Michigan suffered a major blow Thursday when it was announced that 133-pounder Dylan Ragusin, a 2024 All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier, will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury during the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational earlier this month.

He will undergo surgery on the injured knee next month. 

"I recently suffered a tear in my ACL and LCL in my right knee (and) through conversations with my family and the coaching staff, I have decided to pursue the necessary surgery to get it fixed and endure the long recovery process," Ragusin posted to Instagram Thursday. "This means an end for my senior season. My heart is broken and it tears me apart knowing that I cannot go and do what I love (but) lucky for me I have an unreal support system that I know will always have my back. The plan is to just take everything day by day."

He ended the post with "Amor Fati", a Latin phrase that translates to "love of fate" and is associated with the philosophy that good can come from enduring difficult situations. 

Ragusin soon received an outpouring of support.

"Big Dylan Rags fan! You’ll be back," commented former teammate Mason Parris, the 2023 Hodge Trophy winner, 2023 World Championships medalist and 2024 Olympian. 

Fortunately, the fifth-year senior's college career is not over as Ragusin will finally utilize his redshirt and return next season which makes a decision he made during last season hugely significant in hindsight.

Ragusin originally planned to redshirt in 2023-24, but voluntarily reversed that choice when asked by coach Sean Bormet to do so in January to fill a gap in the lineup ironically caused by injury. 

He wound up having his best season yet with the Wolverines, placing fifth at the NCAA Championships, second in the Big Ten Tournament and finishing with a 28-4 record, including 14 bonus-point victories.

Ragusin has been a fixture in the Wolverines' lineup since his true freshman season in 2020-21 when he earned the starting role at 125 pounds and qualified for the NCAA Championships. 

Moving up to 133, Ragusin reached the round of 12 and round of 16 at the next two NCAA Championships and finished third and fifth at the next two Big Ten Tournaments. He boasts an 85-30 career record with 36 bonus-point victories.

Charging out of the gate this season, Ragusin won his first six matches, including three technical falls and two major decisions, and was #4 in the 133-pound rankings. Then, his nagging knee problem became more of an issue and Ragusin lost his final three Cliff Keen matches to finish eighth.

"Season-ending injuries are always a tough pill to swallow and we know how disappointed Dylan is to not finish out the year," Bormet said in a statement posted on Michigan's athletics website. "But among Dylan, our staff and his family, we are all in agreement that surgery is the best option -- and to refocus on coming back healthy and ready to go next season. Dylan means a lot to our program, his teammates and coaches. His sacrifice for the team last year speaks to his character, selflessness and love for Michigan wrestling. He is a terrific leader, and I know that will continue even when he can't be on the mat."

Redshirt junior Wilfried Tanefeu is the only other wrestler listed at 133 pounds on the roster. He has not seen match action yet this season and has a 7-17 career record. 

Explosive Start For Cardenas

To say Jacob Cardenas has gone on the offensive thus far in his first season with the Wolverines is putting it mildly.

The two-time All-American, who transferred from Cornell following last season, is 8-0, including six technical falls, a pin and a major decision. 

Cardenas, ranked #2 at 197 pounds behind Iowa's Stephen Buchanan, has already equaled his tech total of last season when he went 27-8 and took fourth at the NCAA Championships. 

The three-time NCAA qualifier has outscored opponents by a dominant 120-6 margin with five shutouts.

"I'm not sure about a specific reason for my start, but I'm grateful to get those bonus-point wins because I always look start matches as strongly as possible and pile up points as quickly as I can," he said. "I just really become dialed in the days before matches and focus on what I need to do to generate offense. My conditioning is strong, so that's probably a factor because I found right away how much conditioning we are put through at Michigan."

 Another factor, Cardenas emphasized, was working extensively with assistant coach and 1992 Olympic champion Kevin Jackson immediately after arriving on campus in late June to prepare for his third U-23 World Championships appearance.

"Being able to work with coach Jackson right away on my freestyle preparation was certainly one of the reasons I came to Michigan," he said. "We spent summer really stressing the best ways to generate offense from my feet. All that one-on-one work with coach Jackson combined with the conditioning has helped everything fall into place, giving me the stamina to grab a lead and keep adding to it." 

Cardenas, who boasts an 80-22 career mark, stressed the entire coaching staff has been valuable to his recent success.

"Coach Bormet, (assistant coaches) Josh Churella and David Bolyard, yes, I've picked all their brains to see how they can help me add to my arsenal," he said. "They have all been amazing and I'm grateful for that."

In October, Cardenas captured his second U-23 World Championships silver medal in three years. He took bronze last year. 

The finals match against Iran's Amir Hossein Firouzpour, now a five-time world age group champion, was tied 4-4 before Firouzpour prevailed, 11-4. 

Cardenas knocked off 2024 World Junior champion Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov and 2022 U-20 World Championships silver medalist Andro Margishvili, among others, to reach the title match. 

The U-23 World Championships, always serves a springboard to the college season for Cardenas, even though he has to transition back to folkstyle afterward.

"I'm wrestling some of the best guys in the world and I feel it's a big advantage going into the college season because competing hard at events like that makes me better," he said. "I really wanted to come away with gold this time, but it was a good showing. Getting back to folkstyle after that is not a big deal to me because I usually do my best work on my feet anyway."

Though Cardenas officially announced his transfer to Michigan in early April, he had been leaning toward committing to the Wolverines since the previous fall after taking an interesting approach the transfer portal.

He actually entered it on Aug. 20 and visited Michigan following last year's U-23 World Championships. 

"I knew that 2023-24 was going to be my last at Cornell, so I wanted to explore my transfer options as soon as possible and, as it turns out, Michigan was the best overall fit for me," he said. "Besides working great coaches who are also really good people, I'm working with outstanding training partners and everybody is on the same page and getting along very well. It's just been a great environment to be a part of."

Cardenas recently stood atop the 197-pound podium at the Cliff Keen Invitational, pinning NCAA qualifier and 19th-ranked Evan Bates (Northwestern) the final. He blanked two-time NCAA qualifier and 10th-ranked Andy Smith (Virginia), 12-0, to reach the title match. 

Cardenas was fourth at the tournament a year ago.

"It was nice to reach the top of the podium at Cliff Keen because Las Vegas is such a great wrestling atmosphere, but it is just a stepping stone to my bigger goals," he said. "I want to be Big Ten champion and then win my first NCAA title, but I'm really excited about going though Big Ten duals and continuing to enjoy the ride."

Cardenas lost his only career meeting with Buchanan, dropping a 9-4 decision in the third place match at last year's NCAA Championships. 

His biggest wins have come against four-time All-American Rocky Elam (Missouri), two-time All-American Michael Beard (Lehigh) and All-Americans Stephen Little (Little Rock), Louie DePrez (Binghamton) and Jake Woodley (Oklahoma).

"For the rest of the season, I'll be focusing on the tasks at hand, taking shots, putting up points, getting in a grove and feeling good," he said. "Hopefully, that will lead to some great things."

Heindselman Makes It Official

On Dec. 2, Michigan officially announced the addition of heavyweight Josh Heindselman,, a four-time NCAA qualifier for Oklahoma before entering the transfer portal following last season.

He will join the Wolverines lineup next month at the beginning of the school's second semester, but went 4-0 while wrestling unattached at the Cleveland Open last month. 

Heindselman, currently ranked #12 and fifth among Big Ten wrestlers, has actually been in Ann Arbor for more than two months, training with members of the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club.

With the Sooners, he reached the round of 12 at last year's NCAA Championships and the round of 16 in 2023. Heindselman's resume also include two top-four finishes at the Big 12 Championships. He owns an 82-46 career record.