No. 22 Spartan Wrestling Battles No. 17 Boilermakers Under Friday Night Lights

No. 22 MICHIGAN STATE (2-3, 2-3 B1G) vs. No. 16 Purdue (2-5, 2-5 B1G)
DATE	Friday, Feb. 12, 2021
TIME	6 p.m. ET
LOCATION	East Lansing, Mich. • Jenison Field House
TICKETS	NO TICKETS
STREAMING	Big Ten Network+ {WATCH LIVE}
LIVE RESULTS	TrackWrestling {LIVE RESULTS}
ROSTERS/TENTATIVE LINEUPS	FLIP CARD
MATCH NOTES	Michigan State \| Purdue
SOCIAL MEDIA	@wrestlingmsu \| MichiganState Wrestling \| @wrestlingmsu

No. 22 Michigan State wrestling returns home to the friendly confines of Jenison Field House to open a two-match homestand, taking on No. 17 Purdue on Friday, Feb. 12. The nationally-ranked battle between the Spartans and Boilermakers is slated for a 6 p.m. ET start.

Friday evening's action will be streamed on Big Ten Network+, with live results available at MSUSpartans.com and updates on twitter @wrestlingmsu.

Due to current Michigan State University restrictions, no fans will be allowed at Friday's dual.

Friday is MSU's penultimate home match of the regular-season, with the final match of the abbreviated 2021 ledger next Friday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. vs. in-state rival and current No. 2 Michigan, that will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network. The Spartans' abbreviated 2021 season was book-ended by home matches, opening the season with a home tri-meet, then scheduled for the next three weekends away from home before closing with back-to-back Friday night matches.

Michigan State is coming off a split at a tri-meet last weekend at Indiana, with No. 7 Nebraska. The Spartans beat the host-Hoosiers, 28-10, before being defeated by the No. 7 Cornhuskers, 27-10, in the final match.

COACH CHANDLER SAYS
On being back home after stretch of road matches:
"It's good to be back home and be competing again in Jenison Field House. The season has flown by and has been a very weird, shorted season, but we are very grateful to be able to compete the final two weekends prior to the postseason. Our guys have been adjusting each week since we started competing, which is a good sign that they are tightening things up individually."

On challenges Friday against No. 17 Purdue:
"Purdue has a very balanced team from top to bottom. Every guy they send out on the mat is going to battle and we need to be ready to have a complete team effort. Every match should be a battle and this is great preparation as we get closer to the Big Ten Championships the first weekend in March."

LOWELL DUO OF SPARTANS FROM THE HOOSIER STATE
• Michigan State has two wrestlers on its roster from the state of Indiana, both hailing from Lowell, Indiana in redshirt-seniors Jake Tucker and Drew Hughes

• Tucker wrestles at 157 and has started all three matches this season, posting a 2-3 record and currently ranked No. 22 in the FloWrestling rankings ... Tucker was a state champion as part of a two-time All-State IHSA 2A honoree at Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago ... he accumulated a 140-24 record during his four-year career.

• Hughes is the Spartans' starter at 174 and is also 1-3 so far and ranked No. 21 in the FloWrestling rankings ... Hughes was a two-time state champion, a state runner-up as part of a four-time all-state selection at Lowell High School ... he helped the Red Devils accumulate a record of 160-4 during his four-year career.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS WRESTLING STYLE
• Friday's battle with the Boilermakers is the Spartans' second Friday night match of the season, as well as the second Friday night match as part of a stretch of three of the last four matches on Friday nights ... MSU's first Friday night action was a dual at then-No. 11 Ohio State on Jan 29 ... Michigan State wraps up regular-season action next Friday, Feb. 19 in a clash with in-state rival Michigan at 5 p.m. at Jenison Field House.

HOME FOR TWO
• After competing away from home for the previous three matches, Michigan State wraps up the regular-season with back-to-back home matches on the next two Fridays, starting this week vs. No. 17 Purdue on Feb. 12 at 6 p.m., before wrapping up regular-season action with current No. 2 Michigan on Friday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m.

• Next Friday's in-state clash between the Spartans and Wolverines will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.

• After opening at home on Jan. 16 with a tri-meet vs. Maryland and then-No. 14 Minnesota, the Spartans' next action on Jan. 24 at then-No. 2 Penn State was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. Michigan State took on then No. 11 Ohio State on Jan. 29 in Columbus, before last week's scheduled quad meet turned tri-meet at Indiana and then-No. 7 Nebraska, as No. 24 Rutgers was scheduled to compete at Indiana, but had to withdraw due to COVID-19 concerns.

RANKED FOES
• Friday is MSU's second-straight match-up with a ranked opponent, as part of a stretch of three in a row to close out the abbreviated regular-season.

• Overall, the Spartans have faced a ranked opponent in four of their six matches so far, with No. 14 Minnesota on Jan. 16, No. 11 on Jan. 29, No. 7 Nebraska on Feb. 6 and No. 17 Purdue this Friday night ... MSU is slated to finish that season with five ranked opponents in is seven matches, wrapping up with current No. 2 Michigan next Friday, Feb. 19, of the now updated seven matches on the schedule, leaving only the season-opener against Maryland and last Saturday's first match vs. Indiana as the only regular-season matches against unranked opponents.

• MSU's took on then-No. 14 Minnesota on Jan. 16 in the second match of day after facing Maryland in the opener ... The Spartans opened the season by shutting out Maryland, 42-0, before losing to Minnesota, 28-6 ... On Friday, Jan. 29, Michigan State took on No. 11 Ohio State, dropping a 24-9 contest ... the Spartans opened up the tri-meet at Indiana last week by beating the host Hoosiers, 28-10, before wrapping up action with a 27-10 loss to No. 7 Nebraska.

SPARTAN WRESTLING IN NWCA RANKINGS
• Michigan State remains ranked in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll, climbing up a spot to No. 22 after being ranked No. 23 for the previous two weeks ... MSU was No. 21 in this season's preseason rankings (1/1/21), sliding out of the first week's (1/5/21), but back in the second week's at No. 25 ... it was the first time since 2009 that the Spartans are in the NWCA's regular-season rankings, when MSU was No. 21 in the Nov. 11, 2009 poll ... prior to 2009, the Spartans were ranked in most of the 2007 weekly rankings.

Preseason 1-1 21
Week 1 - 1/5   -- (31)
Week 2 - 1/12 25
Week 3 - 1/19 24
Week 4 - 1/26 23
Week 5 - 2/2   23
Week 6 - 2/9   22

RANK 'EM
• Along with the NWCA rankings, MSU is in several different team rankings, as high as No. 15 by Wrestle Stat's Dual Rankings to No. 27 in WrestleStat's Tournament Rankings, to several spots in between in other polls, as well as No. 22 in the NWCA Coaches Poll. {See rankings box on pg. 3 for more info}

• Individually, eight different Spartans are ranked in at least one of the five rankings from Flowrestling (Top 25 individuals in each weight class), Intermat (Top 20), OnTheMat (Top 33), Trackwrestling (Top 33) and Wrestle Stat (Top 33).

• Redshirt-junior 197-pounder Cameron Caffey is one of the two highest-ranked Spartans, coming in at No. 4 in the TrackWrestling, and is in the Top 10 in all five rankings, along with redshirt-sophomore 184-pounder Layne Malczewski, who is also in the Top 10 of four of the five rankings, and redshirt-junior 125-pounder Rayvon Foley, who is as high as No. 8 in the WrestleStat rankings.

• Caffey, Malczewski and Foley are the only three Spartans to be ranked in all five polls, while 165-pounder Jake Tucker (R-SR) and 174-pounder Drew Hughes (R-SR) are in four of the five and 157-pounder Chase Saldate (FR) is in three of the five.

HIGHLY CAFFEY-NATED
• Despite moving up to 197-pounds this season after wrestling at 184 last year, redshirt-junior Cameron Caffey opened up the 2021 season by picking up right where he left off in 2020 ... Caffey had a streak of 14-straight regular-season victories halted last time out with a hard-fought, 6-5, loss to No. 2 Eric Schultz of Nebraska ... Caffey has won 16 of his last 18 matches overall and 18 of his last 21 matches.

• Prior to last week's loss, Caffey's previous loss in his last 18 matches was to No. 1-seed Aaron Brooks of Penn State in a close 3-2 decision in the 184-pound Big Ten Championship on March 8, 2020.

• To open up the 2021 season, Caffey went 2-0 in his first matches in his new weight class ... Caffey posted a 14-4 major decision over Kevin Makosy of Maryland and beat Garret Joles of Minnesota in a 12-5 decision during the tri-meet on Jan. 16 ... he topped No. 25 Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State in a hard-fought 3-2 decision ... Caffey opened the tri-meet at Indiana with a 4-2 win over No. 28 Nick Willham of Indiana, before the showdown with Schultz.

VICTORY LAYNE
• Redshirt-sophomore Layne Malczewski is No. 8 at 174, currently 5-0 on the season and has won his last nine regular-season bouts in a row, as part of winning 12 of his last 14 overall matches.

• Malczewski began the season barely ranked in the Top 20 of all five rankings, but has climbed up into the Top 10 in four of the top five and in the Top 12 in all five rankings, including as high as No. 8 in both FloWrestling and InterMat's rankings.

• Malczewski's last two wins have come on a pair of quick-pin wins, with two pins in just 2:50 total, last week at the Indiana tri-meet with Nebraska ... he opened the day by pinning Drayton Harris of Indiana in just 1:12 ... that's the second-fastest pin of the season for the Spartans this season ... the Spartan then rounded out the day with a fall over Nathan Haas at 1:38.

SALDATE SHUTOUT STREAK
• Freshman Chase Saldate has won his last three matches all by shutouts ... Saldate started the streak with a 4-0 shutout over No. 23 Elijah Cleary of Ohio State on Feb. 29, then registered an 8-0 major decision over Indiana's Matt Ortiz in the opener last Saturday, then a sequel of an 8-0 major decision over Nebraska's Jevon Parrish.

• Saldate improved to 4-1 on the season with a fall and two major decisions on the season ledger.

• After starting the season unranked across the board, Saldate has climbed into the top 25 in three of the five rankings, as high as No. 23 in The Open Mat's rankings.

ABOUT PURDUE
• The 17th-ranked Boilermakers are 2-5 on the season and in B1G action, with all seven matches coming against ranked foes, including three top 11 teams in No. 10 Illinois, No. 1 Iowa and No. 11 Ohio State ... Purdue opened the season with a 28-8 win over No. 21 Northwestern on Jan. 15 ... the Boilermakers then lost three in a row, with a 19-17 loss at No. 10 Illinois, a 22-14 loss at No. 22 Wisconsin and a 32-4 loss vs. No. 15 Minnesota at Piscataway, N.J. in a tri-meet at Rutgers, before bouncing back with an 18-15 win over No. 20 Rutgers ... Purdue then lost both matches of a hard-fought tri-meet with Iowa and Ohio State, dropping a 31-18 battle to No. 1 Iowa, and a 23-12 dual to No. 11 Ohio State ... Friday's match at No. 22 Michigan State is the Boilermakers' eighth-straight match against a ranked opponent before wrapping up regular-season against unranked in-state rival Indiana on Friday, Feb. 22.

Purdue Tentative Lineup
125 No. 9 Devin Schroder (R-SR | 5-2)
133 Jacob Rundell (FR | 1-4)
141 Parker Filius (R-JR | 1-5)
-OR- Michael Leveille (R-FR | 1-3)
149 No. 9 Griffin Parriott (R-SR | 2-0)
-OR- Trey Kruse (FR | 1-4)
157 No. 7 Kendall Coleman (R-SO | 6-1)
-OR- Cooper Noehre (FR | 2-4)
165 Gerrit Nijenhuis (FR | 4-2)
-OR- Hayden Lohrey (R-FR | 1-1)
174 Emil Soehnlen (R-FR | 2-5)
184 No. 14 Max Lyon (SR | 2-4)
-OR- Macartney Parkinson (FR | 2-2)
197 No. 12 Thomas Penola (R-SO | 6-1)
285 Dorian Keys (FR | 1-4)
-OR- Jamarcus Grant (R-SR | 0-5)

UP NEXT
The Spartans wrap up regular-season action next Friday, Feb. 19 in a clash with in-state rival Michigan at 5 p.m. at Jenison Field House.

NEW SEASON, NEW RESTRICTIONS DURING THESE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 season will feature several Michigan State University, Big Ten, local, state and national restrictions and guidelines during these unprecedented times.

• There will be no fans in the stands, however, a limited number of family members of the student-athletes will be allowed.

• Due to the NCAA granting a blanket waiver for 2020-21, all wrestlers will be eligible to compete in varsity action this season without losing the ability to redshirt.

• The Big Ten Conference will be competing in conference-only matches, with each team competing in nine matches on either six or seven dates, with the Big Ten Championships slated for March 6-7 at University Park, Pa., hosted by Penn State and the NCAA Championships, scheduled for March 18-20 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo.

• Extra Matches: Due to only wrestling within the conference, the Big Ten will permit schools to hold extra matches on competition dates ... Though they will not count towards dual scoring, they will count towards an individual's varsity record for purposes of seeding for the conference and national tournament.

MOVIN' ON UP
Four of the Spartans NCAA Qualifiers from a year ago have moved up a weight class:
• Jake Tucker • R-SR: From 157 to 165
• Drew Hughes • R-SR: From 165 to 174
• Layne Malszewski • R-SO: From 174 to 184
• Cameron Caffey • R-JR: From 184 to 197

TUNE IN
The Big Ten Conference and Big Ten Network announced on Jan. 8 that the Michigan State vs. Michigan match from Jenison Field House in East Lansing will be nationally televised on BTN ... match start time will be 5 p.m. ET.

MSU'S RETURNING NCAA QUALIFIERS
• The Spartans have five returning NCAA Qualifiers, featuring four from 2020, before the Championships were cancelled, plus one from 2019 in redshirt-junior Rayvon Foley, who redshirted the 2019-20 season.

• Rayvon Foley • R-JR • 125: Redshirted 2019-20 ... NCAA All-American at 125 in 2019 Championships, finishing seventh.

• Jake Tucker • R-SR • 165: 27-9 in 2019-20 at 157 ... sixth at B1G Championships.

• Drew Hughes • R-SR • 174: 18-11 in 2019-20 at 165 ... MSU's 1st three-time NCAA Qualifier since '15 ... seventh at B1G Championships.

• Cameron Caffey • R-JR • 197: 27-7 in 2019-20 at 184 ... B1G Runner-Up ... 2020 NWCA All-American ... 2020 NWCA Scholar All-American ... Won gold medal at 87 kg at the 2020 U23 Greco-Roman Championships.

• Layne Malszewski • R-SO • 184: 25-13 in 2019-20 at 174 ... seventh at B1G Championships.

SPARTAN WRESTLING PREVALENT IN PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
• Michigan State wrestling will open the 2021 season in the top 20 of four different polls and have several wrestlers ranked in their respective weight classes, as of Dec. 29, 2020.

• In the team rankings, MSU is ranked as high as No. 13 in Wrestle Stat's team tournament rankings to No. 19 in Intermat's team dual rankings. Along with being No. 13 Wrestle Stat's team tournament rankings, the Spartans are No. 14 in Wrestle Stat's team tournament rankings. The Green & White is also No. 15 in Trackwrestling's team rankings and tied for No. 17 in FloWrestling's rankings, along with No. 16 in Intermat's team tournament rankings and No. 19 in their team dual rankings.

• Individually, a total of eight different Spartans are ranked in at least one of the four rankings from Flowrestling (Top 25 individuals in each weight class), Intermat (Top 20 individuals), Trackwrestling (Top 33 individuals) and Wrestle Stat (Top 33 individuals).

• MSU's highest-ranked wrestler is 125-pounder Rayvon Foley, as the redshirt-junior is No. 2 in all four rankings. Foley redshirted last season after a recovering from an injury, but was an NCAA All-American at 125 pounds in 2019 following a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships, ending with a 36-6 overall record.

• At 133 pounds, redshirt-freshman Jordan Hamdan is ranked No. 23 by Wrestle Stat and No. 25 in the Trackwrestling rankings. While redshirting last season, Hamden competed only in open tournaments, leading all freshmen with 18 wins on way to 18-5 mark.

• Redshirt-freshman Peyton Omania returns to action at 149 pounds and is No. 31 in the Trackwrestling rankings. Omania took an Olympic redshirt last season to train for the originally scheduled 2020 Olympics. He secured a bronze medal at the US Junior World Greco-Roman Championships at 67kg in Tallinn, Estonia in August, 2019, and captured the gold medal at 67 kg in the U23 Greco-Roman championship at the USA Wrestling Greco-Roman National Championships in Omaha, Nebraska this past November.

• In the 157-pound rankings, redshirt-junior Nathan Atienza checks in at No. 21 by Wrestle Stat and No. 31 by Trackwrestling. Atienza went 10-8 last season, competing at 149 and 157 pounds for the Spartans in open tournaments, including three wins by fall on the way to claiming a first-place finish at the Edinboro Open.

• At 165, redshirt-senior Jake Tucker is ranked No. 14 by both Wrestle Stat and Intermat, as well as No. 16 by Trackwrestling and No. 19 by Flowrestling. Tucker was a 2020 NCAA Qualifier at 157 pounds, posting a 27-9 record sharing the team-lead in victories, including two wins over top 25 opponents, while finishing sixth at the Big Ten Championships.

• Fellow redshirt-senior Drew Hughes is in all four rankings at 174, including No. 13 by Trackwrestling, No. 15 by Intermat, No. 17 by Flowrestling and No. 18 by Wrestle Stat. Hughes also was a 2020 NCAA Qualifier at 165 pounds, becoming the first Spartan wrestler to become a three-time NCAA Qualifier since John Rizqallah in 2015. Hughes finished with an 18-11 record, ending sixth at the Big Ten Championships.

• At 184, redshirt-sophomore Layne Malczewski is ranked No. 14 by Trackwrestling, No. 17 by Wrestle Stat and No. 22 by Flowrestling. Also a 2020 NCAA Qualifier, Malczewski finished third on the team with 25 wins, ending with a 25-13 ledger, finishing seventh at the Big Ten Championships at 174 pounds.

• Rounding out the eight Spartans in the preseason rankings is redshirt-junior Cameron Caffey, who is MSU's second-highest ranked individual, collecting four top 10 rankings. Caffey will enter the 2021 season ranked No. 3 by Wrestle Stat, along with No. 6 by Trackwrestling, No. 7 by Intermat and No. 8 by Flowrestling. Caffey was a 2020 NCAA Qualifier, as well as 2020 Big Ten finalist at 184 pounds, on the way to finishing with a 27-7 record, sharing the team-lead for wins, finishing as an NWCA All-American. Caffey, who also topped the Spartans in dual wins with 16, finishing with a 16-2 dual mark, also led MSU with nine falls as well as topping the team with 67 dual points.

MSU WRESTLING SHINES AT USA WRESTLING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Michigan State wrestlers collected nine All-American accolades, including two national champions, at the USA Wrestling Greco-Roman National Championships over the weekend of Nov. 14-15 in Omaha, Nebraska.

• Cameron Caffey won the 87 kg U23 Greco-Roman championship, while Peyton Omania captured the 67 kg U23 Greco-Roman championship. Caffey won on a 10-2 technical fall over Guy Patron of Dubuque Wrestling Club, rallying from an early 2-0 deficit by reeling off 10 unanswered points. This is the second national title for Caffey, who won the UWW Junior Nationals in 2019 and competed in the 2019 UWW Junior Worlds.

• Omania won his title bout by forfeit over Benjamin Peak of Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club. Omania collected his second-straight U23 National crown, and won a bronze medal at the 2019 Junior Worlds in Greco-Roman.

• Other Spartans earning All-American honors in the U23 division were Matt Santos finishing seventh at 60 kg and Jackson Renicker placing fourth at 63 kg. In the UWW Junior division, Andrew Chambal was fourth at 55 kg and Jordan Hamdan was fifth at 60 kg.

• In freestyle in the U23 division, Caffey was third at 86 kg, while Rayvon Foley was fifth at 57 kg. In the UWW Junior division, Layne Malczewski was fourth at 86 kg.

• Caffey and Omania qualified for the 2021 Senior World Team Trials.

Greco-Roman
U23:
60kg - Matt Santos - 7th
63kg - Jackson Renicker - 4th
67kg - Peyton Omania - Champion
87kg - Cameron Caffey - Champion

UWW Junior:
55kg - Andrew Chambal - 4th
60kg - Jordan Hamdan - 5th

Freestyle
U23:
57kg - Rayvon Foley - 5th
86kg - Cameron Caffey - 3rd

UWW Junior:
86kg - Layne Malczewski - 4th

No. 22 Spartan Wrestling Battles No. 17 Boilermakers Under Friday Night Lights

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nathan Atienza

Cameron Caffey

Andrew Chambal

Rayvon Foley

Jordan Hamdan

Drew Hughes

Layne Malczewski

Peyton Omania

Jackson Renicker

Chase Saldate

Matt Santos

Jake Tucker

No. 22 Spartan Wrestling Battles No. 17 Boilermakers Under Friday Night Lights

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nathan Atienza

Cameron Caffey

Andrew Chambal

Rayvon Foley

Jordan Hamdan

Drew Hughes

Layne Malczewski

Peyton Omania

Jackson Renicker

Chase Saldate

Matt Santos

Jake Tucker

Related Videos