Foley Wins 133 Crown, Three Other Wrestlers Place at Southern Scuffle

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Redshirt senior Rayvon Foley took home the 133-pound title on Sunday, as the Michigan State wrestling team had four total wrestlers place in the final night of the 2022 Southern Scuffle inside McKenzie Arena.

In addition to Foley, sophomore Chase Saldate's run in the 18th edition of the Scuffle ended as the runner-up in the 157-pound bracket, while redshirt senior Cameron Caffey won the third-place bout at 197 and Layne Malczewski claimed fifth place in the 184 bracket.

As a team, MSU claimed third place with 94.5 points, finishing behind team champion Missouri (175.5) and second-place North Dakota State (109.5).

The Spartans opened Sunday with eight wrestlers still competing, with five entering the day in the consolation bracket. The lone MSU wrestler to advance past their first Sunday consolation bout, redshirt junior Layne Malczewski claimed two consolation victories in the 184 bracket, taking down West Viriginia's Anthony Carman in a 7-2 decision and getting a 10-2 major decision against Gavin Stika of Oklahoma State to advance to the consolation semifinal. Malczewski then lost in the consolation semifinal via injury default to No. 8 Hunter Bolen from Virginia Tech, but the Spartan claimed fifth place when Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) dropped out with a medical forfeit.

Sophomores Tristan Lujan, Eddie Homrock and Caleb Fish all suffered losing decisions in their first bouts on Sunday morning, eliminating them from a chance at medals.

In the afternoon's championship semifinals, Foley put together a 10-5 winning decision over Iowa's Cullan Schriever to reach the 133 finals, while Saldate used a late takedown to score a 3-1 decision over three-time All-American Brock Mauller of Missouri to earn a place in the 157 first-place bout. For Caffey, his semifinal match ended with a 6-2 losing decision to Penn State's Michael Beard, sending the MSU 197-pounder to the consolation semifinals.

The night session saw Foley outwork Minnesota's Aaron Nagao to claim the 133 crown with a 2-0 decision, using a second-period escape and the riding time bonus to earn the win. In the 157 final, Saldate was unable to score a takedown in the third period to overcome Jared Franek of North Dakota State, finishing runner-up in a 6-3 decision.

Caffey ended the night for MSU in the 197-pound third-place match, rallying in the third period to earn a 8-6 decision over South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan, giving the Spartans their third medalist at the Southern Scuffle.

This was only the second time the Spartans have taken part in the Southern Scuffle, with Foley being the first MSU wrestler to win an individual title at the event.

Michigan State returns to the mat on Saturday, Jan. 8 in its Big Ten-opening dual against Ohio State. The Spartans and Buckeyes are set to begin at 5 p.m. inside Jenison Field House on Big Ten Plus.

FULL RESULTS
Tristan Lujan - 125
Round-of-32 fell to Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) – Dec., 9-4
Consolation Round-of-16 #1 def. Ryan Henningson (North Dakota State) – Dec., 11-6
Consolation Round-of-16 #2 def. Tyler Klinsky (Rider) – Medical Forfeit
Consolation Round-of-8 #1 def. Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State) – Dec., 10-6
Consolation Round-of-8 #2 fell to Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) – Dec., 7-4

Julian Saldana - 125
Round-of-32 fell to Tyler Klinsky (Rider) – Dec., 4-2
Consolation Round-of-16 #1 fell to Eddie Flores (CSU-Bakersfield), Dec., 10-5

#13 Rayvon Foley - 133
Pigtail Round def. Brandon Wittenberg (Virginia Tech) – MD, 14-1
Round-of-32 def. Jackson Bradford (The Citadel) – TF, 17-2
Round-of-16 def. Garett Lautzenheiser (West Virginia) – TF, 16-0
Round-of-8 def. Dom Lajoie (Cornell) – Dec., 9-3
Semifinal def. Cullan Schriever (Iowa) – Dec., 10-5
Final def. Aaron Nagao (Minnesota) – Dec., 2-0

Jordan Hamdan - 141
Round-of-32 def. Josh Saunders (Cornell) – Dec., 4-3
Round-of-16 def. Patrick Rowland (Duke) – Dec., 8-3
Round-of-8 fell to #7 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) – MD, 10-1
Consolation Round-of-8 #2 fell to Vince Cornella (Spartan Combat RTC) – Dec., 3-2

Jaden Enriquez - 149
Pigtail Round def. Hunter Noland (Chattanooga) – Fall, 2:01
Round-of-32 fell to Jeff Boyd (West Virginia) – Dec., 2-0
Consolation Round-of-32 #2 fell to Brayden Roberts (West Virginia) – Dec., 2-0

Peyton Omania - 149
Round-of-32 fell to Gaven Sax (North Dakota St.) – Dec., 3-1
Consolation Round-of-16 #1 def. Dane Heberlien (The Citadel) – Dec., 8-6
Consolation Round-of-16 #2 fell to Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) – SV-1,3-1

Eddie Homrock - 149
Round-of-32 def. Corbin Dion (Gardner-Webb) – Fall, 2:51
Round-of-16 fell to HM Zach Price (South Dakota State) – Dec., 7-2
Consolation Round-of-16 #2 def. Joey Bianchi (Arkansas-Little Rock) – Dec. 11-5
Consolation Round-of-8 #1 def. Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) – SV-1, 7-5
Consolation Round-of-8 #2 fell to Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado) – Dec., 6-1

#24 Chase Saldate - 157
Pigtail Round def. Kenny O'Neil (South Dakota St.) – Dec., 2-0
Round-of-32 def. Grant Speer (The Citadel) – Dec., 7-0
Round-of-16 def. Adam Santoro (Cornell) – MD, 9-0
Round-of-8 def. Joe Lee (Penn State) – MD, 9-1
Semifinal def. Brock Mauller (Missouri) – Dec., 3-1
Final fell to #8 Jared Franek (North Dakota State) – Dec., 5-3

HM Caleb Fish - 165
Round-of-32 def. Noah Grover (Buffalo) – Fall, 5:45
Round-of-16 fell to #15 William Formato (Appalachian State) – MD, 12-4
Consolation Round-of-16 #2 def. Nick Knutson (Northern Colorado) – Dec. 6-1
Consolation Round-of-8 #1 def. Alex Facundo (Penn State) – Dec., 5-3
Consolation Round-of-8 #2 fell to Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) – Dec., 10-4

Nate Jimenez - 174
Pigtail Round fell to Cole Burke (The Citadel) – Dec., 5-1
Consolation Round-of-32 #2 def. Andrew Wilson (Gardner-Webb) – MD, 10-2
Consolation Round-of-16 #1 fell to Dom Solis (Maryland) – Dec., 5-2

Marty Larkin - 174
Round-of-32 def. Dennis Robin (West Virginia) – Dec., 6-3
Round-of-16 fell to #8 Matt Finesilver (Duke) – Fall, 2:18
Consolation Round-of-16 #2 fell to Sean Harman (Missouri) – MD, 16-3

#21 Layne Malczewski - 184
Round-of-32 def. Tanner Mendoza (Arkansas-Little Rock) – Fall, 6:25
Round-of-16 def. Michael Nelson (North Dakota State) – MD, 13-2
Round-of-8 fell to Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) – SV-1, 11-9
Consolation Round-of-8 #2 def. Anthony Carman (West Virginia) – Dec., 7-2
Consolation Round-of-4 def. Gavin Stika (Oklahoma State) – MD, 10-2
Consolation Semifinal fell to #8 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) – Injury Default, 0:04
Fifth-Place Bout def. Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) – Medical Forfeit

HM Cameron Caffey - 197
Round-of-32 def. Isaac Dolph (VMI) – Fall, 6:27
Round-of-16 def. Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) – Dec., 6-3
Round-of-8 def. #24 Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) – Dec., 6-2
Semifinal fell to Michael Beard (Penn State) – Dec., 6-2
Consolation Semifinal def. Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) – Dec., 8-2
Third-Place Bout def. HM Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) – Dec., 8-6

Brad Wilton - 285
Pigtail Round fell to Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) – Dec., 3-1
Consolation Round-of-32 fell to Jacob Sartorio (Appalachian State) – Dec., 5-4

*Individual Rankings based on FloWrestling*

Foley Wins 133 Crown, Three Other Wrestlers Place at Southern Scuffle

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Caffey

Jaden Enriquez

Caleb Fish

Rayvon Foley

Jordan Hamdan

Eddie Homrock

Marty Larkin

Tristan Lujan

Layne Malczewski

Peyton Omania

Julian Saldana

Chase Saldate

Brad Wilton