The MSU wrestling team was unable to overcome an early deficit against West Virginia, eventually falling to the Mountaineers 23-12 in its first dual at Jenison Field House this season.
The Spartans (2-4 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) began the match with sophomore 125-pounder Brenan Lyon dropping an 11-3 major decision to No. 20 Shane Young, followed by another major decision loss by freshman 133-pounder Brandon Fifield.
The Mountaineers continued to roll as 141-pounder Michael Morales pinned freshman Brian Gibbs at the 3:20 mark, and the Spartans quickly found themselves down 14-0.
“We dug ourselves a pretty big hole,” head coach Tom Minkel said. “Part of that was that we have some guys who were hurt, some guys who were out, so we’ve got a fair amount of inexperience in the lineup, and that showed today.”
Junior No. 18 149-pounder Dan Osterman was unable to stop the bleeding, losing a 9-6 decision to Brutus Scheffel, before Senior No. 13 157-pounder Anthony Jones, Jr. finally put the Spartans on the board with a 4-2 decision. Jones’ win seemed to spark a comeback in his team, with the Spartans climbing to within 17-9 before No. 17 Matt Ryan scored a 3-2 decision on redshirt freshman 184-pounder John Rizqallah a riding time point.
Seniors 174-pounder Curran Jacobs and 165-pounder David Cheza and junior heavyweight Steve Andrus rounded out the individual winners for MSU.
The Spartans return to action Sunday at 2 p.m. to match up against the Indiana Hoosiers at home.
“We have to learn from things like this and try to get better from them rather than get discouraged,” Minkel said. “That’s a little bit of a challenge but hopefully we’ll rise to that on Sunday.”
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