Purdue freshman Emil Soehnlen lifts senior Drew Hughes during the Spartans' loss to Purdue on Feb. 12, 2021.
With only one more matchup of the regular season left, the No. 22 Spartans faced off against the No. 17 Boilermakers in a 21-12 matchup.
In last weekend’s matchup, the Spartans walked away 1-1 with a 28-10 over the Indiana Hoosiers but a 27-10 loss to the No. 7 Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The Spartans were excited to be back home to face off against the Boilermakers.
“It’s good to be back home and be competing again in Jenison Field House," Head Coach Roger Chandler said after the meet. "The season has flown by and has been a very weird, shortened season, but we are very grateful to be able to compete the final two weekends prior to the postseason. Our guys have been adjusting each week since we started competing, which is a good sign that they are tightening things up individually."
The match started off with two ranked opponents, MSU’s No. 13 Rayvon Foley against Purdue’s No. 9 Devin Schroder. Foley defeated Schroder in a 10-4 decision as MSU led 3-0.
In a 5-1 decision in the 133-pound weight class, redshirt freshman Jordan Hamdan lost to Purdue’s freshman Jacob Rundell, both unranked. All of a sudden, MSU was tied 3-3 with the Boilermakers.
For the next matchup, MSU redshirt junior Jaden Enriquez dueled against Purdue’s redshirt junior Parker Filius. Ultimately, Enriquez fell short by 17-2 technical fall. Purdue led overall, 8-3.
Redshirt freshman Peyton Omania, 2-3, next faced off against Purdue’s No. 9 Griffin Parriott, a redshirt senior with an overall 2-0 record. In a 11-2 major decision, Parriott defeated Omania.
For the 157-pound weight class, Purdue’s No. 7 wrestler Kendall Coleman defeated MSU’s Chase Saldate in a 6-4 decision after going toe to toe for the majority of the matchup.
In the last three matches, Saldate has won them all by shutout, which started with a 4-0 shutout against Ohio State’s No. 23 Elijah Cleary. The next shutout took place against Indiana’s Matt Ortiz in a 8-0 major decision. The third happened with Nebraska's Jevon Parrish with another 8-0 major decision. Saldate failed to keep the streak alive today, ultimately falling short to Coleman.
In a back and forth match, MSU’s No. 17 Jake Tucker pulled out the win against Purdue’s Gerrit Nijenhuis with a late 3-1 takedown.
The Spartans kept their momentum going as No. 20 Drew Hughes defeated Purdue’s Emil Soehnlen by a 4-2 sudden victory decision, the first of MSU’s of the day.
Undefeated No. 12 Layne Malczewski brought the energy today even though he lost to Purdue’s No. 14 Max Lyon for the 184 weight class.
Moving up the 197-pound weight class from the 184 class last season, No. 8 Cameron Caffey defeated Purdue’s No. 12 Thomas Penola in the final ranked matchup of the night.
Throughout the season, Caffey has won 16 of his last 17 matches overall. Caffey had his winning streak halted last week as he lost to No. 2 Eric Shultz in a 6-5 decision. Prior to this, Caffey has not faced a loss since the Big Ten Championship last season.
“The special thing about Cam Caffey is his mindset but he’s a little undersized … and he’s dealing with guys who are much bigger than what he’s used to competing against,” Chandler said.
Can't work that 9-to-5 without a cup of Caffey!!☕️
Just how Dolly sang it: "Working 9-to-5, what a way to make a living!"
For the heavyweight division, MSU’s Christian Rebottaro faced off against Purdue’s Jamarcus Grant and fell short in a 4-2 decision.
“I just felt like that team was more physical than we were today, and I think our guys were a little caught off guard by that, but that’s an easy adjustment we can make," Chandler said. "It’s hard to make it in the moment."
The Spartans are now looking to take on the Wolverines next Friday.
“That was the lesson we talked about in the locker room is it’s going to be easy to get up for next week," Chandler said. "That’s our in-state rival. It’ll be special to have it here at home."
Next week’s final match of the regular season will take place at Jenison Field House against the rival Michigan Wolverines, who are currently ranked No. 2 with an overall record of 3-0.
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