Record: 8-4 overall, 5-3 Big Ten Conference (6th place)
Big Ten Championships: Second Place
NCAA Championships: Third Place
The University of Michigan wrestling team wrapped the 2023-24 season with another stellar postseason, claiming second at the Big Ten Championships and third at the NCAA Championships behind four All-Americans and two finalists. It was the Wolverines' second trophy finish in three seasons and their fifth top-five NCAA finish in six seasons.
Team 102 featured seven new faces in its starting lineup, with the addition of four graduate transfers -- Michael DeAugustino, Austin Gomez, Shane Griffith and Lucas Davison -- as well as true freshman Sergio Lemley and the return of Jaden Bullock and Bobby Striggow from season-ending injury a year earlier. They joined Wolverine veterans Dylan Ragusin, Will Lewan and Cameron Amine to form an experienced squad in head coach Sean Bormet's sixth season at the helm of the Michigan program.
Team Highlights
• Michigan earned a team trophy at the 2024 NCAA Championships (March 21-23) with a third-place finish -- its second trophy finish in three seasons and third in six seasons -- behind four All-Americans and a pair of finalists. U-M boasted four All-Americans in Ragusin (fifth, 133 pounds), Gomez (second, 149), Griffith (third, 174) and Davison (second, heavyweight). Gomez and Davison are the Wolverines' fifth and sixth NCAA finalists since 2021. The Wolverines have boasted at least one All-American in 27 of the last 29 NCAA tournaments, including three or more in each of the last nine.
• The Wolverines took second place at the Big Ten Championships (March 9-10) with 123.5 points and nine total placewinners, including eight who finished top four at their respective weight classes. It was Michigan's second-highest Big Ten point total in program history and U-M's second top-two finish in three seasons. Ragusin, Gomez, Lewan (157) and Griffith all reached the finals.
• Michigan was somewhat hampered by injury and illness over the bulk of the season, particularly in the second semester, and only wrestled its full healthy lineup one time during the dual season. The Wolverines' biggest dual win came in their dual finale when they claimed seven bouts en route to a 24-11 win over No. 2 Iowa on Feb. 2 at Crisler Center. Michigan opened the dual with five straight wins, earning top-five upsets from DeAugustino (125), Lemley (141) and Lewan. It was the Wolverines' first win over Iowa at home since 2004 -- though U-M did defeat the Hawkeyes in Iowa City in 2018.
• Five Wolverines qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics over the course of the 2023-24 academic year. Alums Stevan Micic (57kg freestyle, Serbia) and Myles Amine (86kg freestyle, San Marino) punched their tickets after taking gold and bronze, respectively, at the 2023 World Championships in September. Gomez (65kg freestyle, Mexico) qualified after reaching the final at the Pan American Qualifier in March, while alums Mason Parris (125kg freestyle, USA) -- who also took bronze at the world championships -- and Adam Coon (130kg Greco-Roman, USA) won at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in April. It will be the first Olympic Games for Gomez and both heavyweights. Coon previously won the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021 but did not qualify his weight for the Tokyo Games.
Individual Highlights
• Graduate student Gomez posted a 13-3 record after joining the Wolverines in December as a transfer -- and relocating to Ann Arbor last summer as a member of the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club. He earned his best-ever NCAA finish with his runner-up showing at 149 pounds and similarly took second at the Big Ten Championships. Gomez, who qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the week off between the end of the dual season and the conference tournament, finished his collegiate career as a two-time NCAA All-American, previously placing fourth in 2022, and twice came out of retirement -- the first time after missing two full seasons due to injuries -- before joining the Wolverine program for his final year of eligibility.
• Graduate student Davison also reached the NCAA finals for the first time as the 10th seed at heavyweight, knocking off the seventh, second and third seeds in consecutive matches. He rallied in the latter two, using a last-second takedown to edge Iowa State's Younger Bastida 6-4 in the quarterfinals before defeating Air Force's Wyatt Hendrickson 13-7 in the semifinals with three takedowns and 1:56 in riding time. Davison posted a 22-5 record with 15 bonus wins and finished his career as a three-time All-American.
• Senior/junior Ragusin broke through to earn his first All-America honor this season with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships -- after coming out of redshirt prior to U-M's Big Ten opener at Maryland (Jan. 12). He led the Wolverines with a stellar 28-4 record, including 15 bonus wins, at 133 pounds. He locked up his All-America status with a 9-3 decision against Rutgers' Dylan Shawver in the NCAA quarterfinals, avenging his loss in the Big Ten finals in the process and earning his third win of the season against the Scarlet Knight wrestler.
• Graduate student Griffith claimed third place at the NCAA Championships in his first season up at 174 pounds. He defaulted out of the Big Ten finals two weeks earlier, then gutted to a 5-1 record at NCAAs, bouncing back from a semifinal loss to Penn State's Carter Starocci to defeat the second and first seeds in the Saturday consolations, including a 4-0 decision against Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis. Griffith, a 2021 NCAA champion while at Stanford, completed his wrestling career as a five-time All-American and four-time placewinner, including three top-three NCAA finishes. He posted a sterling 131-17 career record, including a 19-4 mark this season at Michigan.
• Senior/junior Bullock boasted a breakout season at 184 pounds after redshirting in 2021-22 and missing nearly all 2022-23 with injury. He went 20-12, including 10 wins against ranked opponents, and posted 10 bonus wins. Bullock took fourth place at Big Tens, dropping just two close 4-1 defeats against top-five opponents, and went 2-2 in his first NCAA Championships appearance. Bullock started for the Wolverines at 174 pounds as a true freshman in 2020-21 and went 3-6 that season.
• Freshman Lemley made a splash in his first collegiate season, posting a 19-9 record at 141 pounds with 11 wins over ranked opponents and none bigger than his dominant 14-2 major decision against Iowa's No. 1 Real Woods on a pair of six-point moves -- off a reversal in the second and a late cradle in the third. Lemley took fourth place at the Big Ten Championships before going 1-2 at NCAAs.
Honors and Awards
Dylan
Ragusin
Austin
Gomez
Shane
Griffith
Lucas
Davison
Sergio
Lemley
NCAA Championships
Dylan Ragusin, fifth place, 133 pounds
Austin Gomez, second place, 149 pounds
Shane Griffith, third place, 174 pounds
Lucas Davison, second place, heavyweight
NCAA Wrestler of the Week
Dylan Ragusin (Jan. 23)
Sergio Lemley (Feb. 6)
National Wrestling Coaches Association
Scholar All-America: Cameron Amine, Lucas Davison, Shane Griffith, Zack Mattin, Dylan Ragusin
Big Ten Wrestler of the Week
Sergio Lemley (Feb. 6)
Academic All-Big Ten (20)
Cameron Amine, RS Jr., Sport Management, Brighton, Mich.
Chris Cannon, Gr., Social Work, Oceanport, N.J.
Joaquin Consuelos, Jr., Theatre Performance BFA, New York, N.Y.
Lucas Davison, Gr., Real Estate, Chesterton, Ind.
Shane Griffith, Gr., Real Estate, Westwood, N.J.
Nathan Jerore, So., LSA Undeclared, Woodhaven, Mich.
Austin Jordan, Jr., Computer Science Engineering, Rochester, Mich.
Codei Khawaja, So., Movement Science, Georgetown, Ind.
Dzhabrail Khurshidov, Jr., Applied Exercise Science, Aurora, Ill.
Josh Knudten, So., Microbiology, Libertyville, Ill.
Will Lewan, Gr., Masters of Management, Chicago, Ill.
Zack Mattin, Jr., Biology, Health & Society, Delta, Ohio
Matt McKenna, Sr., Sport Management, Winnetka, Ill.
Keegan Nugent, Jr., Mechanical Engineering, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Dylan Ragusin, Sr., Communications & Media, Elk Grove Village, Ill.
Rylan Rogers, So., LSA Undeclared, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Lance Trost, So., LSA Undeclared, Pinckney, Mich.
Joseph Walker, Sr., Biomolecular Science, Mishawaka, Ind.
Nolan Wertanen, So., Industrial Operations Engineering, St. Joseph, Mich.
Brendin Yatooma, Sr., Economics, South Lyon, Mich.
