The MSU wrestling program has produced 19 individual wrestling champions, but only five have gone on to win multiple national championships. Thursday, Franklin Gomez will begin his journey to repeat as champion of the 133-pound class in the same way as he entered last season’s NCAA Championships.
The Spartans are sending six wrestlers to the championships for the first time since 2003 as they finished seventh at the conference championships and saw four wrestlers secure automatic selections and two others receive at-large bids.
Competing against the nation’s best every week, the MSU wrestling team finally is in line to reap the benefits of facing a grueling schedule with a young lineup. As the team prepares for this weekend’s Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, it hopes the growth of its underclassmen will carry over in the results of the competition.
In the final home match of his career, Franklin Gomez wasted no time in securing an advantage and pinning Indiana’s Matt Ortega for a six-point fall.
Sunday’s match against No. 13 Indiana will be the final home wrestling matches for four MSU seniors, and it will be hard for the Spartans to assess everything the class has added to the team through the years.
In a tough Big Ten wrestling schedule, nobody’s been more embattled than 174-pound sophomore Ian Hinton. Hinton has faced six straight ranked opponents in a stacked conference, holding up well despite the strength of the competition.
The MSU wrestling team returned to business Sunday, posting an impressive 20-13 victory against Purdue to improve to 2-3 in the Big Ten. The team’s reward? Road dates with No. 11 Penn State and No. 3 Ohio State this weekend.
The MSU wrestling team has been searching for a consistent effort throughout its entire lineup. The Spartans got it Sunday in a 20-13 upset of No. 24 Purdue that was highlighted by close matches and several dramatic finishes.
Anthony Jones Jr. has been a stable presence in the middle of the MSU wrestling team’s lineup. The 157-pound junior has fought in several close matches this season, defeating Minnesota’s Joe Grygelko, 3-1, and West Virginia’s Kyle Eason, 6-2.
Winning a close rivalry match and then getting dominated by the nation’s top team in the same weekend would be enough to drain the emotion of most teams. But despite coming off a loss to No. 1 Iowa in which no wrestler posted a victory, the MSU wrestling team (7-4-1 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) said it still is feeling confident entering this weekend’s duals against No. 11 Central Michigan and No. 25 Purdue.
After showing toughness against higher-ranked opponents in its first Big Ten weekend, the MSU wrestling team hopes to follow up its performance by collecting wins this weekend at Michigan and No. 1 Iowa.
Trailing 4-2 late in his match Sunday against Illinois’ No. 11 Ryan Prater, Dan Osterman planted his higher-ranked opponent onto the mat for a two-point takedown, only to see his opponent record a two-point reversal with two seconds left in the match to clinch victory.
No. 1-ranked 133-pound senior Franklin Gomez put his 26-game winning streak on the line Friday, but did so against Minnesota’s Thane Antczak — not No. 2-ranked 133-pound senior Jayson Ness, who did not make the trip to East Lansing.
Following a spirited effort Friday against No. 5 Minnesota, the MSU wrestling team faltered Sunday afternoon against No. 19 Illinois, losing 23-12.
The marquee match between MSU’s No. 1-ranked 133-pound senior Franklin Gomez and Minnesota’s No. 2-ranked 133-pound senior Jayson Ness never took place Friday night at Jenison Field House.
It’s No. 1 versus No. 2. It’s tall and rangy against compact and aggressive. It’s an undefeated 19-0 record against the undefeated defending national champ. It’s top-ranked MSU 133-pounder Franklin Gomez taking on Minnesota’s second-ranked Jayson Ness tonight at Breslin Center.
Heading into Big Ten play, the MSU wrestling team hopes more experience will equate to more success.
The Spartans beat Stanford and Northern Illinois and tied Rutgers to finish 2-0-1 at first Spartan Duals event.
Stanford, Rutgers and Northern Illinois will travel a combined 3,000 miles to East Lansing for Saturday’s inaugural Spartan Duals event as they prepare for a rare nonconference matchup against MSU.
David Cheza, a 149-pound sophomore on the MSU wrestling team, has posted a 5-5 record and currently is ranked No. 14 nationally in the 149-pound weight class.