Mason Parris is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 125 kg. He won the freestyle gold medal at the 2019 World Junior Wrestling Championships.
He was the 2023 NCAA Division I national champion, Big Ten Conference champion at 285 pounds, and Dan Hodge Trophy winner. Parris has also qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Mason Parris qualifies for the Paris Olympics 2024
Mason Parris qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024 in wrestling. He secured his position on the United States Olympic Wrestling Team by winning the 125 kg weight class at the U.S. Wrestling Olympic Team Trials held at Penn State University. Parris advanced directly to the championship round because he had earned a bronze medal at the World Championships last September.
In the Trials, Parris defeated Hayden Zillmer twice, with a score of 7-0 in both matches, in a best-of-three contest. Before the Trials, in late February, Parris had won a gold medal at the Pan American Wrestling Championship.
“I’m super excited,”“I feel like I’ve been waiting for this since the world championships, and I just feel like I’ve been doing all the right things and really just trusting in myself and my abilities and trusting in God and just improving myself and seeing myself grow every single day.”
said Parris, who has been training for the Olympic trials at Michigan’s Cliff Keen Wrestling Club in Ann Arbor.
Mason Parris’s Family and College Wrestling
Mason Parris was born on October 1, 1999, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, United States. His parents are Mark and Shay Parris, and he has an older sister named Paxton. Parris stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) and weighs 125 kg (276 lb).
He wrestles for the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club and is coached by Sean Bormet, specializing in the 285 lb (129 kg) weight class in Freestyle and Folkstyle. His Regional Training Center is Cliff Keen WC. Parris attended Lawrenceburg High School, graduating in 2018. He was a three-sport athlete, participating in wrestling, football, and track and field, setting an Indiana state record with 11 career pins at the state tournament. He then attended the University of Michigan, majoring in Civil Engineering.
After an outstanding season, he was named an All-American, awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy as the best collegiate wrestler, and named the University of Michigan’s Athlete of the Year. In football, he was a three-time First Team All-State as a linebacker and a three-time TriState Football Indiana Defensive Player of the Year, finishing his career with impressive statistics in tackles, sacks, tackles for losses, forced fumbles, interceptions, and awkward comebacks.
Mason Parris is in a happy relationship
Mason Parris has been in a relationship with Makenna White since 2016, but they are not married yet. Makenna White is a newly graduated Registered Nurse. She lives in Muncie, Indiana, United States. White completed her high school diploma from Lawrenceburg High School, graduating in 2019.
After that, she obtained an Associate’s Degree in General Studies from Vincennes University. Finally, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Ball State University in 2022.
Parris Had a successful High School Career
Parris had a successful high school career from 2015-2018. He helped his team finish second in the 2016 state 3A championship. Mason qualified for state twice in the shot put and 110m hurdles events. He was in the National Honor Society and on the Honor Roll all four years. In 2016 and 2017, he was named the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference 3A Defensive Most Valuable Player in football. In 2017, he also won the TriState Football Indiana Defensive Player of the Year award.
As a wrestler, Parris won three Indiana state titles at 220 pounds weight class from 2016-2018. He set an Indiana state record with 11 career pins at the state tournament. Over his final three seasons, his overall record was 206 wins and only 1 loss, including an incredible 152-0 run. In 2018, he received the Junior Schalles Award for being the best high school pinner.
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In 2019 at the college level, Parris finished as runner-up at the Big Ten tournament, losing 8-6 to Gable Steveson. He was scheduled for the NCAA championships but it got canceled due to COVID-19. Despite this, he was named a First Team NCAA Division I All-American based on his season performance.
At the 2019 World Junior Wrestling Championships, Parris went undefeated at 4-0, outscoring opponents 36-3. In the gold medal match, he pinned future Olympic medalist Amir Hossein Zare in the first period.
Mason Collection of medals representing the US
In 2021 as a junior, Parris had a 12-2 record. He missed half the season due to a neck injury from the U.S. World Team Trials. At the Big Ten tournament, he finished as runner-up to Steveson. At the NCAA Championships, he again finished as runner-up, losing 8-4 to Steveson in the final. Over the last two seasons, Parris only lost three matches, all to Steveson. After the season, he was named an All-American again. In December 2021, he signed a deal with WWE.
As a senior in 2022, Parris had a 19-6 record. He finished 4th at the Big Ten Championships and 5th at the NCAA Championships. After the season, he was named an All-American again.
In 2023, Parris earned 17 wins over nationally ranked opponents and went 10-0 against NCAA heavyweight All-Americans. At the Big Ten Championships, he won the heavyweight title, defeating Kerkvliet 5-3 in overtime.
He became Michigan’s first Big Ten heavyweight champion since 1998. At the NCAA Championships, Parris went 5-0 as the top seed, outscoring opponents 49-6. In the final, he defeated Kerkvliet 5-1 to win the NCAA heavyweight championship, Michigan’s first since 1986.
Parris won a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships in men’s 125kg freestyle. At the 2023 Pan American Games, he won gold in 125kg, defeating two-time Olympian Díaz.
In 2024 at the Pan American Wrestling Championships, Parris won gold in men’s 125kg freestyle. He won his first match 10-0 before his semifinal and final opponents defaulted due to injuries.
