Thursday, March 28, 2024

Michigan State wrestling defeats Bucknell, continues undefeated start to the season

January 8, 2023
<p>Redshirt junior Layne Malczewski scores a reversal over Central&#x27;s Ben Cushman in MSU’s match against Central at Jenison Field House on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. </p>

Redshirt junior Layne Malczewski scores a reversal over Central's Ben Cushman in MSU’s match against Central at Jenison Field House on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022.

Photo by Chloe Trofatter | The State News

Michigan State wrestling defeated the Bucknell Bisons this past Friday at Jenison Fieldhouse to continue the team's impressive start to the season.

Junior Tristan Lujan set the tone early. Lujan was able to give the Spartans a smooth foundation to build off of, winning by default of 14-5 against freshman Grayson Mclellan.

With a leg up already for the Spartans, graduate student Ravyon Foley matched up against junior Kurt Phipps. Both wrestlers seemed to be evenly matched, ironing out a 4-4 tie in the last moments of the bout. Foley was able to best Phipps and eliminate any rebound by the Bisons following their defeat in the 125-pound brawl, putting the Spartans up 7-0.

Foley has been a key figure in the Spartans success in the past years. In just his freshman year, Foley was the single Michigan State freshman to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 1978. He continues to dominate for the Spartans in his sixth season in green and white.

The tide turned in favor of the Bisons when it came to the 141-pound matchup. Sophomore Dylan Chappell one-upped MSU's redshirt junior Jordan Hamdan with a 2-1 victory.

The Bisons also reigned over the wrestling mat with the 149-pound matchup, with MSU's redshirt junior Peyton Omania suffering a 3-1 loss to freshman Braden Bower. The Bisons still trailed the Spartans 7-6.

In a search for vengeance and a stop to this Bucknell run, junior Chase Saldate claimed the victory over freshman Riley Bower by way of major decision. This 8-0 victory by Saldate put the Spartans up 11-6.

The rest of the team seemed to follow Saldate's lead. From there on out, The Spartans went on a 4-0 run the next 4 matchups. 

Before the Spartans ran away with another win, the Bisons made sure to leave with somewhat of a last laugh. In the last matchup, junior Dorian Crosby managed to best MSU's graduate student Ryan Vasbinder with a 5-3 victory. 

The end result was in favor of the Spartans 28-9, with the home team securing the win in front of a crowd of wrestling alumni that made the trip back for the home opener.

Now, the Spartans will prepare for next week's rivalry matchup with Michigan. The two programs will face off Friday at 6:30 p.m. with streaming available on Big Ten Plus.

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