The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 71 3. JACK AHO GRAYSLAKE, ILL. • TRACK Aho, a two-time Illinois 2A state champion in cross county, placed third at the Nike Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships this past fall, running 14:55.1 over the 5,000-meter course. He then finished 17th at the Nike Cross Country Nationals in Port- land, Ore., last December. At the Footlocker Cross Country Championships in San Diego last De- cember, Aho placed 18th. Nike ranked him as the No. 22 prep cross country runner in the nation. He is a two-time state runner-up in the 3,200-meter run at the Illinois 3A state track and field championships and finished third as sophomore. "Jack was really good in the 3,200 meters at the high school level," U-M head track and field coach Jerry Clayton said. "He competed well in the state meet and had some of the top times in his home state of Illinois. "I know [head cross country] Coach [Kevin] Sullivan was very excited about him, not only because of what he did on the track, but also because of what he did at the Nike Cross Country Nation- als and Foot Locker championships. "He's just someone who will help keep that area very strong, and he's someone who we hope will come in and be a leader there, and help con- tinue our successes in cross country, along with our indoor and outdoor distance events. He'll be more of the longer distance in those areas." 4. JELANI EMBREE EASTPOINTE, MICH. • WRESTLING Embree is ranked No. 4 nationally at 182 pounds and was listed as the No. 28 overall recruit in the senior class by FloWrestling. He grabbed a state title at 171 pounds as a junior and at 189 pounds as senior for Warren Lincoln High School in Warren, Mich. In addition, Embree was a double All-American in 2016 at the Junior National Champi- onships in Fargo, N.D., placing sixth in Greco-Roman and third in freestyle. "Jelani really has some physical tools," head coach Joe McFarland said. "He's very explosive and can do a lot of things. I think he's going to have a great collegiate career at Michigan." 5. JACOB MOORE WEST BLOOMFIELD, MICH. • GYMNASTICS At the 2014 Men's Junior Olym- pic National Championships in Long Beach, Calif., Moore tied for third place on the pommel horse. He ex- perienced even more success at the same event two years later in Battle Creek, Mich., tying for second in the floor exercise while also coming in third on the pommel horse. He is a member of the U.S. Junior National Team. 6. LAYNE VAN ANROOY ROSEBURG, ORE. • WRESTLING Van Anrooy is ranked No. 2 nation- ally at 160 pounds and No. 38 overall in the senior class by FloWrestling. He is a four-time Oregon 6A state champion, winning at 138 pounds in 2014, 152 pounds in 2015 and 160 pounds the last two seasons. "I like him because he's real physi- cal and wrestles very hard — you can just tell by the way he trains," McFar- land said. "He's aggressive with his wrestling, and I think he'll be a really good fit in the Big Ten Conference, because it's a physical conference." 7. JANDON BRISCOE NEW ORLEANS • TRACK As a senior last spring, Briscoe captured the state championship in the 200 meters with a personal-best time of 21.23. He also ran a career- best 46.88 to finish second in the 400 meters at the state meet. His time ranked him No. 27 nationally in the event among prep runners in 2017. As a junior, he captured the Louisi- ana 5A (largest schools) state title in the 400 meters and placed fourth in the 200 meters. In 2016, Briscoe placed second in the 400 at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships in Sacra- mento, Calif. "Jandon will add a lot with his ex- perience in the 200 meters and the 400 meters," Clayton noted. "He had an outstanding career at the high school level, and adding him to what we have will help in those two events. "We're excited about Jandon, obvi- ously in his running abilities, but I was also really impressed with him on his visit as an individual. He has a great family and is just the whole package. We were really excited when he signed and made that com- mitment to be a Wolverine." 8. CONNOR PRASSAS WINNETKA, ILL. • GOLF Prassas is ranked No. 2 in Illinois and No. 93 overall nationally by Golf- week. During his American Junior Golf Association play this summer, he placed fifth at the Coca Cola Ju- nior Championship in Boyne High- lands, Mich. Grayslake, Ill., native Jack Aho is a two- time state champion in cross country. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS Golfweek ranked Connor Prassas as the No. 93 overall player in the country dur- ing his senior campaign. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS