No. 23 Michigan State Wrestling Heads To B1G Championships

No. 23 MICHIGAN STATE (2-5, 2-5 B1G) at 2021 Big Ten Championships
DATE	Saturday-Sunday, March 6-7, 2021
TIMES	Sat., Mar. 6 - Session I - 10 a.m. Sat., Mar. 6 - Session II - 7:30 p.m. Sun., Mar. 7 - Session III - 12 p.m. Sun. Mar. 7 - Session IV - 4 p.m.
LOCATION	University Park, Pa. • Bryce Jordan Center
TICKETS	NO TICKETS
TELEVISION	Big Ten Network
STREAMING	Big Ten Network + {WATCH LIVE} \| FoxSportsGo {WATCH LIVE}
BRACKETS	Brackets
RESULTS	Big Ten Championships Central
CHAMPIONSHIPS PROGRAM	Program
MATCH NOTES	Michigan State
SOCIAL MEDIA	@wrestlingmsu \| MichiganState Wrestling \| @wrestlingmsu

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- No. 23 Michigan State heads to University Park, Pennsylvania for the 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, on Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7, at the Bryce Jordan Center, hosted by Penn State.

Action gets going on Saturday with Session I at 10 a.m., before Session II at 7:30 p.m. Championship Sunday gets underway with Session III at 12 p.m. and Session IV at 4 p.m.

While no public tickets will be made available for the event due to virus mitigation restrictions, the Big Ten Network will air action on Saturday with Saturday night's semifinals and Sunday's finals live nationally and the Big Ten Network+ will live stream every mat.

Michigan State has won eight Big Ten team titles, while the Spartans have won 67 Big Ten individual titles in their program history.

MICHIGAN STATE BIG TEN HISTORY
• Michigan State has won eight Big Ten titles, including seven in a row from 1966-72.
• Spartans have won 67 Big Ten individual titles in program history.
• Michigan State's last Big Ten Champion was Franklin Gomez, who won back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009 at 133 pounds.
• MSU's first Big Ten title came in 1966 under Coach Fendely Collins, and the next seven came under Hall of Fame coach Grady Peninger from 1967-72.
• Michigan State placed 10th with 57 team points last season at the 2020 Big Ten Championships in Piscataway, New Jersey ... That was MSU's final action of the season as the NCAA Championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• MSU highest finish under Coach Chandler was 10th in 2016-17, Chandler's first year leading the Spartans, which MSU matched 2019-20.
• Under Coach Chandler, MSU has finished:
2020 - 10th / 57 pts.
2019 - 13th / 29.5 pts.
2018 - 14th / 9.5 pts.
2017 - 10th / 37.5 pts.

BIG TEN ANNOUNCES PRE-SEEDS FOR BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
• The Big Ten announced the pre-seeds for the Big Ten Championships on Tuesday, with eight Spartans earning top 10 seeds.

• Redshirt-sophomore 184-pounder Layne Malczewski is the highest-seeded Spartan heading into Friday's coaches meetings, coming in at No. 3.
• At 197, redshirt-junior Cameron Caffey is No. 4 seed, his third top 10 seed in as many B1G Championships, after being No. 2 at 184 pounds last season, after No. 10 at 184 in 2019.
• Redshirt-junior Rayvon Foley, who ranks No. 12 at 125 pounds in NCAA by FloWrestling, is ranked No. 5 in the B1G Pre-Seeds.
• Freshman Chase Saldate is the No. 7 seed at 157 pounds, while redshirt-freshman Peyton Omania is the No. 10 seed at 149 pounds, entering both of their first Big Ten Championships.
• Redshirt-senior Jake Tucker earned his second top 10 seed in a row, coming in at No. 8 this season, after being the No. 6 seed last year.
• At 184 pounds, sedshirt-senior Drew Hughes earned his third-straight top 10 seed, coming in at No. 10 this season at 184 pounds, after earning the No. 9 seed at 174 pounds a year ago and No. 8 at 174 pounds in 2019.
• Redshirt-senior Christian Rebottaro rounds out the top 10 Spartans, coming in at No. 10 in the 285 seedings.
• At 133 pounds, redshirt-freshman Jordan Hamdan enters his first B1G Championships at the No. 12 seed.
• Redshirt-senior Matt Santos is the No. 12 seed at 141 pounds.

NEWBIES TO B1G CHAMPS
A total of four Spartans are making their first trips to the Big Ten Championships:

• Redshirt-freshman Jordan Hamdan - 133
• Redshirt-freshman Peyton Omania - 149
• Freshman Chase Saldate - 157

JUST LIKE TAG TEAM THEY'RE BACK AGAIN
Just like the somewhat one-hit-wonder Whoomp (There It Is) lyrics says, seven Spartans are back again at the Big Ten Championships:

• Redshirt-junior Rayvon Foley - 125 - 3rd (2018-19, 2017-18)
• Redshirt-senior Matt Santos - 141 - 2nd (2019-20)
• Redshirt-senior Jake Tucker - 165 - 3rd (2019-20, 2017-18)
• Redshirt-senior Drew Hughes - 174 - 4th (2019-20, 2018-19, 2017-18)
• Redshirt-junior Layne Malczewski - 184 - 2nd (2019-20)
• Redshirt-junior Cameron Caffey - 197 - 3rd (2019-20, 2018-19)
• Redshirt-senior Christian Rebottaro - 285 - 3rd (2019-20, 2017-18)

COACH CHANDLER CHAT
On how excited he and the team is for the Big Ten Championships:
"It's been a very trying year and in so many ways since last March. Our guys have listened, persevered and stayed focused the entire way. I give all the credit to their desire and commitment to be able to compete again.

"There is no doubt this is a big weekend and that we are all excited and grateful for the opportunity to compete. We have pointed to this weekend since we started back to competition in January. We cannot take anything for granted and I know each guy will give their best effort when they step out on the mat."

On how the shortened season helped and if it hindered anything going into this weekend:
"The shortened conference-only season has allowed us to stay healthier but also at the same time has forced each guy to adjust to the level of competition more quickly than a normal season."

On what he's looking to see from the team this weekend at the Big Ten Championships:
"I'm looking for a complete team effort where everyone contributes. It can be a special weekend where we have taken another step forward as program, but each and every guy has to be a contributor."

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

RANK 'EM
• Along with the NWCA rankings, MSU is in several different team rankings, as high as No. 19 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, eight different Spartans 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 TrackWrestling and WrestleStat's, and is in the Top 13 in all six rankings ... redshirt-junior 125-pounder Rayvon Foley is as high as No. 7 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 17 of all six rankings, as high as No. 8 by the NCAA Coaches.

• Caffey, Malczewski and Foley 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 17 of his last 20 matches overall and 19 of his last 23 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 last week after opening the season 5-0, before a 6-1 loss to No. 14 Max Lyon of Purdue last time out, snapping Malczewski's nine-match win streak ... along with winning his last 10 of 11 matches, Malczewski has won 13 of his last 16 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 last week, 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

UP NEXT
The NCAA Championships, March 18-20 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Michigan State University Athletics

No. 23 Michigan State Wrestling Heads To B1G Championships

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Players Mentioned

Nathan Atienza

Cameron Caffey

Andrew Chambal

Rayvon Foley

Jordan Hamdan

Drew Hughes

Layne Malczewski

Peyton Omania

Christian Rebottaro

Jackson Renicker

Chase Saldate

Matt Santos

Jake Tucker

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