Top programs don’t rebuild — they reload.
This phrase is often batted around in reference to perennial powerhouses like North Carolina’s basketball and Michigan’s football program. But it is also the mantra of Michigan wrestling coach Joe McFarland.
Now in his sixth season, McFarland has led the Wolverines to four straight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships and kept his team in the national spotlight by pushing young wrestlers into the roles vacated by graduating seniors.
He has also ensured that a steady stream of talent runs through Ann Arbor by constantly reloading. During the recent early-signing period, McFarland, a former four-time All-American in the 1980s, inked three promising wrestlers to compete for his alma mater next fall.
Two of the recruits are from Michigan — Justin Chrazanowski attends Lapeer West High School while Braden L’amoreaux competes for Clarkston High School. Mike Milano competes for Rocky River High School outside of Cleveland.
“I’m excited about all three of these guys,” McFarland said. “I think they will be the type of student athletes that Michigan has brought in in the past and continues to bring in in all its sports.”
Chrazanowski leads the group and entered this fall ranked No. 5 nationally at 135 pounds, according to Amateur Wrestling News. The high school senior won two state championships and placed third in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the 2003 Cadet National Championships — an elite national high school competition. His impressive r