Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
NCAA Championships
Rayvon Foley Completes Competition At NCAA Championships
3/15/2018 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Michigan State wrestling's 125-pounder Rayvon Foley represented the Green and White at the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships following a standout true freshman season. After two hard fought matches, Foley was eliminated from the tournament on Friday night at the Quicken Loans Arena.
In the championship bracket, Foley matched up with No. 1-ranked and defending national champion, Darian Cruz of Lehigh. Battling the Mountain Hawk tough, Foley came within one point of the lead in the third period, but ultimately fell, 7-4.
"It's awesome to watch Rayvon. I've said this all year, he's the ultimate competitor. He has high goals for himself," Michigan State head coach Roger Chandler said. "It's a small margin of error where you can either win or lose matches. He got called for a tough stalling call on the edge of the mat, and it's just the rule that's been put in place. He competed really hard and I think he proved to himself that he can compete to be a national champ. If there's anything to take away from that match, it proves that he is one of the best guys in the country."
Foley then wrestled Sergio Mendez from CSU Bakersfield in the preliminary round of the consolation bracket. Mendez jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, and Foley worked to cut the lead. Time ran out before Foley could either tie or take the lead, dropping a 12-9 decision.
"To be in an 8-1 deficit at the end of the first period at the national tournament, that can't happen. I know he's come back from those deficits in the past, but he showed the true character of what he is. He fights until the end. He just came up short again, but in order to truly compete at a championship level, he has to put himself in positions to win the matches earlier, not wait until the end. That's part of what he needs to do as he matures throughout his wrestling career and adjusts," Chandler said.
With the MSU wrestling season now complete, Foley finishes as the team's win leader, both overall with 28 and in duals with 13. His 46 dual points led all Spartans, and he was the only MSU wrestler to place at Big Ten Championships, finishing seventh. Foley is just the third true freshman in MSU history to qualify for NCAA Championships since 1978.
"There's no doubt we're super proud of how he represented himself and our program. He was definitely the leader of the pack as far as effort and how we want our guys to compete. He set a standard for everybody else in the program," Chandler said. "We want better results, and I think that'll come, but he's become a leader at such a young age by example."
No. 1 Darian Cruz (LEH) dec. No. 16 Rayvon Foley, 7-4
In the first period, Foley and Cruz battled for control in the early minutes, with Cruz fighting off Foley's takedown attempts. Cruz got the first two points of the match with a takedown, and Foley fought back with an escape. Before the end of the first, Cruz scored another takedown to take a 4-1 lead into the second.
Foley started down in the middle frame, getting the escape to cut Cruz's lead to two points. As the seconds ticket down in the second, Foley took a shot and nearly tied the match with a takedown, but Cruz held on to the 4-2 lead and a 1:05 riding time advantage.
On top to start the third, Foley successfully cut Cruz's riding time down before Cruz got the escape. Foley then came within a point of the lead with a takedown, and allowing Cruz to escape, Foley went for another two points but got hit with a stalling call that awarded a point to Cruz, and with time running out in the match, Cruz recorded a 7-4 decision.
Sergio Mendez (CSUB) dec. No. 16 Rayvon Foley (MSU), 12-9
In the first period, Mendez jumped out to a quick, 6-0 lead with a takedown and four back points. Foley got his first point of the match with an escape, but Mendez added another two-point takedown. With 30 seconds left in the period, Foley added another escape point, but Mendez took an 8-2 lead into the second stanza.
Mendez chose down to begin the second period, and while on top, Foley cut down on his riding time. The Roadrunner wrestler escaped and Foley quickly got a takedown, trying for another at the conclusion of the period but unsuccessful.
Foley started down in the third and added three points from an escape and takedown. Foley was close to tallying back points on Mendez, but ended up letting him escape. Foley recorded another takedown, and gave Mendez the escape to score again, but time ran out in the match and Mendez took a 12-9 decision.
Players Mentioned
