In his run to the final match, Caffey began with a bye in the round of 16. He then faced the seven seed, Zachary Braunagel of Illinois. Caffey made quick work of Braunagel, defeating him 14-3 and securing his spot in the NCAA Championships. 

Caffey then turned his attention to an old foe in Iowa’s Abe Assad. When speaking with The State News last time the Spartans took on the Hawkeyes, Caffey revealed that he had an extended history with Assad.  

“That kid beat one of my teammates in the state finals a couple years ago, and then ... he beat my brother at Greco State three or four years ago,” Caffey said. “It was really a redemption thing for them, for all the homies back home.” 

Caffey took a quick lead at 3-1 midway through the second period, and never looked back as he defeated Assad 5-3. 

However, Caffey’s run came to an end on Sunday night when he ran into Brooks. 

In addition to Caffey’s strong performance, many other individuals stood out for MSU, as five others qualified for the NCAA Championships with a top-eight finish in the Big Ten Championships. 

Senior Logan Griffin led the way for Michigan State in the 125-pound weight class. After losing early to rival Jack Medley of Michigan, Griffin bounced back in the consolation bracket, securing back-to-back wins to find himself in the seventh-place matchup against Ohio State’s Malik Heinselman, where Griffin fell 8-4, but still able to secure a NCAA Championships berth with an eighth-place finish. 

Redshirt junior Alex Hrisopoulos also secured his place in the NCAA Championships by way of the consolation bracket as he took down Illinois’ Mousa Jodeh 7-3 and secured his NCAA berth with a medical forfeit from Rutgers’ Gerard Angelo. Hrisopoulos finished seventh in the Big Ten after defeating Wisconsin’s Cole Martin 2-0. 

After being upset by 11-seed Elijah Cleary from Ohio State, Jake Tucker found himself in an unexpected position early. This only seemed to fuel to the fire however, as Tucker blew through the consolation bracket, winning three straight matches and securing his spot in the NCAA’s with a sixth-place finish after medically forfeiting his next two matches. 

Lastly, Michigan State’s Drew Hughes and Layne Malczewski both finished with seven played in their respective weight classes. 

For the Spartans, a team that was in the gutter of the Big Ten Conference just a few short years ago, this was a monumental step for the Michigan State program. 

“I think the biggest thing is that our guys have bought in to the process and obviously they are competing at a higher level, and the results are starting to show," MSU wrestling head coach Roger Chandler said in an article from MSUSpartans.com. "It's not always easy to start at rock-bottom and kind of build up into a program that's being recognized now. These guys have truly bought in to the process, and the process takes time. They've bought in and now they're figuring out how to compete at the highest level." 

As for team results, Michigan State finished with 57 points and a tenth-place finish as the Iowa Hawkeyes collected a stress-free win with 157.5 total points. Here are this weekend’s complete results by team: 

1. Iowa (157.5) 

2. Nebraska (132) 

3. Ohio State (112) 

4. Penn State (107) 

5. Purdue (83) 

6. Northwestern (79.5) 

7. Michigan (73) 

8. Minnesota (63.5) 

9. Wisconsin (62.5) 

10. Michigan State (57.5) 

11. Illinois (49) 

12. Rutgers (25.5) 

13. Indiana (14.5) 

14. Maryland (0)