Wrestling Downed by No. 1 Penn State at Home

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State wrestling team got a big upset in the 197-pound bout with redshirt senior Cameron Caffey defeating No. 2 Max Dean, but the No. 21 Spartans could not pull off the team win over No. 1 Penn State, dropping a 28-9 match to the top-ranked Nittany Lions on Sunday afternoon in Jenison Field House.

MSU shifted to 8-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten, while Penn State remained undefeated in duals at 12-0, standing at 5-0 in the conference.

The 125 match got things started when No. 10 Drew Hildebrandt scored a late takedown that earn his team bonus points, as he got an 8-0 major decision over sophomore Tristan Lujan. With No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young out of the lineup, redshirt senior Rayvon Foley drew Baylor Shunk in the 133-pound showdown instead, where Foley handily took an 8-2 decision to put MSU on the board.

The first of three defending national champions in the PSU lineup appeared at 141, as No. 1 Nick Lee built up nearly four minutes of riding time in a 13-1 major decision over graduate student Matt Santos. In the 149 bout, No. 15 Beau Bartlett picked up a 5-2 decision against redshirt sophomore Peyton Omania, extending the team lead to 11-3.

Sophomore Chase Saldate needed extra time to do it, but his takedown against Terrell Barraclough gave him a 4-2 sudden-victory decision and his team-leading 22nd win this season. The 165-pounders also put on a close match, as No. 17 Brady Berge was able to edge out sophomore Caleb Fish in a 7-4 decision. No. 1 Carter Starocci stayed undefeated at 174, tallying a 19-3 technical fall over sophomore Marty Larkin, while fellow No. 1 Aaron Brooks faced a worthy opponent in redshirt junior Layne Malczewski at 184, but Brooks prevailed in a 4-0 decision that marked Malczewski's fifth-straight ranked foe.

The top Spartan proved to be Caffey, who picked up his seventh-straight victory and his third ranked win in a nine-day span, as the 197-pounder had a late escape that put him ahead in a 3-2 decision over the second-ranked Dean. In the final bout of the afternoon, No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet got an early takedown of redshirt senior Brad Wilton and turned it into a 1:58 pin that gave PSU the 28-9 team win.

Michigan State now goes into a 13-day break after wrestling four times in nine days. The team returns to action on Friday, Feb. 4 at Maryland, facing the Terrapins at 7 p.m.

Bout-by-Bout
125: No. 10 Drew Hildebrandt (PSU) maj. dec. Tristan Lujan (MSU), 8-0
Some early shots from both sides led to a Hildebrandt takeover with about a minute left in the first period, as Lujan defended against Hildebrandt's turn attempt the rest of the way as the Nittany Lion built up 1:10 of riding time. A neutral start in period two did not last long, as Hildebrandt had another takedown and got his RT up to 2:39. Lujan began on top in the third, cutting down on Hildebrant's RT until he escaped 40 seconds into the period and that led to a lengthy scramble before a restart. Hildebrandt got another takedown after that, as riding time bonus gave him an 8-0 major decision.

133: No. 11 Rayvon Foley (MSU) dec. Baylor Shunk (PSU), 8-2
Foley tallied his first takedown under 30 seconds into the bout, while Shunk got an escape after 1:45 of RT but that set Foley up for another takedown before the period ended. With Foley down in the second, he escaped about 20 ticks in, adding his third takedown to go up 7-1 before Shunk escaped again and a scramble ensued as the buzzer sounded. Foley went top to begin the third, getting Shunk on his side multiple time but unable to get back points as he ended with 4:33 of RT to secure an 8-2 decision.

141: No. 1 Nick Lee (PSU) maj. dec. Matt Santos (MSU), 13-1
A Lee takedown 25 seconds in allowed him to build 1:02 of riding time before Santos broke free. A stall warning on Santos was followed by another Lee takedown, who ended the first with 1:47 of RT. Santos held Lee down for 20 seconds in the middle frame, but Lee escaped and almost got the reversal before the two went out of the circle. The restart set up Lee's third takedown prior to the end of the period. With Santos down in the third, Lee scored two back points quickly and added two more in quick succession, while a second Santos stall gave Lee another point, with 3:56 of RT bringing Lee a 13-1 major decision.

149: No. 15 Beau Bartlett (PSU) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU), 5-2
Hand-fighting early was followed by a Omania shot with a minute left in the opening frame, but Bartlett defended it well. With Omania down in the second, he tallied a quick escape and then fended off a Bartlett headlock before more hand-fighting rounded out the period. Bartlett had an uncontested escape to begin the third and tried a shot that Omania worked out of, but his second attempt let to a takedown. A restart helped OMania escape, as he had several shots before going out of bounds. The final restart allowed Bartlett to get a final takedown for a 5-2 decision.

157: Chase Saldate (MSU) dec. Terrell Barraclough (PSU), 4-2 (SV-1)
Saldate quickly got a hold of Barraclough's leg, but the potential takedown was taken away when the two left the circle. On the restart, Barraclough got Saldate's leg, but Saldate defended against it until time expired. In the second with Saldate down, Barraclough rode him for 1:12 before the Spartan escaped on a roll-through. With Saldate on top to begin the third, Saldate got Barraclough's RT down below one minute before Barraclough got a reversal that Saldate escaped from shortly after. A late shot nearly gave Saldate the takedown as the horn sounded. The extra period started with Barraclough's attempt being turned by Saldate into his own takedown that gave Saldate a 4-2 sudden victory decision.

165: No. 17 Brady Berge (PSU) dec. Caleb Fish (MSU), 7-4
Fish and Berge hand-fought for a bit before a Fish attempt nearly got him on top of Berge before the two carried out of bounds. Berge got a late takedown to go up 2-0, and then got the escape after starting down in the second. He then tallied a second takedown before letting Fish escape. Fish got the early escape in the third, but Berge added another takedown and let Fish escape again, as Berge was later dinged for a stalling penalty in a 7-4 decision.

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) tech. fall over Marty Larkin (MSU), 19-3
Starocci's early shot was successful, but it took a while to get control over Larkin, who then got a reversal over the defending national champion. A restart after a review allowed Starocci to escape and quickly get another takedown before Larkin escaped. A third attempt by Starocci was stopped by an injury timeout, and Starocci chose down on the restart and quickly got a reversal and picked up two four-point near-falls before the first period expired. A neutral start in the second got Starocci another takedown and a two-point near-fall for a 19-3 technical fall.

184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) dec. No. 21 Layne Malczewski (MSU), 4-0
Malczewski defended several Brooks attempts, but Brooks got him in a headlock that led to a stalemate halfway through the first period. The restart allowed Brooks to get a hold of Malczewski's knee, but the Spartan was able to keep Brooks from getting on top before the clock hit zero. With Malczewski down to start the second, Brooks worked him to the edge before a restart was called and Malczewski was warned for stalling, but two sides could not get points either way before the second period ended with Brooks still on top. Brooks went down in the third, where Malczewski held him down for 0:29 before Brooks escaped and then landed a takedown in quick succession, as Brooks kept Malczewski down for the rest of the match for a 4-0 decision with 2:54 of riding time.

197: No. 18 Cameron Caffey dec. No. 2 Max Dean (PSU), 3-2
Dean got Caffey's leg in his grasp a minute into the bout, but Caffey prevented a takedown for nearly a minute before a stalemate was whistled and the two ended the first period scoreless. Dean went down in the second, as Caffey rode him for 16 seconds before Dean escaped and got a quick shot in that Caffey spun out of before going out. The restart allowed Caffey to take down Dean, and he nearly got Dean turned for back points before Dean broke free, as the two battled until the second ended. Caffey was down to start, and the two eventually went out with 44 seconds left. The restart got Caffey an escape, and he nearly got a late takedown as time expired for a 3-2 MSU decision.

HWT: No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) fall over Brad Wilton (MSU), 1:58
Wilton danced out of one attempt by Kerkvliet, but the Nittany Lion's second attempt got him two points, as eventually was able to put Wilton on his back for a 1:58 fall, ending the dual.

No. 1 Penn State 28, No. 21 Michigan State 9
125: No. 10 Drew Hildebrandt (PSU) maj. dec. Tristan Lujan (MSU), 8-0; PSU leads, 4-0
133: No. 11 Rayvon Foley (MSU) dec. Baylor Shunk (PSU), 8-2; PSU leads, 4-3
141: No. 1 Nick Lee (PSU) maj. dec. Matt Santos (MSU), 13-1; PSU leads, 8-3
149: No. 15 Beau Bartlett (PSU) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU), 5-2; PSU leads, 11-3
157: Chase Saldate (MSU) dec. Terrell Barraclough (PSU), 4-2 (SV-1); PSU leads, 11-6
165: No. 17 Brady Berge (PSU) dec. Caleb Fish (MSU), 7-4; PSU leads, 14-6
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) tech. fall over Marty Larkin (MSU), 19-3; PSU leads, 19-6
184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) dec. No. 21 Layne Malczewski (MSU), 4-0; PSU leads, 22-6
197: No. 18 Cameron Caffey dec. No. 2 Max Dean (PSU), 3-2; PSU leads, 22-9
HWT: No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) fall over Brad Wilton (MSU), 1:58; PSU wins, 28-9

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Caffey

Caleb Fish

Rayvon Foley

Marty Larkin

Tristan Lujan

Layne Malczewski

Peyton Omania

Chase Saldate

Matt Santos

Brad Wilton