Junior Kellen Russell continues to prove that he might be Michigan’s most dominant athlete in any sport. And at the pace he’s going, it’s hard to imagine any wrestler who can knock him off.

Russell — the nation’s top wrestler in the 141 lb. weight class — led No. 18 Michigan to an impressive fourth-place finish in the annual Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, North Carolina. Russell won his bracket and was one of eight Wolverines to place in the meet.

Russell stayed in cruise control, remaining undefeated on the year. He easily won his first three matches on Wednesday. Thursday got a bit tougher for the New Jersey native, as he matched up with three top-10 wrestlers.

After a win in the quarterfinals over Hofstra’s No. 8 Vincente Varela, he narrowly defeated Penn State’s No. 4 Andrew Alton.

But in the finals, Russell crushed Minnesota’s No. 2 Mike Thorn, 6-2 — Thursday’s largest margin of victory in any match — to capture the championship.

“He expects nothing less from himself,” Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. “He found himself in a tough match in the semifinal. He was behind late in the match, and that just shows you his competitive spirit. He wrestled a little hesitant in the semifinals, but he really picked it up in the final.

“He opened up on (Thorn) and it really got to be a physical match. That got Kellen’s blood boiling a bit and he stepped it up, late in that match especially. Obviously we’re very proud of him.”

But for McFarland, the Wolverines’ depth was even more impressive than Russell’s performance.

“This is a grueling tournament and it’s at an elite level where you get a lot of the best teams and individuals in the country,” McFarland said. “I felt it was a total team effort.”

Sophomore Ben Apland, also continues to make a name for himself of late. After finishing in second place in his last tournament, the heavyweight stormed through the Greensboro field en route to the championship match. But Apland couldn’t hold off his opponent in a devastating finals loss.

“No question about it, Ben’s right there with some of the top heavyweights in the country,” McFarland said. “He’s just coming along really well in his development. He lost a heartbreaker. But we’re really proud of Ben and thought it was a great week for him.”

While the success of Russell and Apland was expected, few would’ve predicted the success of freshman Brandon Zeerip, wrestling in his first collegiate event. Zeerip’s five victories were enough to place him in fourth.

“His performance was really something,” McFarland said. “I was excited for him. We have seen that in him all along since the days we recruited him. When he was in high school, we felt that this kid could be something special. To see him step up and do a really, really great job here was spectacular. And it just shows you what kind of future he can have. He was a hair away from coming in third.”

Another freshman, Dan Yates, also finished strongly. Yates also lost a heartbreaker, dropping the semifinal match in the final 10 seconds. He went on to place fifth in the event.

Senior captain No. 7 Anthony Biondo struggled to an eight-place finish. But his coach points out that his performance was more impressive than the results suggest.

“He was sick as a dog here,” McFarland said. “Anthony has not been healthy all year for us. It’s been one thing after another for him. The thing I’m going to give him credit for is, he’s battling through stuff, he’s fighting through it. He sucked it up and he wrestled really hard and was able to get into the seventh-eighth. When he’s feeling better, you’re going to see a noticeable difference in his performance.”

Michigan’s other placers were sophomore Sean Boyle and junior Zac Stevens in seventh, and junior Justin Zeerip, who took fifth. The Wolverines’ 132 points were only a half-point off from third-place Oregon State.

In addition to the depth that the team displayed at the tournament, McFarland was also satisfied with his squad’s conditioning level coming off of winter break.

“They’re coming back refreshed, their batteries are recharged and the level of competition and intensity was pretty high,” McFarland said. “These guys all go home and they work out with their high school programs and stay on top of stuff.