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Michigan State wrestling suffers first defeat of the season to No. 3 Michigan

January 14, 2023

MSU Wrestling hosted University of Michigan at Jenison Fieldhouse on January 13, 2023. The Spartans fell 25-10 to the 3rd ranked Wolverines.

Michigan State wrestling suffered its first defeat of the season Friday night against Michigan at a sold out Jenison Fieldhouse. The Spartans lost by a final score of 25-10.

MSU junior Tristan Lujan, with a record of 14-1 on the year, led off the 125 lb showdown against Michigan graduate student Jack Medley, 12-5. Medley had the upper hand in a match that ultimately ended in a 3-0 lead for the Wolverines. 

Up next was the 133 lb weight class. Graduate student Rayvon Foley, took on Michigan redshirt sophomore Dylan Ragusin. Foley ignited the crowd as he was able to topple Ragusin for most of the match. Foley was able to put the Spartans back in motion, with the scoreboard reading 4-3 in favor of the green and white.

For the 141 lb weigh-in, MSU redshirt junior Jordan Hamdan and U-M redshirt junior Cole Mattin faced off. Both didn’t hesitate to get busy, but Mattin was ultimately successful with numerous pins to the mat. This match went in favor of the Wolverines, giving Michigan a 7-4 overall lead. 

MSU redshirt junior Peyton Omania faced off against U-M redshirt freshman Chance Lamer in the 149 lb weight class. The crowd saw somewhat of an evenly matched standstill with these two, until Lamer started heating up. He was able to put the Wolverines up 11-4.

For the 157 lb weigh-in, MSU junior Chase Saldate took on U-M redshirt senior Will Lewan. Both chipped away at each other for the first minutes. In an epic spurt, Saldate bested Lewan with a unique takedown, thrilling the crowd, but the Spartans still trailed 11-7.

Starting off from the break at intermission was MSU junior Caleb Fish. He went up against U-M redshirt junior Cameron Amine for the 165 lb showdown. This was the first matchup tied 0-0 in the first minute. Amine broke this drought, muscling Fish to the end of the mat to go up 1-0. Fish responded, warding off Amine’s takedowns and evening the score. In a blink of an eye, Amine delivered a substantial blow to Fish, with a menacing slam to the mat, putting him up 3-1. Fish fought back for the start of an exciting turn of events. However, time was on Amine’s side, and Michigan went up 14-7.

MSU freshman Ceasar Garza met U-M redshirt sophomore Joseph Walker for the 174 lb matchup. Garza and Walker split even at 2-2 in the first minutes. Walker then delivered a powerful series of takedowns, putting him up 6-2, tallying more points for the Wolverines who led 17-7.

For the 184 lb weigh-in, MSU redshirt senior Layne Malczewski met U-M graduate student Matt Finesilver. Finesilver went up 2-0 almost immediately, but Malczewski was quick to respond. Finesilver eventually ran away with a 5-4 victory after much resistance from Malczewski, putting the Wolverines up 19-7.

MSU graduate student Cameron Caffey squared off against U-M redshirt sophomore Brendin Yatooma in the 197 lb weigh-in. Yatooma was quick to get things rolling but Caffey responded in the same manner. All tied up, Caffey and Yatooma battled until the last minute. Caffey was doing anything he could to contribute to a Spartan comeback. Caffey then suddenly tied it up in the last moments, leading to an exciting victory 6-5. Spartans then trailed the Wolverines 19-10 with the 285 lb weigh-in approaching.

Spartan graduate student Ryan Vasbinder took on U-M fifth year Mason Parris for the last matchup of the night. Vasbinder trailed Parris 2-1 in the primary minutes. Parris lengthened his lead with textbook takedown to go up 4-1 and ultimately seal the deal for the Wolverines who took the match 25-10.

Despite the Spartans loss, Cameron Caffey had a huge takeaway for his mindset moving forward.

"There was definitely some times (in the match) where I wasn’t sure where it was going to go, but you keep wrestling, it doesn’t matter how tired you are. You keep moving. Stop thinking and keep going.”

MSU wrestling will try to bounce back from the rivalry loss when they take on No. 12 Minnesota on the road Sunday.

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