BY BECCA KROMBEEN
For the Daily
Published November 7, 2010
The Michigan wrestling team had its first meet of the season on Saturday at nearby Eastern Michigan University. The Wolverines claimed five individual titles and had 14 wrestlers place in the top six for their respective weight classes.
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“I thought our guys got better from match to match (and) got more comfortable out there,” Michigan coach Joe McFarland said this weekend.
Sophomore Sean Boyle captured the individual title in the 125-pound weight class, finishing 4-0 on the day against three wrestlers from Central Michigan and one from Navy.
“He’s gotten a lot bigger and stronger since the last year, so I think that’s definitely helped his wrestling,” McFarland said.
In the 141-pound weight class, redshirt junior Kellen Russell won the individual title, finishing 3-0 against two Eastern Michigan wrestlers and one Chippewa wrestler.
The Wolverines had three finalists and two champions in the freshman/sophomore division. Freshmen Jake Salazar and Brandon Zeerip won the titles in the 149-pound and 157-pound weight classes, respectively.
McFarland called it "very encouraging" that two Michigan freshmen won in that category.
Fifth-year senior Anthony Biondo won the title at the 197-pound weight class. He went 3-0 for the day against wrestlers from Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Michigan State.
In addition to the individual titles, the Wolverines had three wrestlers place in the top five in the freshman/sophomore division: Grant Pizzo, Donnie Watkins and Jonathan Beck.
In the open division, the Wolverines continued to dominate, placing six wrestlers in the top six of the various weight classes aside from the five that won individual titles.
Michigan will head to Michigan State next Saturday for another exhibition meet. The Wolverines hope to duplicate this past weekend's success in East Lansing and for the remainder of the season.
“This was a good weekend for us to see where we’re at," McFarland said. "Up until now it’s been a lot of practice. This open has given us some stuff to work on and some stuff to build upon.”
