RALEIGH, N.C. — University of Michigan rising sophomore Mason Parris rallied in the championship series, winning the final two bouts, to secure the 125kg/275-pound freestyle title at the United World Wrestling (UWW) Junior World Team Trials last weekend (May 17-18) at Reynolds Coliseum. With the win, Parris secured a spot on the U.S. junior world team — the first world team of his career.
The 2019 Junior World Championships is scheduled for Aug. 12-18, in Tallinn, Estonia. Parris is the first Wolverine to make a junior world team since Alec Pantaleo in 2016. Stevan Micic and Adam Coon also captured junior world bronze in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
After dropping a close 7-6 decision to Wisconsin’s Trent Hillger, Parris rallied with two dominant wins — a 10-0 technical superiority and 39-second fall — in the best-of-three championship series. The Wolverine heavyweight earned a pair of early takedowns off his dump, including one to Hillger’s back for four points, to jump out to a 6-0 lead in the middle match before adding two exposure points in a second-period scramble and a late spin out from a Hilger single-leg attack to end it.
Parris ended the rubber match even quicker, transitioning from a fireman’s carry to a seatbelt in the opening 10 seconds before horsing Hillger over to his back and keeping the arm for the fall at the 39-second mark.
Michigan also had five representatives in the senior-level competition, with Coon taking second at 125kg after falling in his best-of-three final against Minnesota’s Gable Steveson and Logan Massa and Kevin Beazley taking third place at 74kg/163 and 97kg/213 pounds, respectively.
