Michigan head coach Sean Bormet and his staff thought they had found a solution at 165 pounds after brothers Beau and Brock Mantanona, who shared the spot last season, both moved up in weight.

NCAA qualifier Dylan Gilcher, a redshirt sophomore, moved up two weight classes with relative ease to succeed them. 

He bolted to a 7-3 start, including three technical falls and a major decision, and was one of five Wolverines who went 5-1 in the team's first six duals of the season. 

While #30 in the latest rankings, Gilcher owned wins over #16 Maxx Mayfield (Missouri), a three-time NCAA qualifier, #18 Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State) and #28 Cesar Alvan (Columbia). 

Unfortunately, Bormet will have to insert a new 165-pound starter into the lineup just as Big Ten Conference duals are about to commence after Gilcher suffered a knee injury during last month's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which will cause him to miss the remainder of the season.

Gilcher, who also missed time last season after tweaking his knee while jogging, seemed well on his way to bettering last season's 10-12 record, including 3-4 in duals. 

Redshirt freshman Justin Gates appears to be the most viable replacement for Gilcher. 

After redshirting and not wrestling any matches last season due to injury, Gates is 9-4 this season with a pin and major decision. The Davison High School product and three-time Michigan state champion has wrestled all but three of his matches at 165. 

Big Ten Battles Begin 

Losing Gilcher aside, Bormet and the Wolverines are eager bring on the Big Ten battles with a steely determination to better last season's 3-5 conference duals record. 

That was the Wolverines' lowest Big Ten duals winning percentage (.375) since also going 3-5 in 2012-13. Overall, they finished with a winning duals mark (7-5) for the 13th straight season. 

"We love that grueling Big Ten season and it's a privilege to compete in the toughest conference and in the biggest arenas across the country," said Bormet, who boasts a 38-18 Big Ten mark during his tenure, which began in 2018-19. "We've got to continue to build the right momentum throughout the season, continue to improve week to week and put our best wrestling on the mat, consistently, every weekend."

While Michigan does not officially kick off its conference slate until hosting Michigan State on Friday, the Wolverines dropped a 24-14 decision to Nebraska during the National Duals Invitational in November. 

The match was highlighted by redshirt freshman Brock Mantanona's decision over three-time NCAA qualifier, 2025 All-American and 2023 Big Ten champion Silas Allred. 

The Wolverines are off to a 4-2 start with wins over Arizona State, Virginia, VMI and Columbia and losses to Missouri and the Cornhuskers, but moving up the Big Ten standings will not be an easy task.

They face unbeatens Penn State (6-0), which has won an NCAA Division I record 77 straight duals, Ohio State (10-0) and Wisconsin (8-0 for the first time in 19 years). Illinois, which Michigan has not faced since 2020, Rutgers, Iowa and Northwestern are a combined 22-7. Rutgers also recently captured the title at the Midlands Tournament for the first time. 

Here is a look at some of the most challenging matchups that potentially await Michigan's ranked wrestlers and comebacking All-American Dylan Ragusin in upcoming Big Ten duals:

#23 Diego Sotelo (125 pounds): #2 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State), #5 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), #7 Dean Peterson (Iowa), #14 Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin), #15 Spencer Moore (Illinois), #31 Dedrick Navarro (Northwestern) and #33 Ayden Smith (Rutgers). 

Sotelo, a two-time NCAA qualifier for Harvard before transferring to Michigan, is 9-3, including 5-1 in duals. He will face a gauntlet of the Big Ten's best, almost all of them for the first time. 

Sotelo has only squared off against Navarro previously, taking a 7-6 decision at the 2024 Midlands. 

Dylan Ragusin (141): #1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), #7 Joey Olivieri (Rutgers), #11 Aaron Nagao (Penn State), #14 Nasir Bailey (Iowa), #17 Danny Pucino (Illinois) and #31 Billy DeKraker (Northwestern). 

Ragusin, a 2024 All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier, began the season ranked #11 before dropping out of the rankings after not being able to make his season debut until the Dec. 20 Kent State Holiday Classic.

Ragusin went 2-2 there, good enough for fourth place, in his first matches in more than a year after suffering season-ending knee injury at the 2024 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He has moved up a weight after spending the previous four seasons at 133. 

He went 1-2 against Mendez during the 2022-23 season, including a 5-3 win at the Big Ten Championships. Ragusin has also beaten Nagao twice and Olivieri once. He dropped a decision to Bailey during the 2024 NCAA Championships. 

#17 Lachlan McNeil (149): #1 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State), #5 Ethan Stiles (Ohio State), #9 Ryder Block (Iowa), #18 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) and #30 Micheal Gioffre (Illinois).

McNeil, a three-time All-American for North Carolina, has gone 7-3 (5-1 in duals) in his first season in Ann Arbor. 

He split a pair of meetings with Stiles last season. After dropping a 5-3 decision to Stiles in a dual, McNeil beat him, 8-4, during the NCAA Championships where he also lost his only career match against Van Ness, 7-2.

McNeil has proved his worth against quality opponents, beating 10 All-Americans thus far in his career.

#14 Cam Catrabone (157): #1 Brandon Cannon (Ohio State), #3 PJ Duke (Penn State), #9 Kannon Webster (Illinois), #10 Jordan Williams (Iowa) and #28 Luke Mechler (Wisconsin).

Catrabone, a redshirt freshman, has not yet to face any of the above, but is 8-4 this season.

#12 Beau Mantanona (174): #1 Levi Haines (Penn State), #3 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), #4 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State), #10 Lenny Pinto (Rutgers), #25 Colin Kelly (Illinois) and #33 Eddie Enright (Northwestern). 

Mantanona is 10-3 this season and edged Enright, 12-10, at Cliff Keen last month. 

 #8 Brock Mantanona (184): #1 Angelo Ferrari (Iowa), #4 Rocco Welsh (Ohio State), #6 Dylan Fishback (Ohio State), #18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers) and #20 Chris Moore (Illinois).

The redshirt freshman has not faced any of the above because he spent last season down at 165, but is 9-2 at this new weight this season, including 5-1 in duals. 

Mantanona heads into Big Ten duals with several quality wins on his resume. 

#6 Taye Ghadiali (285): #3 Nick Feldman (Ohio State), #5 Ben Kueter (Iowa), #13 Luke Luffman (Illinois), #14 Cole Mirasola (Penn State), #17 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin), #21 Hunter Catka (Rutgers) and #29 Max Vanadia (Michigan State). 

After spending six seasons at Campbell, the 2024 All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier is off to an 11-3 start for the Wolverines, including 5-1 in duals.

Ghadiali has gone 1-1 against Feldman, winning by injury default during the 2023 Cliff Keen and dropping a decision at the 2024 NCAA Championships. He has faced Luffman once, losing by decision at the 2021 NCAA Championships. 

Ghadiali has beaten Catka three times, most recently during the 2024 NCAA Championships. 

Midlands Recap

Michigan's Sergio Lemley (149 pounds) and Joseph Walker (184) both reached the semifinals of last week's Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. 

Lemley, a two-time NCAA qualifier who is redshirting this season while adjusting to a new weight, went 5-1, suffering his first loss of the season to 15th-ranked Collin Gaj (Virginia Tech). Lemley, 13-1 this season, outscored his other five opponents by a combined 55-10 margin. 

Walker, who is winding down his college career, was also 5-1, outscoring his first five foes 36-10 before dropping a 5-2 decision to #20 Chris Moore (Illinois), a 2024 NCAA qualifier. 

Walker, who has provided steadiness and depth to the lineup during his time in Ann Arbor, is 6-3 season and owns a career mark of 24-17, including a 9-12 duals mark against strong competition. He also went 14-4 during the 2021-22 season while redshirting.