Team effort helps notch first shutout in 8 years

The outcome of Friday’s dual meet was already decided by the time sophomore wrestler Alan O’Donnell stepped on the Jenison Field House mat, but that didn’t make the final match of the night any less exciting.

The Spartans held a 36-0 lead over visiting Ohio heading into the heavyweight match, as they turned an opening-round forfeit at 125 pounds into an eight-match winning streak.

With one match remaining, the stage was set for MSU to post its first shutout since 1998 as O’Donnell and Ohio’s Jason Marshall took part in the finale.

After a scoreless first round, the two heavyweights battled to a 4-4 tie at the end of round two and traded takedowns early in the third round.

With 1:13 remaining, Marshall used a takedown to jump ahead 8-6, but O’Donnell escaped from Marshall’s hold a few seconds later to earn a one-point escape. The two battled back and forth until O’Donnell took down Marshall with an inside trip with four seconds remaining to take the match 9-8 and secure the 39-0 shutout.

“I know Alan didn’t want to be the one guy to lose, especially that way, and I was really pleased,” MSU head coach Tom Minkel said. “In the heavyweight class, traditionally, guys will not shoot as much, but Alan took two real good shots for takedowns, and of course his inside trip there to finish it off with four seconds to go was huge.”

While O’Donnell’s victory sealed the win for the Spartans, it would have never have come down to him if not for the trio of Micah Carter, Anthony Jones and John Fulger.

Carter, a sophomore, won his dual match debut in the 141-pound class with a 12-6 decision, while Fulger picked up the 11th win of his freshman campaign in the 157-pound weight class with a 7-2 win.

Jones, a freshman, who was also making his dual match debut, and Ohio’s Kevin Christensen went to sudden death after finishing the first three rounds tied 3-3. Jones made quick work of Christensen in sudden death, notching a two-point takedown 10 seconds into the overtime round for the 5-3 win.

Sophomore Franklin Gomez, ranked No. 3 nationally at 133 pounds, won his match 13-3, while No. 18-ranked senior Joe Williams won his 197-pound match 9-2.

Minkel and his staff have been incorporating a more aggressive training regimen that encourages placing more pressure on opponents. O’Donnell said he believes the new philosophy was key to producing the shutout.

“We changed our training around a lot and it’s mostly just ‘in your face’ wrestling, and it’s not just hanging back and waiting for things to open up,” he said. “It’s ‘get it, push the pace and make them work hard for it.’

“Especially in that 149-pound match where Jones wrestled, the kid was good but he was dead by the last minute and that’s where Jones capitalized.”

The Spartans’ next match is 2 p.m. Saturday when they battle Pittsburgh and Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.

Published on Sunday, January 6, 2008