Michigan State No. 19 Layne Malczewski (5-4) celebrates his victory over No. 20 sophomore Brian Soldano (10-4) of Rutgers. Michigan State fell to No. 12 Rutgers 22-13, falling to 0-2 in conference play.
The Michigan State wrestling team traveled to College Park, Md. to face the University Terrapins this Sunday, ultimately being defeated with a score of 28-15. With the loss, the Spartans have now dropped two straight conference meets after having fallen to Indiana University last weekend.
The first action of the meet took place in the 125-pound weigh-in. Redshirt sophomore Tommy Capul (3-9) represented Maryland and earned a victory due to a forfeit as the Terps took an early 6-0 lead.
At the 133-pound weigh-in, No. 17 redshirt sophomore Braxton Brown (14-6) dominated the bout for the Terps and added five more points to Maryland's meet score after he secured a technical fall on redshirt sophomore Andy Hampton (4-17) with just eleven seconds left in the first period.
No. 29 redshirt senior Jordan Hamdan (16-7) stepped onto the mat next for the Spartans in the 141-pound weigh-in and faced off against No. 21 sophomore Kal Miller (11-4), who represented Maryland.
It was a slow start to the bout, but Hamdan took a 2-0 lead into the third period following a reversal in the second. In the third period, Hamdan continued to add to his lead and secured a takedown with just over a minute left in the period as he would see out the 5-1 decision.
The 149-pound weigh-in followed next as No. 13 redshirt sophomore Ethen Miller (12-5) represented the Terps while redshirt freshman Braeden Stauffenberg (5-13) represented the Spartans. Miller dominated from start to finish as he saw out a dominant technical fall.
The 1457-pound weigh-in was between Michigan State's No. 21 senior Chase Saldate (19-4) and Maryland's redshirt senior Michael North (13-10).
North got to work early and caught Saldate off guard as he secured a 6-3 lead just a minute into the first period. Saldate bounced back following a takedown and escape, while North tied it back up at 7-7 as they headed into the second period with an escape of his own. Following a scoreless second period, the pair took a 10-10 score into overtime. In the extra period, Saldate secured a takedown in the first 30 seconds to secure the sudden victory.
The 165-pound weigh-in followed as No. 9 senior Caleb Fish (20-6) represented the Spartans and faced off against freshman Aj Rodrigues (7-10) for the Terrapins.
Fish established himself from the start and earned two quick takedowns in the first period. The second period saw much of the same as Fish tallied on another four points to take a 10-0 lead into the final period of the bout. In the third, Fish continued tagging on another five points as he cruised to a major decision.
Redshirt senior DJ Shannon (8-13) followed for the Spartans in the 174-pound weigh-in as he faced off against Maryland's junior Dominic Solis (5-6).
The two took a razor-sharp 1-1 score into the overtime periods after a hard fought battle through the initial periods. Solis shot almost instantly in the overtime period and secured the takedown as he would earn the sudden victory. This extended the Terps' lead to six points as the meet score sat at 16-10.
No. 15 graduate student Layne Malczewski (9-5) represented the Spartans next in the 184-pound weigh-in as he faced Maryland's redshirt junior Chase Mielnik (6-13).
Malczewski dominated the bout from the start as he took a controlling 11-0 lead going into the third period. The final period saw much of the same as Malczewski comfortably saw out the victory by technical fall.
In the 197-pound weigh-in, Michigan State's No. 30 redshirt freshman Kael Wisler (22-11) faced off against Maryland's No. 5 redshirt sophomore Jaxon Smith (12-3).
Smith got off to an electric start and took a commanding 13-2 lead in just the first two minutes of the first period. During the second period, Smith continued with his work as he went on to close out a technical fall.
The final bout of the night took place in the heavyweight weigh-in. Redshirt freshman Josh Terrill (25-10), who represented the Spartans, faced off against Maryland’s No. 25 graduate student Seth Nevills (9-6).
Nevills controlled the bout for the majority of the time as he took an 8-0 lead into the final period. In the third period, Nevils tagged on another takedown to see out the 11-0 decision victory.
The meet ended with a victory for Maryland, winning 28-15 over the Michigan State Spartans. MSU is now 2-5 in conference play and 9-5 overall.
The Spartans will be back in action next Friday, Feb. 11 when they return to East Lansing to host Ohio State University for the team's final Big Ten meet this season. Meet time is set for 7 p.m. with streaming available on Big Ten+.
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