Buy this photo.</a></p>
" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.michigandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/rnn.WRS_.Big10.3.5.23.4741.jpg?fit=1024%2C681&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.michigandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/rnn.WRS_.Big10.3.5.23.4741.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1" /> It seemed as though fifth-year senior heavyweight Mason Parris’s season could not get any better.
Until it did.
On Monday, Parris was voted the 2023 Dan Hodge Trophy winner, a prestigious honor given to the most dominant male wrestler in the country. Following an undefeated campaign that resulted in a National Championship trophy, Parris beat out Penn State’s three-time national champion Carter Starocci, who finished second in the voting, and Cornell’s four-time national champion Yianni Diakomihalis, who finished third.
Parris received 38 of 64 first-place votes from a panel of retired coaches, members of the media, a representative from each of the national wrestling organizations and former winners. Parris also won the fan vote, totaling 11,036 votes – nearly double the amount for second place Starocci who tallied 6,172. This added an extra five first-place votes to Parris’s total.
“This is an unreal feeling,” Parris told WIN magazine on Monday. “To even be nominated is such an honor. To win it is such a great way to represent my family and my school.”
The Hodge Trophy uses four categories to determine a winner – record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition and sportsmanship. This season, Parris boasted a 33-0 record, 21 bonus wins, 11 falls, three technical falls and seven major decisions. On his journey to a Big Ten and National title, Parris earned 17 wins over nationally-ranked opponents and went 10-0 against seven fellow All-Americans.
The Big Ten – home to 61 qualifying wrestlers in the 2023 National Championship and 16 of the 31 total Hodge winners – remains the most challenging wrestling conference in the country. Despite this, Parris barreled through conference opponents, outscoring them 126-29 and winning via fall four times.
Michigan coach Sean Bormet praised Parris’s poise throughout the season.
“If you look at the course of our season,” Bormet told WIN magazine. “He got tested a few times and went through some adversity, but he kept his composure. He did a great job staying focused on scoring the next point. All those little tests helped him keep building and feeding into his confidence.”
With a national title, conference championship and a .873 career winning percentage, Parris already cemented his place as a top wrestler in Wolverine history.
Adding a Hodge Trophy on top of that could possibly earn him the title of the greatest.