Four U-M wrestlers, freshman Kellen Russell (High Brdige, N.J./Blair Academy), fifth-year senior Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS), fifth-year senior Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) and senior/junior Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS), registered flawless 4-0 individual records to lead the Wolverines at the Northeast Duals. Churella and Tannenbaum each recorded major decisions in three appearances, while Luke tallied a major decision and a first-period pin.
Fifth-year senior Jeff Marsh (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) and sophomore/freshman Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) were also impressive in the Wolverines' first competition of the season with near-perfect 3-1 records. Marsh outscored his opposition 19-5 with two shutout performances, while Biondo -- in the first varsity event of his collegiate career -- registered a pair of falls.
The Wolverines opened the competition with a dominant victory against Bucknell in the morning session. U-M won nine consecutive matches, including four with bonus points, and Michigan appeared on track to claim a shutout victory until it gave up a pin in the final match. Sophomore Chris Diehl (Burton, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS), Russell and Biondo each secured the first dual-meet victory of their collegiate careers to highlight the Wolverine performance. Diehl earned an upset decision against the Bisons' 16th-ranked David Marable at 133 pounds, rallying from an early deficit to score a takedown in each of the final two periods and claim the 6-3 final advantage.
Russell cruised to a 6-2 decision over Bucknell's Eric Harris in the subsequent match at 141 pounds, scoring a pair of first-period takedowns and building 2:54 in riding time advantage in Russell's varsity debut. After five more victories at the middleweights, including major decisions from Churella, Tannenbaum and Luke, Biondo capped the Wolverines' team scoring with a first-period fall against Sean Locurto at 197 pounds. The U-M freshman took the Bison wrestler to his back midway through the frame and earned an immediate pin, ending the bout at the 1:59 mark.
Maryland started strong and ended strong in the second-round contest to deal U-M its first loss of the season. Each squad earned five wins, but a Terrapin pin at 197 pounds and a subsequent decision at heavyweight made the difference as Maryland completed the late comeback and upset victory. After the Terps took the early advantage with back-to-back wins at 125 and 133 pounds, Michigan won five straight matches to steal away the lead, including a 9-5 decision at 174 pounds by Steve Luke, who claimed the day's marquee match over the Terps' seventh-ranked Mike Letts at 174 pounds. The Wolverine junior registered three takedowns in the opening frame and despite being taken down himself in the third, added 1:12 in riding time to earn the decisive victory.
The momentum shifted one match later at 184 pounds when Josh Haines pulled off a 4-1 upset against third-ranked senior/junior Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) to key the Maryland comeback. After a scoreless first, Haines rode out the Wolverine wrestler in the second frame and used a scramble in the third to secure the winning takedown. The Terps' 11th-ranked Hudson Taylor pinned Biondo at 2:41 to bring an end a wild first period at 197 pounds and pull the dual score within just one point, and heavyweight Pat Gilmore iced his team's upset victory with a 17-11 decision over sophomore/freshman Matt Guhn (Clyde, Ohio/Clyde HS) in the final bout. The heavyweight pair combined for eight takedowns and traded the lead throughout the first and second periods until Gilmore used a takedown in waning moments of the middle frame to put Guhn in a near-fall situation and take the lead for good.
The Wolverines cruised past Bloomsburg and Virginia in their latter two meets of the day, winning seven of 10 bouts in each competition to wrap up the season-opening event with a 3-1 record.
Russell, Churella, Tannenbaum and Luke tallied bonus points to lead the Wolverines over Bloomsburg. With the score tied at three points a piece, Russell and Churella recorded back-to-back major decisions at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively, to put Michigan ahead for good in the dual. Russell recorded five takedowns, two reversals and a two-point near fall to win 22-9 over George Hickman, while Churella rolled past Darren Kern 10-2 with four takedowns and 4:43 in riding time. Tannenbaum added another major decision at 165 pounds, using an equal number of takedowns and three-point near falls to beat Ryan Schmelyun 12-2, while Luke pinned Brian Shaw at the 1:30 mark to net his first fall of the season.
After sacrificing the opening two matches against Virginia, the Wolverines recorded five straight wins at the middleweights and claimed seven of the final eight -- including two with bonus points -- to run away with the team victory. Russell started the rally and perfected his season record to 6-0 with a narrow tiebreaker win over Kellon Balum at 141 pounds. With the score still deadlocked at 2-2 after eight minutes of wrestling, Russell earned his escape in the first set of tiebreakers and rode out Balum to end the match. Churella added bonus points in the next match, scoring five takedowns to defeat Eugene Riley 13-4.
Biondo also earned big points for the Wolverines with a second-period fall against Brent Jones for his second pin of the afternoon. The U-M wrestler trailed the bout midway through the middle frame after giving up a pair of takedowns, but rallied back and used a takedown of his own to gain the advantage position, throw a leg in and roll Jones up with a spladle, ending the bout at 4:14. Sophomore/freshman Eddie Phillips (Woodland, Mich./Lakewood HS) capped the dual meet with another Wolverine win at heavyweight with a 4-0 decision against Virginia's Calvin Cardillo. Phillips, who was weighed in at 197 pounds, earned a first-period takedown and rode out the Cavalier wrestler in the second to claim his first varsity win.
The Wolverines will continue early-season action next week at the 26th annual Cliff Keen Invitational Friday and Saturday (Nov. 30-Dec. 1) in Las Vegas, Nev. Competition is slated to begin with pigtail rounds on Friday at 9 a.m. PST in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
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