Spartans Battle Close with #14 Illinois, Fall 18-15

Full Score Sheet

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State wrestling team went toe-to-toe with No. 14-ranked Illinois in Jenison Field House on Friday, January 11, but ultimately came up short in the dual by a final score of 18-15. Redshirt freshman Brad Wilton got the dual started with bang, giving Michigan State a 6-0 lead after pinning Illinois' Andre Lee in 5:44.

A loss pushes Michigan State's record to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten action while Illinois improves to 2-1 and 1-0 in the conference.

Following the pin by Wilton, Michigan State continued to roll with a 6-4 decision victory for redshirt freshman Chase Beard and a 6-1 decision in favor of sophomore Rayvon Foley. After just three bouts the Spartans held a 12-0 advantage over the Fighting Illini.

"Sometimes we take him for granted, but Rayvon Foley is one of the best guys in the country," said Michigan State head coach Roger Chandler following Friday's dual against Illinois. "He continues to impress, Rayvon dominated in all three positions and I know he's going to compete for a national title because of that."

Illinois picked up steam however, rattling off wins in five consecutive bouts to take a 15-12 lead over MSU. Redshirt senior's Anthony Tutolo and Austin Eicher each lost decisions that came down to the wire. Tutolo trailed Illinois' Danny Duncan, 6-5, heading into the final minute of the bout. Redshirt sophomore Jake Tucker was unable to convert on a first period takedown attempt which came back to bite him in a 2-1 loss to Eric Barone.

Redshirt sophomore Drew Hughes scored a huge win for Michigan State at 174 pounds, defeating Carver James in sudden victory to tie the dual at 15-15. James scored an early takedown in the first period, but the bout was all Hughes from then on out. After a first period escape and a scoreless second period, Hughes was able to ride out the third to force sudden victory. In the sudden period, Hughes took down James with 0:43 remaining to earn the win.

In the night's deciding bout between No. 17 ranked Cameron Caffey and No. 2 ranked Emery Parker, Caffey proved to be the aggressor for a majority of the contest. With Caffey leading 1-0 heading into the third, Parker quickly escaped and earned a take down on Caffey with 1:01 to go. Caffey took a 4-3 lead with 0:24 to wrestle, but Parker broke free with just nine seconds left on the clock to force a sudden victory. In sudden victory, Parker earned the takedown on Caffey with 0:12 left on the clock.

"Cam was attacking the whole time, trying to make action happen," said Chandler. "Cam showed me tonight that he's ready to be in the mix as an All-American or eventually a national champion. He's a special kid and he believes in himself first and foremost. If you have belief in yourself you can do a lot of things."

NEXT UP
Michigan State will travel to Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, January 13 to face the No. 2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes at 2:00 p.m. ET. Ohio State projects to start seven ranked wrestlers on Sunday in what will be one of Michigan State's toughest tests of the season.

"Ohio State is one of the benchmark program nationally and I think our guys need to go out there with the same tenacity that they did tonight," said Chandler. "Rankings don't matter, it's all about how you compete for seven minutes."

Michigan State vs. #14 Illinois
Illinois 18, Michigan State 15
197: Brad Wilton (MSU) over Andre Lee (ILL) (Fall 5:44), MSU leads 6-0
285: Chase Beard (MSU) over Deuce Rachal (ILL) (Dec 6-4), MSU leads 9-0
125: Rayvon Foley (MSU) over Travis Piotrowski (ILL) (Dec 6-1), MSU leads 12-0
133: Dylan Duncan (ILL) over Anthony Tutolo (MSU) (Dec 7-5), MSU leads 12-3
141: Mike Carr (ILL) over Austin Eicher (MSU) (Dec 6-4), MSU leads 12-6
149: Christian Kanzler (ILL) over Jaden Enriquez (MSU) (Dec 8-4), MSU leads 12-9
157: Eric Barone (ILL) over Jake Tucker (MSU) (Dec 2-1), Tied 12-12
165: Nick Gasbarro (ILL) over Gary (Logan) Ritchie (MSU) (Dec 5-1), ILL leads 15-12
174: Drew Hughes (MSU) over Carver James (ILL) (SV-1 4-2), Tied 15-15
184: Emery Parker (ILL) over Cameron Caffey (MSU) (SV-1 6-4), ILL wins 18-15

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Players Mentioned

Chase Beard

Cameron Caffey

Austin Eicher

Jaden Enriquez

Rayvon Foley

Drew Hughes

Jake Tucker

Anthony Tutolo

Brad Wilton