-best 152-pounder in the 2013 class according to InterMat. com, proved too good to keep on the sidelines. He has worked his way into the lineup at 157 pounds and was 8-2 in his first 10 matches, including a fifthplace finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational with a 4-2 record after nearly upsetting fourth-ranked James Green of Nebraska in the semifinals in a 7-5 sudden-victory decision. Murphy has risen to a No. 16 national ranking. "Brian Murphy is a great competitor," McFarland said. "He knows how to win. He's going to be a great one for us. He is right there with the topranked guys in his weight class, as a true freshman. He's a workhorse. He approaches everything with the right attitude, and he will try to outwork everyone in the room." After a 3-0 start at the Cliff Keen Invitational, fifth-year senior 149-pounder Eric Grajales was on the wrong end of a tough call in a 7-6 loss to Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn (ranked sixth) in the semifinals, and dropped his next two matches to fall to 3-3 for the event. After the tournament, Grajales was 5-5 and ranked No. 13 nationally. "Eric is right there, but he needs to continue to practice those habits that will increase his chances of being successful and the Big Ten and NCAA Championships," McFarland said. "Right now, there are some lapses in his wrestling. He has the ability to beat anybody in the country, as we have seen. "We have to get him more consistent. He didn't do well in the backside of the tournament. He had a really tough call in the semis, and that was bugging him, and he didn't compete as well in his last two matches." The Wolverines have another firstyear starter at 141 pounds, with redshirt freshman Angelo Latora cracking the lineup. Through eight matches, he was 4-4. "I am really impressed with Angelo, because he has made a real commitment," McFarland said. "He's a guy right now who is gaining a lot of confidence. He is figuring out how good he can really be right now, because