Article: Parris claims first Big 10 title in last home match

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By Dave Melton

Photo: Sam Janicki

 

Michigan senior Mason Parris kept coming back to phrases like “job’s not done” or “the season’s not over yet.”

 

But the Wolverines heavyweight also couldn’t downplay what he’d accomplished on Sunday night.

 

“That’s definitely one of the top memories so far,” he said. “I’ve been wanting that Big Ten title for a really long time and it’s great to finally have one.”

 

With a 5-3 overtime win against Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet — a championship match between the top two heavyweights in the country, let alone the conference — Parris captured the first Big Ten championship of his career while wrestling in front of the home crowd at the University of Michigan.

 

But as soon as he finished that brief reflection on that win, Parris’ mind moved forward.

 

“Obviously, the job’s not done,” he said. “Two more weeks it’s the NCAA tournament and that’s still the main goal — this is just a stepping stone.”

 

Parris’ record now sits at 28-0, living up to his No. 1 ranking at heavyweight by both FloWrestling and Intermat with his first-place finish at the Big Ten tournament.

 

His career accolades were already a mile long, including three high school state titles before graduating from Lawrenceburg in 2018, a freestyle world championship in 2019, and a runner-up finish at the NCAA tournament in 2021. But the Big Ten title had remained elusive, with Parris finishing as runner-up twice and fourth place last season.

 

Reaching this title included a brief step back, too, as head coach Sean Bormet explained.

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