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.
A group of residents on Holland Road in Taylor, Michigan, say they are now doing everything they can to keep their neighborhood the way it is after some of them received a letter saying the city is considering rezoning their neighborhood.
“People across the street from me could have warehouse front property instead of woods and nice residential homes,” said Matthew Streicher.
Streicher, whose family has owned property on Holland Road for more than 100 years, says that has been his concern after he received a letter from the city about a proposed rezoning from residential to light industrial directly behind his home near Wick and Holland roads.
“So that’s when I also decided to start knocking on doors around here and saying this is what is going on, we need to speak out and have a voice as to what happens in our backyards, literally,” said Streicher.
Streicher told CBS News Detroit that three of his neighbors received that letter, informing residents that there’s a possibility of a new cold storage warehouse development if this land is rezoned.
“Nothing that belongs in a neighborhood,” said Tim Adkins.
“Heartbreaking, heartbreaking, you know,” said Denise Haggadone.
Many who live on Holland Road say this possibility is even more disturbing because of how long everyone has lived on this quaint road. And these same homeowners say that an industrial facility would only bring in more traffic and take away natural green space, most likely hurting their property value as well.
“It’s nice to see the wildlife, you know, there’s so few places left,” said Adkins.
On Tuesday, CBS News Detroit spoke off-camera with City Council Chairman Charley Johnson, who also lives on Holland Road. Johnson says he understands all of his neighbors’ concerns and agrees with them.
He says the company proposing this rezoning has every right to do so, and that the planning commission will vote on it Wednesday evening.
“It’s sad, I raised my kid here, and he’s planning on having this home after I pass or retire or what have you,” Haggadone said,
The residents hope to see a big turnout at Wednesday’s planning commission meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at Taylor City Hall.
The Sterling Heights City Council is set to consider a resolution Tuesday evening opposing tax policy bills in Lansing that one councilmember contends put every municipality “at risk.”
The Michigan House voted in May to pass several bills that would slash property taxes across the state, but skipped a vote on a bill needed to replace some of the more than $5 billion in lost tax revenue.
At its Tuesday evening meeting, Sterling Heights City Council is slated to consider the adoption of a resolution opposing Michigan House Bills 5872 through 5879 due to “their potential negative impact on local government revenue, financial planning, and administrative operations,” a city document said. Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool said the city would lose about $5 million in annual revenue from the bills. He said there’s no “guaranteed replacement” for the lost revenue, and the city would need to cut services, he said.
“So we’re deeply concerned about that,” he said.
The House’s sweeping tax cuts can’t be implemented without the passage of a separate bill levying a loosely defined 6% sales tax on services that has yet to be revealed. Republicans who control the House did not hold a vote on the sales tax hike bill, which remains in committee.
All combined, the four property tax cuts passed by the House are estimated to result in a tax revenue loss that could progress from $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion a year, according to a series of nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency analyses.
Vanderpool, the Sterling Heights city manager, said he wants the state Legislature to work “hand in hand” with cities, townships and villages to come up with a solution for “guaranteed revenue replacement.”
“We are more than willing ― I think our reputation precedes us ― to work with our state legislators hand in hand to come up with viable solutions that … may reform property taxes without harming communities across the state,” he said.
Sterling Heights Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko said the legislation reduces the city’s revenue without a guarantee of what it will be replaced with. She said that in the future, the legislation could prevent the city from maintaining positions that it has promised residents it would maintain, including public safety roles.
“When they put the burden on our local government, they’re actually putting it on the residents of whatever community it is,” she said.
State Rep. Steve Frisbie, a Calhoun County Republican, previously said that Michigan residents need to see tax relief immediately. He noted a ballot proposal collecting signatures last year would have eliminated all property taxes in the state. That citizens’ initiative, known as AxMiTax, fizzled out and won’t be on the ballot this fall.
“They realized that our property taxes are too high and they demand that we take action now,” Frisbie said.
More on the bills
The cuts passed by the House in May would eliminate the 6-mill State Education Tax and eliminate the 0.75% real estate transfer tax assessed on the sale price of real estate.
House Republicans also signed off on eliminating the personal property tax. That bill, largely intended to benefit utility companies, is tied to separate legislation that requires utilities such as Consumers Energy and DTE Energy to pass on personal property tax savings by cutting electric and gas rates for their residential customers. It also requires utilities to freeze rates for two years.
Jennifer Varney, Sterling Heights’ finance and budget director, said the elimination of the personal property tax would result in a $4.3 million annual revenue loss for the city. She said the personal property tax refers to the taxes that businesses pay on their assets, such as their machines and vehicles.
Another tax on the chopping block is the so-called “pop-up tax,” an increase in a property tax bill that occurs when a house transfers from one owner to the next in Michigan, uncapping a constitutional limit on the property tax increase on a home’s taxable value.
Under the state Constitution, a property’s taxable value cannot increase by more than the rate of inflation or 5% each year. But when a property is sold, that cap lifts and is reset at a new, often higher taxable value, resulting in a “pop-up” in property taxes.
Varney said the “pop-up” is the only way cities “recapture” the true value of a home. Michigan also has the Headlee Amendment, a state law that requires local governments to roll back millage rates if taxable property values rise faster than the rate of inflation.
“If you take away the pop-up … and you keep the rollback of the millage, you’re basically limiting any kind of growth in taxable base for municipalities,” she said.
Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
Search for missing Michigan woman Lynette Hooker reopened
The search for missing Lynette Hooker has been reopened. Hooker, who is from Michigan, was with her husband in the Bahamas when he claims she fell off a boat. However, new location data from his cell phone contradicts the story he gave authorities.
(FOX 2) – The search for a missing Michigan in the Bahamas has been reopened after authorities say her husband allegedly gave police false information.
Lynette Hooker and her husband Brian were boating in the Bahamas in early April when, according to her husband, she fell off the boat and was swept to sea. Brian told police he had to paddle to shore after Lynette fell into the water because she had the key.
Brian was taken into custody in the Bahamas after Lynette’s disappearance, but was later released and returned back to Michigan.
Recently, it was revealed that new location data from Brian’s cell phone contradicts the story he gave to authorities, and suggests he may have sent search crews to the wrong area. This new information has led to the U.S. Coast Guard reopening its search for Lynette.
The Source: Previous reporting and information from FOX News were used in this story.
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