No. 16 MSU is hosting one of the nation’s largest tournaments this weekend.
The Michigan State Open, held Saturday and Sunday at Jenison Field House, is a double-elimination tourney with each wrestler competing on an individual basis, and no team scoring.
Last season’s event brought to the mats more than 300 wrestlers from 18 different schools, including five ranked squads.
This year, the Big Ten features seven of its 11 teams ranked in the top 20, according to the National Wrestling Coaches’ Association poll released Wednesday.
Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State and Illinois grace the poll’s top 10 list, with Minnesota nabbing the top spot. Because the tourney is open to all wrestlers, brackets will be set after registration on Saturday, but No. 5 U-M and No. 6 Ohio State have made definite plans to attend.
The Spartans come to battle boasting eight of the top 20 grapplers in the nation, including two-time All-American senior co-captain Gray Maynard, whose fifth-place ranking is tops for MSU.
Spartan seniors Nik Fekete and Karl Nadolsky round out the top 10 with rankings of sixth and ninth, respectively.
The tournament marks MSU’s second of the year. Eight Spartans placed at the Eastern Michigan Open on Nov. 2. Senior John Wechter garnered first-place honors in the heavyweight division after defeating teammate, junior Mike Keenan in the championship match.
Dawn Klemish
