Michigan may not be taking as loaded of a lineup into the postseason as a year ago when the Wolverines captured their first Big Ten Championship in 49 years and placed second in the NCAA  Championships, but excitement abounds in Ann Arbor.

After all, the Wolverines finally had all eight of their wrestlers who are at least honorable mention in the latest rankings in the lineup for a dual for the first time in more than a month Sunday when they concluded the regular season by trouncing Central Michigan, 30-9. 

Secondly, on March 4-5, Michigan is hosting the Big Ten Championships for the first time in 13 years.

"The postseason is the most exciting time of the year and we have several guys that were on last season's Big Ten championship team, so they know the type of confidence and leadership it takes," Michigan coach Sean Bormet said. "I know everyone, both returning starters and guys new to the lineup, is excited to be hosting this year's tournament. I feel good about where our health is and where it will be March 4. The guys' expectations are high."

The Wolverines lost six starters and another NCAA qualifier from last season's team, including NCAA champion Nick Suriano and NCAA runner-up and Big Ten champion Myles Amine, a five-time All-American. In all, departing wrestlers accounted for two NCAA championships, 15 All-American finishes and 28 NCAA tournament appearances during their careers.

Michigan's revamped lineup struggled to remain healthy for much of this season. The Wolverines were without at least two of their ranked wrestlers for 10 of their 15 duals. Still, Michigan, 13th in the latest dual rankings, managed to finish 11-4 and 5-3 Big Ten, losing only to #1 Penn State, #2 Iowa, #5 Ohio State and #12 Oklahoma State.

The Wolverines scored wins over #14 Wisconsin, #17 Rutgers, #24 Michigan State and #25 Indiana.

Now healthy, Michigan has put itself in the best position possible to make noise at the Big  Ten Tournament with a lineup that has a combined five All-American showings and 15 NCAA Championships appearances to its credit.

"You only get to host this event every 14 years, so it's incredibly special," Bormet said. "That's how we view it, and we won't take it for granted. We're most excited to be home and wrestling in front of all our incredible Michigan fans. The toughest and best wrestling on the planet will be in Ann Arbor March 4 and everyone here is excited about that."

In all, four Wolverines who stood on the Big Ten podium last season are back, including Mason Parris and Cam Amine, who likely have the best chances of giving those fans individual championships to celebrate. It would also be the first conference titles for both two-time All-Americans.

Parris, ranked #1 at 285 and #18 pound-for-pound has been the nation's top heavyweight all season, racking up a dominant 25-0 record with 17 bonus-point wins, including 11 pins. He rose to third in the last Dan Hodge Trophy Award rankings as well.

Still, the Big Ten is loaded at heavyweight and Parris delivered a pair of intensely-close victories to remain unbeaten, beating Penn State's second-ranked Greg Kerkvliet and #3 Tony Cassioppi of Iowa by a combined 12-8 score. 

Parris' resiliency down the stretch proved the difference against the two-time All-Americans. Both matches were tied after two periods before Parris outscored them by a combined 6-2 margin in the third period.

He has also knocked off All-Americans Lucas Davison of Northwestern, ranked fourth,  and Trent Hillger of Wisconsin (#10) as well as sixth-ranked Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force, #11 Owen Trephan of North Carolina State, #17 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State), #18 Josh Heindelsman (Oklahoma) and #19 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell).

Parris has won 26 straight matches dating back to last season. Only Iowa's Spencer Lee (52), Penn State's Roman Bravo-Young (50) and Carter Starocci (44) have longer current winning streaks.

Parris' career record is 116-18, including 28-13 against All-Americans. With 45 career pins, the four-time NCAA qualifier is tied with Scott Rechsteiner for third on Michigan's all-time list. Ahead of him are Jeremiah Tobias (56) and Jeff Catrabone (55). 

Battling the effects of a herniated disc in his neck, Parris placed fourth at last year's Big Ten tourney after falling to two-time NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson of Minnesota in the 2020 and 2021 title matches. He was seventh in 2019.   

"Mason just has to continue to be the great competitor that he is," Bormet said. "He needs to execute technically and tactically and wrestle the way he has been all season. Mason has been in the fire multiple times already this season and has demonstrated exceptional composure in those matches. He just needs to continue that."

Amine, a junior, is ranked fifth at 165 and #1 in the Big Ten. He was limited to appearances in eight duals, but racked up some quality wins, including over All-Americans Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin), ranked sixth, and Carson Kharchla (Ohio State), who is #11. He also beaten #15 Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) and #24 Caleb Fish (Michigan State).

Amine's lone Big Ten loss was 6-5 decision to #10 Alex Facundo of Penn State, his Michigan high school rival. The pair split their two high school meetings.  

Amine is 10-2 this season with four bonus-point wins. His other loss was a 6-4 decison to red-shirting Bryce Hepner (Ohio State) at the Dec. 11 Cleveland Open in his first action of the season. Amine has gone 7-1 since. 

He dropped a 3-1 decision to three-time All-American Alex Marinelli (Iowa) in last year's Big Ten final after finishing third in 2021. 

"We were very pleased to get Cam back healthy enough to compete last Sunday," Bormet said. "He just brings so much to our lineup -- incredible attitude, fierce competing, determination and total pride in Michigan. I think Cam maximized every opportunity to develop and improve throughout the process of getting healthy over the last month. While he has missed some time, but I think it's only made him hungrier."

Another Year, Another Mustachioed Transfer

Last season, Bormet and the Wolverines welcomed Princeton All-American Patrick Brucki, and his signature blonde mustache, to the fold. Brucki filled a lineup vacancy at 197 pounds and finished third in the Big Ten before earning a fourth NCAA berth. 

This season, three-time NCAA qualifier Matt Finesilver (Duke) arrived in Ann Arbor, complete with black mane and mustache. 

"First of all, Matt has taken the team's mustache game to a new level, which gets debated weekly in practice," Bormet revealed. "Matt is a fun guy and an incredible teammate -- his teammates love him. He's super coachable, has a tremendous work ethic, and he's consistently improved throughout the year in all aspects of his wrestling. He's just been a wonderful addition." 

Indeed, he has.

Finesilver, ranked #8 at 184, is 20-5 with nine bonus-point wins. He has beaten 2021 All-American Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State), who is ranked #11, as well #12 Gavin Kane (North Carolina), #13 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) and #15 Brian Soldano (Rutgers). 

In the Big Ten, he has lost only to top-ranked, two-time NCAA Champion Aaron Brooks (Penn State) and #5 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State), an All-American.

Finesilver, who owns a 100-34 career mark, will be seeking fourth, top-four conference finish after placing second in the ACC in 2019 and fourth in both 2022 and 2018. 

Other Big Ten Contenders

Will Lewan (157) is seeking his fourth Big Ten podium finish and Dylan Ragusin (133) his third. 

Lewan, an All-American last season, is #12. The three-time NCAA qualifier is 16-5 and owns wins over #17 Garrett Model (Wisconsin), #18 Cael Swensen (San Diego State), #20 Derek Gilcher (Indiana) and #21 Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State).

However, the three-time NCAA qualifier is only 4-4 in the Big Ten this season, losing the four matches by a combined 15-8 margin to #7 Kendall Coleman (Purdue), #8 Levin Haines (Penn State), #10 Chase Saldate (Michigan State) and #11 Cobe Siebrecht (Iowa).

The Big Ten favorite is unbeaten, top-ranked Peyton Robb (Nebraska). Lewan has beaten him twice in the past and beaten Saldate three times.

Lewan was second in the Big Ten last season, eighth in 2021 and fifth in 2020. 

"I think 157 is a wide-open weight class, both in the Big Ten and in the NCAA Championships," Bormet said. "Will has been in a lot of heated matches this season and we have a ton of confidence in Will's ability to beat anyone at the weight. He has worked incredibly hard, especially down this homestretch, and I know he's really excited about the Big Tens and NCAAs."

Ragusin is 14-6 with eight bonus-point wins against a very tough slate of foes. His top victories have come against All-American Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), who is ranked sixth, #14 Joe Heilman (Rutgers) and #23 Taylor LaMont (Wisconsin).

Ragusin has also given top-ranked, two-time NCAA Champion Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) his toughest match of the season in a 4-2 loss. Overall, Ragusin is 4-3 in the Big Ten, also falling to #7 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) and #20 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State), whom he has beaten in the past.

He also owns past wins over #10 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) and #12 Chris Cannon (Northwestern).

Ragusin was third in the Big Ten last year and seventh in 2021.