MSU senior Chase Saldate goes against Penn State University's Levi Kasak, the third ranked sophomore from Penn State, during a match at MSU Jenison Field House on Jan. 21, 2024
Michigan State wrestling is preparing to head to College Park, Md. for the Big Ten Wrestling Championship, which is set to take place on March 9 and March 10.
Six Spartans occupy a spot in the top 10 pre-seeds ahead of the Big Ten Championship, which is determined by the votes from coaches and a combination of head-to-head records, individual records and the player's individual ranking.
The highest-ranked Spartan heading into the tournament is senior Caleb Fish, who finds himself with the No. 4 seed in the 165-pound weigh-in. Fish has amounted to a 23-6 record on the season, his marquee win coming against Michigan’s Cameron Amine who holds the No. 6 seed in the division.
Graduate student Layne Malczewski (184-pound weigh-in) and senior Chase Saldate (157-pound weigh-in) follow next with the pair both earning the No. 6 seeds in their respective divisions. Malczewski will head into the tournament with a record of 11-6 on the season and his best win of the bunch came against No. 8 seed Brian Soldano of Rutgers earlier this season when the Spartans fell by a score of 22-13.
Saldate heads into the tournament looking to improve on his fifth-place finish last season. Saldate earned victories in all of his duels this season aside from his bout against Penn State's No. 1 seed Levi Haines, a bout which ended in a heartbreaking reversal for Haines earning him the 7-6 victory.
Redshirt senior Jordan Hamdan is the next highest-seeded Spartan, earning the No. 8 seed in the 141-pound weigh-in. Hamdan earned himself a 19-9 record on the season including a 3-3 record in duals this year. During the regular season, Hamdan faced Penn State's No. 1 Beau Bartlett and Ohio State's Jesse Mendez but fell to both.
Heavyweight redshirt freshman Josh Terrill finds himself just inside the top 10, entering with the No. 9 seed. Terrill currently sits fifth in the nation for wins with 25 to his name. In his first Big Ten season as a starter, Terrill wrestled in all of Michigan State's Big Ten meets, even taking No. 4 seed and former All-American Yaraslau Slavikovski to a razor-sharp 4-2 decision.
The final Spartan to find themself in the top 10 is redshirt junior Tristan Lujan. Lujan sits at a 14-13 record this season and a 4-8 dual record. Lujan’s marquee win of the season came against Illinois when he secured a 2-0 decision over No. 11 seed Justin Cardani.
Four other Spartans are outside the top 10 seedings in their weigh-ins: redshirt freshman Kael Wisler will enter the tournament as the No. 11 seed of the 197-pound weigh-in. Also, redshirt sophomore Andy Hampton of the 133-pound weigh-in and Braeden Stauffenberg of the 149-pound weigh-in both sit at No. 12 for their respective weight classes with records well below .500.
The final Spartan set to compete in the tournament is redshirt senior DJ Shannon. Shannon spent the beginning of the season sharing time with redshirt junior Marty Larkin before making the 174-pound weigh-in his. Shannon sits at 9-15 on the season but earned a big win over No. 8 seed Donell Washington in Michigan State's duel against Indiana earlier this season.
Streaming for the whole tournament can be found on both the Big Ten Network and Big Ten Plus with the first session to begin at 10 a.m.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
