Lineup Look: A New Era Starting For The Michigan Wolverines
Lineup Look: A New Era Starting For The Michigan Wolverines
Taking a look at the potential 2018-19 lineup for the Michigan Wolverines, the first year of the Sean Bormet era in Ann Arbor.
For nearly two decades, Joe McFarland captained the ship for the Michigan Wolverines. The “Silver Fox” brought two team trophies back to Ann Arbor during his tenure, and now Sean Bormet takes the helm of a program that seems to be in great position for the next several years.
After tying for fourth place with NC State at the NCAA championships in Cleveland, Michigan loses three All-Americans in Dom Abounader, Kevin Beazley, and Adam Coon. All three will stick around for their senior level careers with the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club, and Coon just made the Greco world team last month.
But enough looking back, it’s time to look forward. Bormet was an NCAA finalist for McFarland during his time with the Wolverines, and spent the last four years as the associate head coach. Now taking charge, he’ll lead a squad featuring NCAA finalist Stevan Micic, two-time All-Americans Alec Pantaleo and Myles Amine, and 2017 AA Logan Massa.
Michigan 2018-19 Projected Lineup
125: Austin Assad/Drew Mattin
133: Stevan Micic
141: Kanen Storr
149: Malik Amine
157: Alec Pantaleo
165: Logan Massa
174: Myles Amine
184: Jelani Embree
197: Jackson Strigow
285: Luke Ready/Zachery Nemec
Not too many lineup question marks, a very strong team that can contend for a team trophy once again. The three major bits of intrigue are who starts at 125, will Alec Pantaleo drop back down to 149, and does Mason Parris wrestle right away?
125 Pounds
Some options here for the coaching staff, and both interestingly enough are from Ohio. Drew Mattin qualified for the national tournament as a true freshman, and Austin Assad has proven himself capable when healthy. Michigan should get an NCAA qualifier either way, and Mattin has a redshirt to play with, so the smart money is probably on Assad if he can stay on the mat. At the U.S. Open, Assad beat Zane Richards, and has registered wins over NCAA qualifiers Shakur Laney, Ben Thornton, Brent Fleetwood, and Brock Hudkins during his college career.
At the Junior Trials, Mattin went 0-2 at 61kg. Then, in Akron for U23 trials, both went 57kg. Mattin went 4-2 and did not place, while Assad lost in the quarters and wound up third. Including in that was a common opponent of Gabe Townsell, who Mattin lost to 12-2 and Assad beat 10-0.
133 Pounds
Adding a senior level European bronze medal to his already sterling resume, Stevan Micic is probably the safest bet on this Wolverine squad to score 18 or more points next year in Pittsburgh. Micic will be a junior at the end of 2019, so Bormet and staff still have two years left to try to get him a national title.
141 Pounds
The addition of Kanen Storr shores up a weight where Michigan has not scored team points at NCAAs since 2014, when Stephen Dutton placed seventh. Storr made the UWW Junior Open finals last year at 66kg, and was fifth this year at 65kg. With Storr having three years left and Micic having two, it will be interesting to see how Michigan works in Joey Silva and Ben Freeman over the next several seasons.
149 Pounds
Malik Amine should once again man the spot for Michigan in his final season on campus. The wildcard is if Alec Pantaleo can somehow shrink his body back down to 149, as it is rumored Micah Jordan is doing as well. Based on seeing Pantaleo multiple times this season, that doesn’t seem possible, but winning national titles will make a man do crazy things.
157 Pounds
If, as just postulated, Pantaleo does not drop down to 149, he still remains the one person besides Isaiah Martinez to give Jason Nolf a scare in the past two years. He added another All-American finish to his resume this past season, and beat Ryan Deakin and Dylan Ness twice each between the U.S. Open and WTT challenge tournament, so it's clear he's still one of the best 157-pounders.
165 Pounds
Logan Massa clearly was not at 100% throughout the season after getting hurt at CKLV, but he still managed to beat an All-American in Alex Marinelli this season. He didn't place at NCAAs after getting third as a freshman, but a summer off and rehabilitating his knee leaves him as a Top-5 guy coming back next year. Like several guys on this team, a finals appearance is not out of the question.
174 Pounds
With two years remaining, Myles Amine seems as good a bet as any to knock off Mark Hall or Zahid Valencia at 174. Amine had Valencia on the ropes in the NCAA semis, scoring the first two takedowns of the match, and both of his matches with Hall have been one point losses. He also had two wins over four-time All-American Bo Jordan, and split with Jordan Kutler. Amine is unquestionably a Top-5 guy at this weight.
184 Pounds
The Michigan staff timed this weight perfectly, as Jelani Embree has four years of eligibility the year after Dom Abounader graduated with his first All-American honor. Embree is a dynamo on his feet, who finished third at both the Junior Open and Junior Trials. He went 15-2 during his redshirt year and, if he can continue to improve on the mat, will be at the very least an NCAA qualifier level replacement for Abounader.
197 Pounds
It was a rough ending to Kevin Beazley's career, but he bounced back from injury to make a Greco national team. The favorite to replace him will be Jackson Striggow, who beat Beazley in a wrestle-off and appeared to at least be NCAA qualifier caliber. He has beaten ranked opponents, wrestled in the 2017 Big Ten championships, and placed at Big Tens. Andrew Davison and JT Correll will provide depth at the weight.
285 Pounds
All the new heavyweight has to do is replace someone who made the NCAA finals, made Final X, and earned a spot on the Greco world team, no big deal. It is likely that one of two redshirt freshmen in Luke Ready or Zachery Nemec will man that spot, and incoming freshman Mason Parris will redshirt as he bulks up. Now it's certainly possible that, as it gets closer to tournament time, Parris proves to be too valuable a piece, but the plan for now is to redshirt Parris.