Wrestling Opens Dual Slate on the Road at Davidson, Presbyterian

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State wrestling opens the 2022-23 dual slate on the road in the Carolinas this weekend, as the Spartans travel to face Davidson and Presbyterian.

The Green & White open the season with a 6 p.m. meeting against the Davidson Wildcats from the Baker Sports Complex on Friday, Nov. 11. MSU follows that up with a 3:30 p.m. start against the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Saturday, Nov. 12, from Summerville High School.

HEAD COACH ROGER CHANDLER SAID…
"Obviously, these guys have put in a lot of work in the offseason, and many of the guys that will be wrestling haven't had an opportunity to step out on to the mat yet this year from a competitive standpoint. I want them to set the tone for their season. They take pride in the team aspect of it, and I think that was evident in the results we saw last year during the dual meets and the entirety of our regular season. It's fun, and these guys really, really get behind each other. The message is to set the tone for your season early, go out and score points, and always be on the lookout for bonus points as well. I'm really excited for our guys, and I can't wait to get our first duals started."

RANK 'EM
Michigan State enters the weekend receiving votes in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll. The Spartans spent multiple weeks ranked in last season's NWCA Top-25, coming in at No. 16 in the last week of the dual season and rising up to the No. 15 position in the final rankings of the year, released on Feb. 2. Along with the NWCA rankings, MSU stands at the No. 20 position in WrestleStat's inaugural rankings of the 2022-23 season. released on Nov. 8. The Spartans rank at No. 36 in FloWrestling's season-opening poll.

Individually, a total of five Spartans maintain rankings according to InterMat, highlighted by graduate 133-pounder Rayvon Foley coming in at No. 9. At 197 pounds, graduate Cameron Caffey boasts the No. 15 national ranking, while junior Chase Saldate comes in at No. 18 in the 157-pound weight class. Redshirt-senior Layne Malczewski earned the No. 20 spot at 184 pounds, while junior Caleb Fish rounded out the individually ranked Spartans at No. 32 in the 165-pound category.

OPEN SEASON
Highlighted by freshman Ceasar Garza's undefeated effort at 174 pounds in the freshman/sophomore division, a total of 10 different Michigan State wrestlers garnered podium finishes at the 2022 MSU Open inside Jenison Field House on Saturday, Nov. 5. Freshmen Braden Stauffenberg and Kael Wisler rolled en route to 2nd place finishes in the 149 and 184 classes, respectively. Junior Caleb Fish registered a third-place finish at 165 pounds in the Open Division, and redshirt junior Jordan Hamdan placed fourth at 141.

Sophomore Jacob Lee finished fourth at freshman/sophomore 197, while freshman Ryan Boucher completed a fifth-place outing at freshman/sophomore 174. Freshman Jacob Munger (freshman/sophomore 184), graduate Benny Gomez (open 125) and graduate Ryan Vasbinder (open 285) each published sixth-place efforts, rounding out the 10 Spartans who reached the podium.

ABOUT DAVIDSON & PRESBYTERIAN
The Wildcats are coming off a 5-10 overall season a year ago, also booking a 3-5 ledger in SoCon duals. Davidson went 2-7 in duals wrestled at home inside the Baker Sports Complex. The Wildcats finished the season on a high note, defeating Presbyterian by a 26-11 score, but failed to place any individuals in the NCAA Championships. The squad is led by junior Gavin Henry at 197 pounds, and also features a pair of brothers in Brett and Bryce Sanderlin.

Presbyterian returns to work in the 2022-23 slate following a 1-9 overall record published a year ago with an 0-7 mark in SoCon duals. The Blue Hose placed eighth in the SoCon Championship, and failed to record any wins across all weight classes at the tournament. Presbyterian is led by Director of Wrestling Mark Cody, and head coach Zach Sheaffer. Both duals will feature the first all-time meeting between Michigan State and its respective opponents.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday evening's contest against Davidson will be streamed live to a worldwide audience via Davidson All-Access by clicking here. Saturday afternoon's test against Presbyterian will be streamed via FloWrestling. Click the link here and sign in with your credentials to follow along with the action. As always, fans are encouraged to follow the Spartans on Twitter @MSU_Wrestling for score updates throughout each dual.

FOLLOW THE SPARTANS
Visit MSUSpartans.com for more information on Michigan State wrestling. Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan wrestling team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_Wrestling.

Wrestling Opens Dual Slate on the Road at Davidson, Presbyterian

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