MSU Wrestling Hosting Michigan State Open On Sunday
11/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
| 2016 Michigan State Open | |
| Date | Time | Sunday, Nov. 20 | Prelims: 9 a.m. ET / Finals: 2:30 p.m. (approx.) |
| Location | East Lansing, Mich. | Jenison Field House |
| Notes | Michigan State |
| General Information | Michigan State Open |
| Statistics | Michigan State |
| Streaming Coverage | FloWrestling Watch Live |
| Internet Coverage | Live brackets at TrackWrestling.com |
| Social Media | @wrestlingmsu  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
SPARTANS HOST 2016 MICHIGAN STATE OPEN SUNDAY
Michigan State wrestling will host the 2016 Michigan State Open on Sunday, Nov. 20. Action from MSU's Jenison Field House kicks off at 9 a.m. with the finals scheduled for approximately 2:30 p.m.
Sunday will be MSU's second meet of the season after the Spartans began their 113th season of wrestling and opened their 2016-17 season at the Eastern Michigan Open on Nov. 5. Redshirt junior Javier Gasca won the 141-pound division at the Eastern Michigan Open, one of eight medal winners for Michigan State wrestling in the debut under new head coach Roger Chandler.
Over 250 wrestlers are expected to compete and a total of 21 teams will be represented in Sunday's Michigan State Open, including wrestlers from Big Ten teams Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue, as well as in-state foes Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Henry Ford College and Muskegon.
SPARTANS TO WATCH
• Redshirt junior 141-pounder Javier Gasca is MSU's lone returning NCAA Championships qualifier ... won the Eastern Michigan Open with a perfect 5-0 record, collecting two falls along the way ... now owns a career record of 41-18 ... placed sixth at the Big Ten Championships ... finished the season with a 21-10 record ... led Michigan State in wins (21), falls (7), dual wins (9) and dual points (37) last season ... ranked No. 10 by Win Wrestling Magazine, No. 16 by Flo Wrestling ... last season began the year at 133 pounds and won the MSU Open on Nov. 15 ... moved up to 141 pounds for the Michigan dual on Dec. 10 and stayed there ever since.
• Redshirt sophomore Austin Eicher transferred to MSU from Northern Illinois ... won the Mid-American Conference Championship at 133 pounds last season as a redshirt freshman ... wrestled at the NCAA Championships ... finished the season with a 19-13 record ... defeated No. 25 Corey Keener of Central Michigan by 3-1 decision in sudden victory to become NIU's first MAC gold medalist since 2011.
• Redshirt senior Nick Trimble returns to lineup at 149 pounds after redshirting the 2015-16 season ... started 17 of 18 dual meets in 2014-15, collecting 10 total wins.
• Freshman Drew Hughes finished second at the EMU Open, losing an 8-4 decision to Logan Massa of Michigan in the final ... Got to the final with three falls on the day all under 1:45, finishing the day with a 4-1 mark and now leads the team with three falls.
• Redshirt junior 125-pounder Mitch Rogaliner was second on the team last season with 26 dual points ... collected 13 wins.
• Redshirt sophomore Wesley Maskill tallied 22 wins in tournament action, while redshirting last season at 184 pounds ... won the Alma Open and was fourth at the National Collegiate Open.
• Sophomore 197-pounder/heavyweight Jacob Cooper posted a five-match Big Ten dual winning streak during the middle of last season ... was third on the team in dual points a year ago with 21.
• Redshirt sophomore Shwan Shadaia registered 18 dual points last season, good for fourth on the team and logged 12 wins.
SPARTANS IN THE RANKINGS
• Junior Javier Gasca - 141 pounds
No. 9 by Win Wrestling Magazine
No. 14 by Trackwrestling
No. 20 by Flo Wrestling
• Sophomore Austin Eicher - 133 pounds
No. 20 by Flo Wrestling
No. 20 by Win Wrestling Magazine
No. 22 by Trackwrestling
MSU HAS 11 LETTERWINNERS, 18 NEWCOMERS iN 2016-17
Michigan State returns 11 returning letterwinners from last season. MSU has 18 newcomers, including 17 freshmen and one transfer, sophomore Austin Eicher, who won the Mid-American Conference Championship at 133 pounds last season at Northern Illinois.
NCAA TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANT GASCA RETURNS
Headlining the Spartans' 11 returners is junior Javier Gasca, who is MSU's lone returning NCAA Tournament qualifier from a year ago. Making his first appearance at nationals, Gasca lost in the first round to top-seeded Dean Heil of Oklahoma State, 4-1, in the afternoon session. Heil (29-1), who won the Big 12 title, used a takedown one minute into the match to secure a lead he would not relinquish. In the wrestleback bracket during the evening session, Gasca dropped a 7-3 decision to Princeton's Jordan Laster (23-13). Gasca, who placed sixth at the Big Ten Championships, closed the season with a 21-10 record. Gasca led Michigan State in wins (21), falls (7), dual wins (9) and dual points (37) last season. He owns a career record of 36-18.
CHANDLER IN FIRST YEAR AS HEAD COACH
Michigan State head coach Roger Chandler is in his 20th season on the Spartan wrestling staff, but his first as head coach, taking over the reins of the MSU program from longtime head coach Tom Minkel, who directed the program since 1991, and retired following his 25th season at Michigan State in 2015-16.
Chandler is the ninth coach in the history of the program, which dates back to 1886 and has generated 25 NCAA Champions, 68 Big Ten Champions, eight Big Ten Championships and one NCAA Championship.
While on the Spartan coaching staff, Chandler has helped produce 10 different All-Americans and six Big Ten Champions for a total of 22 All-America selections and nine Big Ten individual titles during his time at Michigan State. He also coached three-time All-American Franklin Gomez, who won a national title in 2009 at 133 pounds. In addition, he handles a variety of administrative duties for the program. Chandler, who began his coaching career as an assistant at MSU in 1997, was promoted to associate head coach in 2011.
SPARTAN ASSISTANT COACHES
• Former Spartan All-American Chris Williams is in the first year of his second stint on the MSU staff as an assistant coach. Williams had served as the head wrestling coach at Adrian College since November 2014, where he restarted the program and led the Bulldogs in their first season of competition in 31 years in 2015-16. He previously was an assistant coach at Michigan State, along with Chandler, for eight seasons (2005-13).
• Former Central Michigan All-American and U.S. Senior Nationals Champion Wynn Michalak is in his first season as Spartans' assistant wrestling coach. One of the most successful wrestlers in Central Michigan history, Michalak was a four-time Mid-American Conference Champion (2005-08), three-time MAC Wrestler of the Year (2006-08), and a three-time NCAA All-American (2005, 2006, 2008), including a runner-up finish at 197 pounds in 2008. He won the 2015 U.S. Senior Nationals title at 97 kg/213 pounds on Dec. 19, 2015, in Las Vegas, and competed in the past two U.S. Olympic wrestling trials.
COACH CHANDLER ON THE WEEKEND
"I think the biggest thing is we've already got one tournament under our belts, obviously we came back after that tournament, made some adjustments to practices and to some of the things we were doing, and we just have to see if the guys are making the proper adjustments from week to week. I think from a competitive expectation, these guys can always do better, but I was pleased with the first weekend of results. However, I think in order for our program to take the next step, it's time for our team to get more guys on the podium."
COACH CHANDLER ON THE FIRST HOME MEET
"I think one of the biggest thing is that we get some normalcy to compete in, because we're in our own backyard, and you can go through pretty much your daily routines and prepare for competition, while you're on your own campus. You know what to expect from waking up, getting the final last bit of weight off, stepping on the scale, and then stepping on the mat."
LAST TIME OUT: GASCA WINS EASTERN MICHIGAN OPEN, EIGHT SPARTAN MEDAL WINNERS
Redshirt junior Javier Gasca won the 141-pound division at the Eastern Michigan Open on Nov. 5, one of eight medal winners for Michigan State wrestling in the debut under new head coach Roger Chandler.
MSU was one of 20 teams represented at the Eastern Michigan Open with a the field that included wrestlers from Big Ten opponents Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State and Purdue, along with in-state foes Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Olivet.
The EMU Open was the Spartans' first action under Chandler, who is in his 20th year on the Spartan wrestling staff and in his first season as head coach. He took over the reins of the program after 25-year head coach Tom Minkel retired.
Gasca won by decision over Mason Smith of Central Michigan, 9-4, at 141 pounds. It was Gasca's second career open win, taking top honors at the Northern Iowa Open as a redshirt freshman. Gasca went 5-0 on the day, collecting two falls along the way, with a fall at 6:03 over Angel Velasquez of Northern Illinois in his first bout of the day as well as a fall over freshman teammate Jwan Britton at 4:42 in the semifinals. Britton ended up in fourth-place, dropping a 7-4 decision to Sal Profaci of Michigan.
At 165, freshman Drew Hughes finished second, losing an 8-4 decision to Logan Massa of Michigan in the final. Hughes got to the final with three falls on the day, including at 0:46 in his first match as a Spartan over Peter Andreotti of Purdue. Hughes then pinned Ohio State's Justin Kresevic at 0:54 to reach the semifinals. The Spartan freshman logged his third-straight fall with a pin at 1:45 over Cody Burcher of Ohio State to advance to the finals match-up with Massa.
Fellow freshman Lucas Hall was fifth at 125 pounds, just ahead of fellow Spartan, redshirt freshman Logan Griffin in sixth, as Hall garnered fifth in a win by forfeit over Griffin in the fifth-place match. Hall started action by getting a bye in his first round and advancing to the quarterfinals with a fall at 3:36 over Devin Schroder of Purdue in his first official action as a Spartan. He then dropped a 6-4 decision to Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern. Griffin opened with a 3-2 decision over Central Michigan wrestler Deven Perez, then pinned Nathaniel Stubblefield of Tiffin at 3:26 to advance to the quarterfinals, where he was edged by Ben Thornton of Purdue in a 5-3 decision. Griffin won his two wrestle-back bouts setting up the fifth-place match with Hall.
At 157 pounds, redshirt sophomore Austin Thompson and freshman Austin Hiles were fifth and sixth, respectively. Thompson won his first-round bout by a 17-0 technical fall victory over Ashalnd's JJ Diven, then topped Ben Schneider of Ohio, 7-2, before losing to Cole Wysocki of Purdue in a tight, 4-3 decision. Hiles opened with a fall over Trent Johannsen of Tiffin at 1:28, before a 17-1 technical fall loss to Alex Griffin of Purdue. After making their way through the wrestle-backs to set up a Spartan vs. Spartan fifth-place match, Thompson won by technical fall over Hiles, 16-0.
Freshman Jake Tucker also finished sixth at 149 to round out the Spartans' top six finishers. Like Hall, Tucker got a bye in his first round, then beat Ryan Deakin of Northwestern in a 4-2 decision, before getting stopped by Tiffin's Michael Screptock, 6-4 in the semis. Tucker went 2-0 in the wrestle-backs before getting edged by Steve Bleise of Northern Illinois, 3-2, in the fifth-place match.
NEXT UP
Michigan State heads to Pennsylvania for a pair of duals on Saturday, Nov. 26, wrestling at Bloomsburg at 12:30 p.m. ET and Lock Haven at 5 p.m.
Players Mentioned
