Michigan
Sean Bormet Weighs In On Many New Faces In Michigan Lineup – FloWrestling
This season’s Michigan wrestling lineup features a new face in every place.
Yes, there are new starters in all 10 weight classes, including five who had never wrestled a dual in a Wolverines’ singlet before this season.
Despite all the turnover, the Wolverines are off to a 4-2 duals start and placed second in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational earlier this month, their best showing in seven years. In all, six Michigan wrestlers are ranked among the top 20, including two who are in the top 10.
And that’s with 2024 All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier Dylan Ragusin not making his season debut until last Saturday’s Kent State Holiday Open.
“Every year you get a new set of guys in your lineup — this year we have a lot — but the standard is the same,” Wolverines coach Sean Bormet said. “By the time we hit the mat to compete, we’ve spent months together with this team preparing them for the season and building toward putting the best 10 guys on the mat. We’ve had success with recruiting the right guys, adding the right transfers, developing them and building great team chemistry.”
Beau Mantanona and Dylan Gilcher are the only Wolverines who started a majority of last season’s duals who are doing so again this season, albeit in new weight classes after bumping up.
Mantanona, a redshirt sophomore and 2025 NCAA qualifier, has moved from 165 to 174 and is 10-3, including four pins and two technical falls. Currently ranked #12, his best wins thus far have come against two-time NCAA qualifiers M.J. Gaiten (Iowa State) and Cael Valencia (Arizona State).
Gilcher, ranked #30, has jumped from all the way from 149 to take Montanona’s former spot and is 7-3, including three technical falls and a major decision, and one of five Wolverines who have gone 5-1 in duals.
The redshirt sophomore decisioned three-time NCAA qualifier Maxx Mayfield (Missouri) during last month’s National Duals.
Gilcher, ranked 30th, made the 2025 NCAA Championships field and is well on his way to bettering last season’s 10-12 record.
Brock Mantanona (184) and Cam Catrabone (157) are also wrestling at higher weight this season.
Mantanona, a redshirt freshman, spent last season down at 165 and won all three dual matches he started before redshirting. He has adjusted well to his new weight, boasting a 9-2 mark, including 5-1 in duals. He has two technical falls and three major decisions and is ranked eighth.
Mantantona has edged three-time NCAA qualifier, 2025 All-American and 2023 Big Ten champion Silas Allred (Nebraska) and majored two-time NCAA qualifier Brian Soldano (Oklahoma).
Catrabone, also a redshirt freshman, has bumped up from 149 and is 8-4. All but one of his victories have come via pins (four), technical fall (two) or major decision (one). He began the season unranked and is now #15.
Catrabone and Beau Mantanona are tied for the team lead in pins. NCAA qualifiers Colton Washleski (Virginia) and Stoney Buell (Purdue) did not last one period against Catrabone, who is 4-2 in duals after going 1-2 last season before redshirting.
“With a handful of guys going up one or in some case two weight classes, we’ve focused on training them for that and getting them consistent with their nutrition to maintain the weight they need and to take advantage of additional training and energy output that cutting less weight provides over the course of the season,” Bormet said. “That requires toughness, discipline and consistency and buying into the process of gains and growth. They’ve been doing a good job.”
Of the starters who had not started a dual for the Wolverines prior to this season, 2024 All-American heavyweight and four-time NCAA qualifier Taye Ghadiali has clearly made the biggest impact, returning to form after being limited to six matches last season and redshirting due to injury.
Back in his home state after spending six seasons at Campbell, the Warren Fitzgerald graduate and 2019 state champion is off to an 11-2 start, including 5-1 in duals. Ghadiali, ranked #6, is the Wolverines’ leader in dual points (25) and bonus-point wins with nine, including five technical falls, three major decisions and a pin.
Ghadiali, who owns a 113-30 career record with 71 bonus-point victories, intends to give Michigan an All-American heavyweight for the seventh straight season and the 10th time in 12 seasons, joining Josh Heindselman (2025), Lucas Davison (2024), Mason Parris (2020-23) and Adam Coon (2015-16, 2018).
His best career wins have come against All-Americans Owen Trephan (Lehigh) and Tate Orndorff (Ohio State).
“Taye has brought great energy and just a great personality to our team and he’s a good leader,” Bormet said. “He immediately fit in with the other guys when he arrived during the summer and came in with a lot of gratitude and it’s easy to just pour yourself into it with that mindset. I think he’s appreciated the additional resources and training partners he’s had here.”
Bormet is also quick to credit the growth experienced at Campbell for how he has performed in Ann Arbor.
“(Campbell coach) Scotti Sentes really helped cultivate a great work ethic in Taye and we’ve seen that and his passion here from day one,” he said. “Our guys all respect that.”
Ghadiali is one of three transfers in the starting lineup along with seniors Diego Sotelo (125) and Lachlan McNeil (149).
Sotelo, a two-time NCAA qualifier for Harvard, is 9-3, including 5-1 in duals, with two technical falls and a major decision. He has a 64-37 career mark. He has climbed to #18 in the rankings.
Sotelo’s best wins are decisions over two-time All-American Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) and All-American Jore Volk (Minnesota).
McNeil, a three-time All-American at North Carolina, has gone 7-3 (5-1 in duals) with a pin and a major decision. He owns an 89-28 career record, including 51 bonus-point wins.
McNeil, #16 in the rankings, boasts some eye-opening wins, including over three-time All-Americans Brock Hardy (Nebraska) and Real Woods (Iowa) and two-time All-American Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State). He has beaten seven other All-Americans.
Sophomore Hayden Walters has stepped into the starting role at 197 in his third season with the program. Walters is 4-2 overall and in duals thus far with a pair of major decisions. He defeated NCAA qualifier Brock Zurawski (Rider) last season.
“We have a young team for the most part, so we’ve been monitoring and placing extra emphasis on consistency in their approach, mindset, technique and presence on the mat,” said Bormet, whose team kicks off Big Ten duals Jan. 9 against Michigan State. “We’re doing a lot of teaching and helping the guys build up some mental endurance. They have responded well and their hunger and determination will dictate their further progress.”
Ragusin, who is expected to make his dual debut against the Spartans, wrestled a competitive match for the first time in more than a year with a 2-2 showing at Kent State, good enough for fourth place at 141 pounds. He has moved up to that weight after four seasons at 133.
Ragusin won his first six matches last season before suffering a knee injury during the 2024 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and dropping his last three matches of the tournament. The injury required season-ending surgery.
He is working to regain the form that has led to an 87-32 career record with 36 bonus-point victories.
Ragusin’s best season came in 2023-24 when he placed fifth at the NCAA Championships, second in the Big Ten Tournament and finished with a 28-4 record, including 14 bonus-point wins.
His most significant wins have come against two-time NCAA champion and three-time All-American Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) and two-time All-Americans Patrick McKee (Minnesota), Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) and Chris Cannon (Northwestern).
“Dylan has been back on the mat training hard for about nine weeks and we’re excited to get him back into our lineup,” Bormet said. “As Dylan’s been back on the mat this semester, we have really seen his determination and drive ramp back up, and he’s made good, continual progress to get back to his best wrestling.”
Lemley Takes Another Tourney
Sergio Lemley, a two-time NCAA qualifier, is redshirting this season, but staying sharp by wrestling in open tournaments.
The junior, who has also moved up from 141 to 149 pounds, captured his second tournament title of the season with a first-place finish at the Kent State Holiday Open. Lemley went 5-0, knocking off Kent State’s Silas Stits, 8-1, in the championship match.
Lemley, who also won the Michigan State Open last month, is 8-0 this season with three pins and a major decision.
Lemley racked up a 42-20 record his first two seasons in Ann Arbor with half of his wins coming via technical fall (13), major decision (five) or pin (three).
Also at Kent State, redshirt junior Codei Khawaja went 3-1 to finish third at 184, outlasting Kent State’s Trent Thomas, 16-9, in the third-place match. He is 7-1 this season and has improved his career record to 25-14.
A contingent of Wolverines will compete at the Midlands Tournament hosted by Northwestern on Dec. 29-30.
Michigan mother of three talks about how she broke her kratom addiction
Melanie Clark, 35, of Kincheloe in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, has fought a four-year-long addiction to kratom, the so-called “gas station heroin.”
Michigan lawmakers are debating a complete ban on the sale of kratom products in the state, citing cases of addiction and instances of death from people consuming the herbal supplement known as the “gas station heroin.”
Here is what to know about this unregulated herbal substance commonly sold in convenience stores, gas stations and tobacco shops across Michigan:
What is kratom?
Kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia whose leaves contain compounds that can produce stimulant effects at low doses and opioid-like effects at higher doses. It is manufactured and sold in different forms: liquid tonics, tablets, gummies, powders and capsules.
What is kratom used for?
Kratom is marketed as a herbal supplement for energy, mood, pain relief or opioid withdrawal, though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any of those uses. Some kratom users take it to get off heroin or fentanyl, according to University of Michigan researchers.
How is kratom pronounced?
Kratom is pronounced KRA-tum. The letter “a” takes a short “a” sound, as in crab or crack.
What is 7-OH?
7-hydroxymitragynin, or 7-OH, is an alkaloid found in kratom leaves. It is manufactured in a synthetic form to produce an opioid-like sensation of pain relief or sedation. It is more potent than pure leaf kratom and sometimes referred to as the hard liquor version of kratom (if pure leaf kratom were considered beer, which typically has a much lower percentage of alcohol by volume compared with distilled liquor).
Is kratom an opioid or addictive?
Kratom users, substance abuse counselors and doctors report symptoms of dependence and withdrawal from the substance, particularly when users exceed the recommended serving size.
The Drug Enforcement Agency has warned that kratom has “sedative effects” that “can lead to addiction.”
On July 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration moved to declare certain 7-hydroxymitragynine synthetic kratom products a Schedule I controlled substance, the same class of drugs as heroin, ecstasy and peyote. As of April 9, the substance had not yet been formally added to the list of Schedule I drugs, which would effectively ban 7-OH nationwide.
Does kratom have side effects?
The FDA has warned that kratom use can lead to liver toxicity, seizures or substance use disorder.
Withdrawal from the substance can lead to increased anxiety, insomnia and psychiatric episodes, according to University of Michigan researchers.
Dr. Eliza Hutchinson, a family physician based in Ann Arbor who is a clinical instructor at UM, said her substance abuse patients describe withdrawal from kratom as “the worst influenza of your life — times 10.”
CARE Southeastern Michigan, a recovery advocacy group, has reported some individuals experiencing psychotic episodes after taking 7-OH, the synthetic form of kratom.
The FDA has also said kratom is “not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement” and unsafe as an additive to food. The powder and liquid forms of kratom are sometimes marketed as an additive to shakes and smoothies.
Does kratom show up on a drug test?
Yes, if it’s part of a specialized screening of narcotics and other substances that looks for active ingredients in kratom products.
Some substance abuse clinics in Michigan are starting to test for it, said Madison Lauder, a counselor at The Guidance Center in Southgate.
“We see you so often, we have added into our (drug test) panel,” Lauder said.
Is there any age restriction on buying kratom in Michigan?
No, Michigan has no laws governing the sale of kratom and related synthetics, such as 7-OH.
But retailers set their own rules. Some stores won’t sell to anyone under age 21.
Some of the 7-OH kratom products on the shelves of stores are labeled “21+.”
But there’s no law on the books in Michigan requiring buyers to show a photo ID when buying kratom, as is required to purchase alcohol, tobacco or marijuana.
Which states have bans on selling kratom?
Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin have outright bans on the sale of kratom.
In December, Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy used the state’s controlled substance laws to ban the retail sale, distribution and possession of 7-OH and other synthetic forms of kratom, board spokesman Cameron McNamee said.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy has a separate proposal to ban natural kratom products that remains in the rulemaking process, McNamee said.
Some cities and counties across the country have imposed varying local sales bans, including Anaheim, Calif., Spokane, Wash., and the New York City suburbs of Nassau County on Long Island, according to published reports.
What’s the status of legislation to ban kratom in Michigan?
On March 18, the Republican-controlled Michigan House voted 56-48 on legislation that would completely ban the sale of kratom products in Michigan. All 46 Democrats and two Republicans opposed the legislation.
Democrats cited a lack of any committee hearings on the legislation.
“There is no question of the growing concern around this product, and no one is saying, with this vote or otherwise, that the concern isn’t justified,” the House Democratic caucus said in a statement. “What we are saying is an outright ban, without any testimony or dialogue, is not the solution.”
The bill moved to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, assigned it to her Government Operations Committee.
Some kratom industry interests and individual users have advocated for a ban on just the 7-OH synthetic form of kratom.
Sen. Kevin Hertel, the St. Clair Shores Democrat who chairs the Senate Health Policy Committee, said the House’s passage of a total ban on kratom has changed the debate toward prohibition, which he favors until the FDA can further study the substance and its impact on the human body.
clivengood@detroitnews.com
Staff Writers Anne Snabes and Beth LeBlanc contributed.
For much of April, showers and melting snow has swamped Michigan, flooding homes, businesses, cottages, roadways; threatening and destroying infrastructure, including dams, and forcing what is likely hundreds of Michiganders to evacuate.
The unusual weather put the entire state under a flood watch.
It’s not over.
To help, the state’s Emergency Operations Center — which was activated on April 10, along with the governor’s state of emergency declaration — created a digital map identifying shelters and damaged areas.
There also is a livestream of the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex.
As of Monday morning, the water level at the dam had dropped slightly, and was less than 8 inches below the top, which is still a threat to both the community in the event of a spillover — or structural failure.
The map, which the emergency center is calling a dashboard, shows warming and cooling centers and where people can get food. It tracks where the tornadoes touched down, and the roadways that are under water, were eroded away and are completely washed out.
The emergency center also is providing more information on its website on how to ask for help, what state and federal assistance might be available, and how to get emergency email alerts from the State Police.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com
Detroit — Michigan Democrats rallied their largest group of delegates in the party’s history at a state convention Sunday, even as they attempted to mend divisions that emerged during the Israel-Gaza war.
Delegates to the Michigan Democratic Party’s endorsement on Sunday elected a slate of largely progressive candidates, picking Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II as their nominee for secretary of state, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit as the nominee for attorney general and unseating University of Michigan incumbent Regent Jordan Acker in favor of Dearborn attorney Amir Makled.
Gilchrist will face off in November against the Republican nominee, Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, while Savit will compete against the GOP nominee for attorney general, Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd, as well as a handful of third-party candidates.
About 7,252 delegates participated in Sunday’s convention at Huntington Place in Detroit, a record for the party, Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Curtis Hertel said.
The state Democratic Party declined Sunday to disclose the vote totals for its nominees at the convention, which is held every four years for party activists to pick nominees for every statewide office except governor and U.S. Senate in lieu of a primary election.
The chosen nominees come as the state approaches massive midterm elections, in which every statewide seat is up for grabs in the November election, as well as the 148 seats in the state House and Senate, where Democrats hope to capture a majority.
In caucus rooms at Huntington Place, Democratic leaders urged unity behind messages of affordable health care, accessible housing, opposition to President Donald Trump’s executive actions and a commitment to sweeping statewide seats in November. There was also recognition, in some meeting rooms on Sunday, of the issues that divided the party in 2024 amid protests of the Biden administration’s support of Israel in the Israel-Gaza war, and the need to fully mend those divisions in advance of the Nov. 3 election.
During the convention program on Sunday, the Israel-Gaza conflict appeared to remain a sensitive issue among some convention-goers. Protesters shouted repeatedly for a point of order, with one holding a sign that said: “Put the Palestine human rights resolution back on the agenda.” And the loudest booing, by far, occurred when U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and Acker, both pro-Israel candidates, were announced on stage in their respective U.S. Senate and Board of Regents races.
Malinda Salameh was among those booing at Huntington Place, in part to protest candidates’ support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The 31-year-old UM alumnus registered too late to be a delegate on Sunday, but attended as a guest and intends to vote in the U.S. Senate primary. Stevens has long been aligned with AIPAC, while her two Democratic primary rivals, physician Abdul El-Sayed and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, have sworn off AIPAC’s campaign cash.
“Unfortunately, they need to understand that we as people cannot stand for this anymore,” Salameh said. “We don’t want any foreign interests messing with our politics. We want money out of politics. And I think that people are sad because they’re not being heard.”
During Acker’s nomination speech, as crowds booed, Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch warned that delegates were not learning from the party’s 2024 electoral losses.
“There’s one thing that November 2024 should have taught us, is that the enemy is not in this room,” Kinloch said.
In caucuses, Democrats reckon with a divide
Abbas Alawieh, a cofounder of the Uncommitted National Movement, active in the 2024 election, told delegates, while campaigning for a state Senate seat Sunday morning, that he remained determined to ensure Arab American and Downriver communities are represented within the party.
He told The Detroit News Sunday that the party had done a good job over the past two years in making more room for all members. The record attendance, he said, is proof the Michigan Democratic Party is “trying to be the big tent party and we’ve got to continue growing that.”
“It’s clear that anti-war voters of all stripes, including Arab Americans in Michigan, are going to be critical to our path forward as Democrats,” Alawieh said. “As Democrats, we have to be proactive about reaching out to disaffected voters and voters that we’ve lost to the Republican party.”
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, pushed delegates to ask candidates seeking their vote real questions about actions to combat neighborhood pollution or their stances on federal actions in the Middle East. Pushing for those discussions among candidates will ultimately help improve the party, she said.
“We’re not anti-Democratic Party,” Tlaib said. “We’re trying to make the Democratic Party better.”
El-Sayed, a Muslim Democrat running for U.S. Senate, told members of the party’s Jewish Caucus that he would focus on issues affecting all communities, including allying against “anti-religious bigotry.”
“A lot of folks want us to pay attention to things that we might disagree on happening 6,000 miles away rather than reminding us about the things we agree on happening right here in our state,” El-Sayed said.
Regent candidates debate ‘elephant in the room’
Earlier in the day, the state party’s Jewish Caucus also heard from candidates who expressed a commitment to maintaining a place within the party for Jewish candidates and voters.
Acker, a Jewish Democrat fighting to retain his seat on the University of Michigan Board of Regents, and his fellow incumbent Paul Brown argued Acker had been targeted in his role as regent and in the nomination race. Brown called it the “elephant in the room”
Acker and Brown were running to retain their seats against Makled, a Dearborn attorney who represented several students who faced charges after protests calling on UM to divest from weapons manufacturing and Israel.
Brown argued that Acker had borne the brunt of attacks during the campus unrest and the nomination campaign.
“There’s one difference between Jordan and I,” Brown told members of the Jewish Caucus, “and that is, Jordan is Jewish, and I am not.”
Acker, a personal injury lawyer, said he wouldn’t be cowed by efforts to oust him from the board and credited Jewish Democrats with being significant leaders in civil rights fights over the decades.
“We have a message that we can send today, that we will not be pushed out of this coalition,” Acker said.
Makled, for his part, encouraged members of the Arab American Caucus also to hold their ground within the party.
“We want to make sure this electorate, this convention is giving an image of unity to the Democratic Party, that we’re collectively trying to push the better foot forward, but we’re also not afraid to stand up and speak for our issues as Arab Americans,” Makled said.
The contest between Makled and Acker was particularly heated.
Makled was criticized for reposting, and later deleting, praise for Hezbollah and antisemitic remarks on his social media account, deleted posts.
And The Guardian on Friday reported that Acker appeared to have made obscene sexual comments about a Democratic party strategist and lewd comments about a female U-M student in Slack messages.
When asked Simday about the messages by The News, Acker said the allegations were “ridiculous” and “fake.”
Acker’s attorney, Ethan Holtz, later sent a statement to The News alleging Acker “has never been on Slack” and that the messages contained elements that appeared to be “doctored.”
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
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