Fifth-year senior Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) highlighted the U-M performance, earning his 100th career victory in impressive fashion with a pin over the Mountain Hawks' Dave Nakasone at 165 pounds. After the Wolverines trailed 12-3 at the halftime intermission, Churella's victory spurred a dominant showing by the Maize and Blue upper weights, which included an overtime win at 174 pounds and a pair of major decisions.
Nakasone struck first in the bout, scoring a takedown just 30 seconds into the opening period and, after a Churella takedown, earning a late reversal to keep the score knotted at four apiece after three minutes. The Wolverine captain took over in the second and dominated for the remainder of the abbreviated match, earning a takedown and three back points late in the middle frame to lead 10-4 heading into the final period. Taking a page out of his father's (Mark Churella Sr.) book, Churella used a banana split to roll Nakasone to his back and earn the fall at 5:13, just 13 second into the final period.
Senior/junior Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) and sophomore/freshman Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) continued the Wolverines' momentum with strong back-to-back victories at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively. Trailing early in the match at 174, Roy went on the attack in the third period against Lehigh's 20th-ranked Travis Frick, driving through on a single leg on the edge of the mat to take his first lead early in the final regulation frame. Frick cut loose in the final seconds to send the match into a sudden-victory overtime. Frick shot in on a single-leg attempt early in the extra frame, but Roy kicked out and spun around behind to earn the takedown and collect his second straight win over the ranked Mountain Hawk wrestler.
Todd dominated from start to finish against David Helfich at 184, scoring four takedowns en route to a 12-4 victory. Late in the third frame, the Wolverine used a double leg to take Helfrich straight to his back and add a pair of back points. With his 1:48 in riding time advantage, Todd collected the extra point at the end of regulation to give the Wolverines their first lead in the dual, one they would not relinquish.
A Lehigh win at 197 pounds made the score 16-15 Michigan and brought the dual to the final bout at heavyweight, and fifth-year senior captain Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) locked up the U-M victory with an 11-1 major decision against Dan Murrer. Wagner nearly had his third straight fall late in the second period, using a high-leg turk to maneuver Murrer to his back, but ran out of time. The U-M captain earned a total of five near-fall points in the match and, adding a pair of takedowns and 4:46 in riding time, cruised to the victory.
The Wolverines had a rough time at the lower weights, falling at four of the opening five weight classes. Senior/junior Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edward HS) earned Michigan's lone victory at the lower weights, scoring a 9-4 decision over the Mountain Hawks' John Stout. Moos earned three takedowns, including back-to-back single legs in the opening period, and a second-period reversal to control throughout the match.
In the marquee match of the afternoon, junior/sophomore Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) suffered his first loss of the season, falling to third-ranked Cory Cooperman 5-3 at 141 pounds. Trailing 4-0 early in the final period, Churella converted on a double leg midway through the frame to narrow the score, and despite a second stalling call on Cooperman, could not overcome the deficit.
The Wolverines (5-1, 1-0 Big Ten) will compete in the prestigious Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals on Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 14-15) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. U-M will be one of 16 teams competing in the Division I field. Hosted by the University of Northern Iowa, all matches will be held at the UNI-Dome.
#5 Michigan 20, #11 Lehigh 15
(Individual rankings from NWCA/InterMat)
125 -- Matt Fisk (LU) dec. Michael Watts, 7-6 LU, 3-0
133 -- #13 Mark Moos (U-M) dec. John Stout, 9-4 Tie, 3-3
141 -- #3 Cory Cooperman (LU) dec. #5 Josh Churella, 5-3 LU, 6-3
149 -- Matt Ciasulli (LU) dec. #4 Eric Tannenbaum, 6-5 LU, 9-3
157 -- #13 Derek Zinck (LU) dec. #8 Steve Luke, 6-5 LU, 12-3
165 -- #1 Ryan Churella (U-M) pinned Dave Nakasone, 5:13 LU, 12-9
174 -- #6 Nick Roy (U-M) dec. #20 Travis Frick, 6-4 SV Tie, 12-12
184 -- #19 Tyrel Todd (U-M) major dec. David Helfrich, 12-4 U-M, 16-12
197 -- Matt Cassidy (LU) dec. Willie Breyer, 9-3 U-M, 16-15
Hwt -- #3 Greg Wagner (U-M) major dec. Dan Murrer, 11-1 U-M, 20-15
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