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MSU opens season with Green-White Wrestle Offs

October 28, 2016
Redshirt-junior Javier Gasca (white) prepares to grapple with freshman Jwan Britton (green) during the wrestling team's green and white day on Oct. 27, 2016 in IM-Sports West.
Redshirt-junior Javier Gasca (white) prepares to grapple with freshman Jwan Britton (green) during the wrestling team's green and white day on Oct. 27, 2016 in IM-Sports West. —
Photo by Emilia McConnell | The State News

The MSU wrestling team officially opened the 2016-17 season Thursday night with the annual Green-White Wrestle Offs.

The White team won the match with a couple of big individual wins, including wins from redshirt-junior Javier Gasca and redshirt-junior Dean Vettese.

The Wrestle Offs marked the first time the fans got to see the wrestling team with head coach Roger Chandler at the helm. Chandler took the reins from Tom Minkel after serving nearly 20 years as a member of the Spartan wrestling staff. Overall, Chandler said he felt the team performed well for their first time on the mat this season.

“You go into these events, especially like tonight it's an inter-squad meet," Chandler said. "You see these guys wrestle every day in the room, but when you put them in a competitive atmosphere you’re hoping some of the stuff that we’ve been drilling and training in the room comes over, and some of it has."

Chandler also said he saw growth from his returning players as well.

“I definitely saw some improvement from our returning guys," he said. "At the same time, I saw our freshmen really pushing the pace, which is a great situation that we have in the program because the freshman class is very talented and they’re pushing the upperclassmen and the upperclassmen are stepping up to the challenge."

Gasca was the only member of the team to record a major decision in a match Thursday. Gasca was the only NCAA Tournament qualifier on the team last season and said he is looking to improve on this season.

“I just want to build on it, keep going up, keep winning, keep becoming successful and slowly but surely get the team where I was,” Gasca said.

Redshirt-sophomore Austin Eicher, a transfer from Northern Illinois, won the Mid-American Championship at 133 pounds last season. Eicher said he is ready for the season and is hoping to make an impact for the Spartans.

“I am excited (for the season), I’m ready to go," Eicher said. "Me and (Javier) are in the rankings this year and we are going to try to keep climbing. I’m excited because I’m in a new conference, and it’s a whole 'nother level of competition and I’m excited for the year to start."

Chandler and the team will prepare for the season opener at the Eastern Michigan Open on Nov. 5 in Ypsilanti, Mich.

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