Senior Anthony Biondo just needed a break.

The captain began the year battling sickness, then injury, followed by more sickness. But Biondo was finally healthy this weekend — and it showed.

Biondo, along with freshman Dan Yates and junior Kellen Russell, went 4-0 on the weekend, leading the No. 15 Michigan wrestling team to a runner-up finish in the annual Virginia Duals in Hampton, Virginia.

The Wolverines (4-2) began play on Friday with two lopsided wins. Michigan defeated Liberty, 37-9, in the first match before earning a 27-9 win over Buffalo.

The level of competition steepened Saturday, as Michigan matched up with a Lehigh squad that beat the Wolverines 25-6 two months ago. But in search of revenge, Michigan got the best of the ninth-ranked Mountain Hawks, winning 21-18.

“We talked a lot about paying these guys back and putting together some great individual performances,” Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. “A lot of people were looking past us. A lot of wrestling fans were thinking Lehigh was going to get another win against us. We turned some of the matches around that we had lost earlier in the year. I knew we were better than what we showed in the last Lehigh dual, so this was a nice win for us.”

Biondo won a pivotal match to clinch the win for the Wolverines. Pitted against 14th-ranked Joe Kennedy, who won decisively in his last matchup, the Michigan captain was able to pull away with a dramatic overtime win.

“I wouldn’t say it was a pretty match, but I got the job done,” Biondo said. “It was good for me, and good for the team. Earlier in the season, when I was really, really sick, it was pretty embarrassing how I lost. So it’s good to get the win back and beat someone who beat you and help out the team at the same time.”

But Biondo was also just relieved to wrestle at full strength for the first time this year.

“It’s nice to finally start feeling better and getting some wins,” Biondo said. “This being my last year here, you like to imagine that great last season. It’s just been something I have to fight through. I’m not sure why I’ve had to go through this, but the end of the season is really all that matters.”

However, the Wolverines didn’t fare as well in the championship, losing 24-12 to No. 2 Penn State.

Freshman Dan Yates put together his second consecutive strong showing at the meet, winning his championship match 8-2.

“It feels really good to start getting to where I want to be for the full seven minutes, whereas at the beginning of the year I wasn’t quite able to do that,” Yates said. “It’s great to go out there and start off strong and finish even stronger. I know I’m capable of performing at this level. It’s just nice to have it actually come out in competition.”

Russell once again showed why he’s the nation’s top 141-lb. wrestler, improving his record to 20-0 for the year. His matches were hardly competitive this weekend, as he won 6-2 and 3-1 on Saturday.

Biondo won his championship match 9-4, and sophomore Hunter Collins was the only other Michigan wrestler to register a win versus the Nittany Lions, whose six wrestlers ranked in the top-10 proved too much for the young Wolverines.

“Penn State’s got a heck of a team this year,” McFarland said. “We needed to have a perfect duel to beat them, and we didn’t. We get another opportunity to wrestle them in our place, and we can turn some of these matches around and get a win.”

The Wolverines now turn their attention to Big Ten play, which officially kicks off when No. 18 Purdue comes to Ann Arbor on Friday. Michigan will then travel to Mount Pleasant to face Central Michigan on Sunday.

“Overall, I think our team is slowly improving, which is what we need to do,” Biondo said. “Every week, you can tell we’re getting a little better and we saw it here, just in the difference between results. The Big Ten season is such a grind, but at the same time, it goes really fast. You can’t get ahead of yourself, so we’ll just take it one match at a time, weekend by weekend, and we’ll be fine.”