Saturday, March 6
University Park, Pa.
Michigan State University
vs
Big Ten Championships
Spartan Wrestling Opens NCAA Championships Thursday In St. Louis
3/17/2021 6:27:00 PM | Wrestling
MSU has eight wrestlers in action, most since 2000.
| No. 23 MICHIGAN STATE (2-5, 2-5 B1G) at 2021 NCAA Championships | |
| DATE | Thursday-Saturday, March 18-20, 2021 |
| TIMES | Thur., Mar. 18 - First Round - 11 a.m. / 2 p.m. Thur., Mar. 18 - Second Round - 6 / 9 p.m. Fri., Mar. 19 - Quarterfinals - 11 a.m. /3 p. m. Fri., Mar. 19 - Semifinals - 8 p.m. Sat., Mar. 20 - Medal Rounds - 11 a.m. Sat., Mar. 20 - National Championships - 7 p.m. |
| LOCATION | St. Louis, Mo. • Enterprise Center |
| TICKETS | NO TICKETS |
| TELEVISION | ESPN Networks {COVERAGE INFO} |
| STREAMING | WATCHESPN.com {WATCH LIVE} |
| BRACKETS | Brackets |
| LIVE RESULTS | TrackWrestling.com |
| CHAMPIONSHIPS PROGRAM | Program |
| MATCH NOTES | Michigan State |
| SOCIAL MEDIA |  @wrestlingmsu |  MichiganStateWrestling |  @wrestlingmsu |
No. 23 Michigan State will be represented by eight Spartan wrestlers at the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, Thursday-Saturday, March 18-20.
After seven Spartans, Rayvon Foley, Jordan Hamdan, Chase Saldate, Jake Tucker, Drew Hughes, Layne Malczewski and Cameron Caffey earned automatic berths at the Big Ten Championships on March 6-7, Peyton Omania was part of the 64 at-large selections announced on March 9.
The eight NCAA bound Spartans is the most since 2000 when MSU also sent eight. Last season, MSU was set to send six plus one alternate, but the NCAA Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michigan State head coach Roger Chandler has now led 21 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships since taking over as head coach in 2016-17.
TOURNAMENT DETAILS
The NCAA Championships are divided into seven sessions over three days of competition ... Sessions 1-4 will be broken up in to sub-sessions with the first five weights going before clearing the arena for the second five weights ... Each day of competition will begin at 11 a.m. ET.
Thursday, March 18
Session 1A - 11 a.m. ET (First five weights)
Session 1B - 2 p.m. ET (Second five weights)
Session 2A - 6 p.m. ET (First five weights)
Session 2B - 9 p.m. ET (Second five weights)
Friday, March 19
Session 3 - 11 a.m. ET (First five weights)
Session 4 - 3 p.m. ET (Second five weights)
Session 5 - 8 p.m. ET
Saturday, March 20
Session 6 - 11 a.m. ET
Session 7 - 7 p.m. ET
TUNE IN / FOLLOW THE ACTION
Sessions I, III, IV: ESPNU
Session II, V, VI: ESPN2
Session VII: ESPN
Individual Mat Streams: ESPN3 (watchespn.com)
Live Results: Trackwrestling.com
NCAA Championships Central: ncaa.com/championships/wrestling/d1
MICHIGAN STATE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
• Michigan State Spartan wrestlers have won 25 individual NCAA titles.
• MSU's last individual National Champion was Franklin Gomez, who won the 133-pound title in 2009.
• Michigan State won the 1967 National Championship and is one of just 12 Division I wrestling programs to win a national title, along with Arizona State, Cornell College, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Penn State.
• MSU has placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships 25 times in program history, most recently with Rayvon Foley's seventh-place finish in 2019.
• The Spartans' eight NCAA Qualifiers this season is their most since 2000, when they also sent eight ... the eight this season ties 2000 for the second-most overall since 1978, behind nine in 1995.
• This is the fifth NCAA Championships that head coach Roger Chandler has led the Spartans qualify (2017-'21), and he is the ninth MSU head coach to take Spartans to the NCAA Championships ... Under Chandler, the Spartans have increased their qualifiers in the last four seasons, with only one in 2018, then three in 2019, before seven qualifiers and one alternate in 2020, and eight qualifiers in 2021.
• Chandler has qualified Spartans for NCAA Championships in five consecutive seasons, and has now coached four true freshmen to qualify since 1978, including Rayvon Foley (2018) and Chase Saldate (2021).
• Former head coach Tom Minkel's highest finish at the NCAA Championships was third in 1995; Minkel placed in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships 13 times during his career at MSU.
MICHIGAN STATE WRESTLING - DID YOU KNOW?
Michigan State...
• Was the first Big Ten wrestling team to win an NCAA Championship (1967).
• Has won eight Big Ten team championships and 63 Big Ten individual championships.
• Was the first Big Ten school to win seven consecutive conference titles (1966-72).
• Was the first Big Ten representative to have a four-time NCAA finalist (Pat Milkovich).
• Has finished in the top five of the NCAA Championships on 13 occasions.
• Had the first Big Ten wrestler to win three NCAA titles (Greg Johnson, 1970-72).
SPARTAN FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS:
125: No. 8 Rayvon Foley 8-4 vs. No. 25 Logan Treaster (NAVY) 11-2
• First meeting this season / First meeting overall
133: No. 30 Jordan Hamdan 6-6 vs. No. 3 Korbin Myers (VT) 8-0
• First meeting this season / First meeting overall
149: No. 28 Peyton Omania 4-6 vs. No. 5 Ridge Lovett (NEB) 8-1
• This is the second meeting this season: Lovett 13-3 MD at MSU-NEB dual (2/6)
• This is the second meeting overall
157: No. 15 Chase Saldate 8-5 vs. No. 18 Cade DeVos (SDSU) 13-9
• First meeting this season / First meeting overall
165: No. 25 Jake Tucker 5-7 vs. Shane Griffith (STAN) 6-1
• First meeting this season / First meeting overall
174: No. 32 Drew Hughes 3-7 vs. No. 33 Jacob Nolan (BING) 6-2
• First meeting this season / First meeting overall
184: No. 15 Layne Malczewski 9-3 vs. No. 18 Alan Clothier (UNCO) 9-3
• First meeting this season / First meeting overall
197: No. 10 Cameron Caffey 8-4 vs. No. 23 Bryan McLaughlin (DREX) 6-2
• First meeting this season / First meeting overall
EIGHT SPARTAN WRESTLERS NCAA BOUND
Most MSU has sent to Nationals since 2000.
• Michigan State wrestling is sending eight wrestlers to the 2021 NCAA Championships.
• After seven Spartans, Rayvon Foley, Jordan Hamdan, Chase Saldate, Jake Tucker, Drew Hughes, Layne Malczewski and Cameron Caffey earned automatic berths at the Big Ten Championships, Peyton Omania was part of the 64 at-large selections announced on March 9.
• The eight NCAA bound Spartans is the most since 2000 when MSU also sent eight ... Last season, MSU was set to send six plus one alternate, but the NCAA Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Senior 174-pounder Drew Hughes is a four-time national qualifier, the Spartans' first since Nick Simmons (2003-2007) ... Hughes locked up his spot by finishing eighth at the B1G Championships.
• The redshirt-junior dynamic duo of Rayvon Foley and Cameron Caffey at 125 and 197 pounds, respectively, are making their third NCAA Championships appearances ... Foley earned NCAA All-American accolades in 2019, finishing seventh, while Caffey was a 2020 NWCA All-American honoree ... Foley finishing third at the B1G Championships ... It was Foley's highest finish of his three trips to the B1G Championships, after finishing sixth in 2019 and seventh in 2018.
• Caffey finished fourth at the B1G Championships, collecting his second top fourth finish in a row, after earning runner-up accolades at 184 last season, as well as ninth in 2019.
• At 165, redshirt-senior Jake Tucker, and at 174, redshirt-sophomore Layne Malczewski are both two-time NCAA Qualifiers, qualifying last year ... Tucker was sixth at last weekend's conference championships meet, but matching his highest of his three appearances at the B1G meet, joining his last year's place. Malczewski was also sixth at the B1G Championships.
• Redshirt-freshman 133-pounder Jordan Hamdan, redshirt-freshman 149-pounder Peyton Omania and freshman Chase Saldate will be making their first NCAA Championships appearances. Saldate finished fourth in his B1G Championships debut, Hamdan was seventh in his first B1G Championships appearance, and Omania finished just out of a top eight finish and spot on the podium.
NCAAS NEWBIES
Three Michigan State wrestlers are first-time qualifiers for the NCAA Championships:
• Redshirt-freshman Jordan Hamdan - 133
• Redshirt-freshman Peyton Omania - 149
• Freshman Chase Saldate - 157
MANY-TIME QUALIFIER, FIRST-TIME VISITOR
While three Spartans are first-time NCAA Qualifiers, two others qualified last year, but the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be competing in their first NCAA Championships:
• Redshirt-senior Jake Tucker - 165
• Redshirt-junior Layne Malczewski - 184
JUST LIKE TAG TEAM THEY'RE BACK AGAIN
Just like the somewhat one-hit-wonder Whoomp (There It Is) lyrics says, three Spartans are back again at the NCAA Championships:
• Redshirt-junior Rayvon Foley - 125 - 3rd (2018-19, 2017-18)
• Redshirt-senior Drew Hughes - 174 - 4th (2019-20, 2018-19, 2016-17)
• Redshirt-junior Cameron Caffey - 197 - 3rd (2019-20, 2018-19)
COACH CHANDLER CHAT
On excitement of sending eight to NCAA Championships:
There is no doubt we are excited that we are taking a crew to the NCAA Championships this year. It's been quite some time since we had this many individuals who qualified in a given year. I know our guys are excited, but they also know that just qualifying isn't the end goal. We have to continue to rise and compete with a championship level mind-set and intensity. We have big goals within our program and we have to continue with the mind-set that we are going to put the best version of ourselves on the mat each and every time out. If we each guy does that, then you will see multiple Spartans on the podium and competing for national titles.
On how things will be different from years past with the restrictions and slight schedule changes:
We are taking the approach that nothing changes with the split sessions and not having a jammed packed arena. At the end of the day, the mat size and the matches are the same as they have always been. We will deal with the curve balls and changes head on like professionals. It's important to treat every match the same and not get caught up in the changes.
On team's goals for the NCAA Championships:
I expect every single guy to compete to the best of their ability. If they do that then I know we are capable of coming home with several All-Americans and even guys at the top of the podium. In order to be successful at the national tournament, we need every guy scoring team points and looking for bonus points when they are available. We had three falls and one tech fall at the Big Ten Championships and that made a big difference on where we finished.
SPARTAN WRESTLING IN NWCA RANKINGS
• Michigan State remains ranked in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll, holding at No. 23 after climbing up to No. 22 earlier in February week, 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
Week 7 - 2/16 23
Week 8 - 2/23 23
Week 9 - 3/2 23
Week 10 - 3/9 23
RANK 'EM
• Along with the NWCA rankings, MSU is in several different team rankings, as high as No. 20 by Wrestle Stat's Dual Rankings to No. 25 in WrestleStat's Tournament Rankings, to several spots in between in other polls, as well as No. 23 in the NWCA Coaches Poll. {See rankings box on pg. 3 for more info}
• Individually, seven of the eight Spartans at the NCAA Championships are ranked in at least one of the six rankings from Flowrestling (Top 25 individuals in each weight class), Intermat (Top 20), OnTheMat (Top 33), Trackwrestling (Top 33), Wrestle Stat (Top 33) and NCAA Coaches.
• Redshirt-junior 197-pounder Cameron Caffey is one of three highest-ranked Spartans, coming in at No. 5 in WrestleStat's, and is in the Top 13 in all six rankings ... redshirt-junior 125-pounder Rayvon Foley is as high as No. 5 in the WrestleStat rankings, and is in the Top 14 in all six rankings ... redshirt-sophomore 184-pounder Layne Malczewski is also in the Top 18 of all six rankings, as high as No. 8 by the NCAA Coaches ... at 157 pounds, freshman Chase Saldate vaulted his way up into the Top 24 of all six rankings, including climbing 16 spots to No. 9 in TrackWrestling's rankings, as well as moving up 16 spots in WrestleStat's to No. 12, as well as climbing 12 spots in TheOpenMat's.
• Caffey, Malczewski, Foley and Saldate are the only three Spartans to be ranked in all six polls, while 165-pounder Jake Tucker (R-SR), 157-pounder Chase Saldate (FR) and 149-pounder Peyton Omania (R-FR) are in five of the six and 174-pounder Drew Hughes (R-SR) is in four.
PEYTON OMANIA NAMED BIG TEN WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Michigan State wrestler Peyton Omania was named the Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week, announced by the conference office on Feb. 24.
Omania is Michigan State's first Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award recipient since Drew Hughes earned the accolade on Dec. 11, 2018.
A native of Concord, Calif., Omania is a redshirt-freshman 149-pounder. In Friday night's dual vs. No. 4 Michigan, as a special tribute to his De La Salle High School and Greco-Roman coach, Mark Halvorson, who unexpectedly passed away last week, Omania upset No. 5 Kanen Storr of Michigan, 15-8. After the win, Omania collapsed on the mat in emotion, then celebrated, pointing up at his dad who traveled from California.
The Spartan used a frenzied start complete with two headlocks to open a 12-1 lead in the first period, as Omania scored a pair of takedowns and ensuing four-point nearfalls. Omania's 15 points was a new season-high for him and he now has double-digit points in all three wins. The 15 points were nearly twice as many as Storr's previous high for points allowed against him, after an 8-1 loss on Feb. 12.
Omania, unranked in four of the five rankings and No. 32 in TheOpenMat rankings, upset the two-time All-American Storr, who was ranked in the top eight in all five rankings, including No. 5 in InterMat and TheOpenMat.
Entering his first B1G Championships, Omania is 3-4 with all four losses to ranked opponents, including two in the Top 10.
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 on Feb. 6 with a hard-fought, 6-5, loss to No. 2 Eric Schultz of Nebraska, but bounced back with a thrilling, 9-7 win over No. 12 Thomas Penola of Purdue, rallying from down 5-3 early in the third period ... Caffey has won 20 of his last 25 matches overall and 22 of his last 28 matches.
• Prior to the loss to Schultz on Feb. 6, Caffey's previous loss in his prior 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 climbed up in the 174 rankings to as high as No. 8 midseason after opening the season 5-0, before a 6-1 loss to No. 14 Max Lyon of Purdue, snapping Malczewski's nine-match win streak ... along with winning his last 13 of 16 matches, Malczewski has won 16 of his last 21 overall matches.
• Malczewski began the season barely ranked in the Top 20 of all five rankings, but climbed up into the Top 10 in four of the top five and in the Top 12 in all five rankings last in the season, including as high as No. 8 in both FloWrestling and InterMat's rankings, and is still in the Top 17 in all five, plus the NCAA Coaches rankings.
• Malczewski's previous two wins before the recent loss came on a pair of quick-pin wins, with two pins in just 2:50 total, at the Indiana tri-meet with Nebraska on Feb. 6 ... 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 is 4-3, with two of his three losses coming to then No. 6 and 7-ranked opponents by a total of three points ... Saldate was edged by No. 7 Kendall Coleman of Purdue, 6-4 in sudden victory 1 ... prior to the loss to Coleman, Saldate's only other loss was to then-No. 6 Brayton Lee of Minnesota, 5-4, in the opening weekend ... Saldate wrapped up regular-season action with a 7-2 loss to then-No. 10 Will Lewan of Michigan.
• Before the loss to Coleman, Saldate had won his previous 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 of the tri-meet on Feb. 6, then a sequel of an 8-0 major decision over Nebraska's Jevon Parrish in the second match of the day.
• Saldate moved to 4-1 on the season with the two shutouts on Feb. 6, with a fall and two major decisions on the season ledger.
• After starting the season unranked across the board, Saldate climbed into the top 25 in three of the five rankings, as high as No. 23 in The Open Mat's rankings.
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
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.
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 when restrictions allot, unfortunately there will be no fans allowed this Friday.
• 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.
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
NEXT YEAR'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN THE D
The 2022 NCAA Championships will be held March 17-19 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
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Braden Stauffenberg | Will To Serve | Spartans All-Access
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Tuesday, December 12
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Wednesday, December 21