The 2022 Big Ten champions will have some big holes to fill in their lineup, losing Olympic bronze medalist Myles Amine, as well as multiple time All American Logan Massa, and most importantly 2x National Champion Nick Suriano.
Can they possibly recreate the success they had this past season? Maybe but it will be a tough path for the team.
125- Jack Medley
Medley was a 2 year starter for the Wolverines at 125 and 133. Kind of got booted out of the lineup when Nick Suriano decided to transfer to Michigan. With the practice partners that he has had in the room this past year with Suriano, Micic, Bajrang there is no doubt he has improved a ton so he will be looking to have a big season this year.
Coming into his senior season he did qualify for nationals back in 2020 when the tournament was cancelled, and he has a 69-43 career record.
133- Dylan Ragusin
Just rough draws at nationals running into Michael McGee of ASU and Lucas Byrd of Illinois back to back booting him out of the tournament with a round of 12 finish. Ragusin qualified for the national tournament as a freshman as well down at 125 pounds.
He will look to finally get on that podium this year and with a couple guys gone from 133 it should be a bit easier for the Sophomore.
141- Drew Mattin
Mattin will have some big shoes to fill with Micic gone, even though he might not have performed the best at 141 last season their is no doubt he was a vital part of this Michigan lineup for a while.
Looking at Mattin he has been very good during his career finishing in the round of 16 twice and qualifying for the tournament in 2021 as well. He did a lot at 125 and 133 which begs the question of how he will do now at 141. He has looked good in my opinion when I have seen him wrestle so he should be heading back to the national tournament and catch a few wins there.
149- Chance Lamer
Lamer will be one of the big guys to watch on this team coming off redshirt. 17-2 as a redshirt last season he could very well be seeing himself a spot on the podium as a freshman.
157- Will Lewan
Some people had their doubts about Lewan last season, but he showed up when it mattered. With his only losses at the national tournament coming to Ryan Deakin, David Carr, and Quincy Monday, as well as grabbing wins over Jacori Teemer, and Kaleb Young you should not look past him this year.
Personally I think he should be ranked around 4th coming into this season with Carr and Monday moving up but a lot of rankings don’t have him that high. He should be looking at another All American finish this season.
165- Cameron Amine
Coming off of a midseason injury Amine was able to recover and secure himself a second All American finish. With his only losses coming to the top 2 seeds O’Toole and Wick he could very well be seeing himself with another high finish this season.
Wins over Alex Marinelli, Dean Hamiti, Bubba Wilson and more he is going to be a big wrestler to watch here.
174- Joseph Walker
Big shoes to fill taking up the spot of Logan Massa here, 14-6 career record coming into his sophomore year it should be interesting to see what Walker can put together this season. He will most likely have to perform good at Big Tens if he wants to have a chance at a bid to nationals.
184- Jelani Embree
Did not compete too much in the 2021 and 2022 season but he did qualify for the tournament back in 2020. Coming into his junior season he will look to reproduce what he has done in the past and possibly win some matches at nationals.
Filling in for Olympic bronze medalist Myles Amine won’t be easy but Embree has the experience and can possibly snag some wins at nationals.
197- Bobby Striggow
Taking the spot of Pat Brucki who honestly did not have the greatest season last year. It will be interesting to see if Striggow can produce. He has not had the best record throughout his career going 17-26 throughout 4 seasons. Heading into his junior season it will be interesting if he can turn things around with a winning record especially in the Big Ten.
285- Mason Parris
Not the greatest season last year going 20-6 with losses to Schultz, Gable, and Kerkvliet but going through a bit of injuries he should be looking better this season. With Gable most likely done it opens up the weight for a lot of people at this weight class.
He should improve on his 5th place finish from last season but guys like Kerk, Schultz, Davison are young and Cassioppi is nothing to look past here.
What are your thoughts on this lineup? Leave a comment below
