Saldate, Vasbinder Lead No. 25 Spartans to Victory Over Brown

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – No. 25 Michigan State wrestling opened the evening with a pair of major decisions and never looked back, as the Spartans won their sixth-straight dual by a 38-3 margin over the Brown Bears on Saturday evening inside the Pizzitola Sports Center.

The Green & White improve to 6-0 through their first six duals of the season, marking one of the most dominant streaks to open a campaign in school history. The 2022-23 Spartans become the first team to open a season 6-0 since the 1973-74 season in which Michigan State ultimately recorded 12 dual victories and placed third in the Big Ten Championships. In defeat, Brown drops to 0-2 following a season-opening loss on Friday to Pittsburgh and Saturday evening's result against the Spartans.

MSU graduate wrestler Benny Gomez got the evening started at 125 pounds, logging his first dual win with the Green & White in a 9-1 major decision over Shane Hanson-Ashworth that put the Spartans ahead by four. Fifth-ranked Rayvon Foley toppled Hunter Adrian by an 11-3 score at 133 pounds, and redshirt junior Jordan Hamdan added a 5-1 decision at 141 over Nicky Cabanillas. Touting an 11-0 lead, the Spartans called on redshirt junior Peyton Omania to notch a gritty 6-4 decision over Blake Saito before No. 17 Chase Saldate published his second pin in dual competition of the year with a six-minute, 17-second fall over Keegan Rothrock at 157.

With a 20-0 lead in hand, Michigan State's success in the middleweight classes continued at 165, with junior Caleb Fish tallying a 16-1 technical fall at the 2:47 point of the match against Harrison Trahan. The Bears avoided the shutout with Drew Clearie registering a 7-4 decision over first-time starter Ryan Boucher at 174, but MSU bounced back moments later with No. 10 Layne Malczewski defeating James Araneo, 8-2. With the dual score favoring Michigan State by an insurmountable 28-3 score heading into the final two bouts of the night, No. 17 Cameron Caffey battled for a solid 18-9 major decision over Aaron Wolk. MSU graduate Ryan Vasbinder closed the night out at heavyweight with a resounding 1:15 pin against Alex Semenenko which finalized the 38-3 result.

In individual performances, a pair of Spartans continued their undefeated seasons, with Foley climbing to 6-0 with all six victories coming in dual matches, and Malczewski rising to 10-0 on the young season. MSU's redshirt senior starter at 184 in Malczewski logged a pair of ranked victories a week ago against Binghamton and Princeton at the Garden State Grapple and followed that performance up with his 10th-straight win Saturday night. With his fall over Rothrock, Saldate moved into a three-way tie for the MSU lead in pins this season, matching Fish and Malczewski with four apiece.

UP NEXT
Michigan State wrestling gets set for its final official competition of the 2022 fall semester, as the Green & White head west to face off against a tough slate of opponents at the Reno Tournament of Champions. First whistle on Sunday, Dec. 18, from the Reno Events Center is slated for 12:30 p.m. (ET), with wrestling scheduled throughout the day.

POSTMATCH QUOTES
MICHIGAN STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Roger Chandler
On the team's showing on Saturday night at Brown...
"I think, most importantly, our guys continue to be really tough on top. That is going to pay dividends in every match for the rest of the season. I think that's a critical part of college wrestling. It's about being relentless on top, and our guys are really committed to that process. We made some adjustments during the week for some of our guys, setting up our shots and getting to our leg attacks. By in large, we did that well as a group today. Instead of relying on our defense, our guys went out and hunted for an offensive score."

On individual milestones in the win...
"It was great to see Benny Gomez earn some time on the mat in his first dual meet since joining our program. He's a graduate wrestler, and he has really been dying to get out on the mat. I'm proud of the way that he competed and kept pushing to find success. And then, we had an opportunity for one of our depth guys in Ryan Boucher to wrestle as well. He came up a little short, but that was the first time he had ever wrestled in a collegiate dual meet environment. I'm really proud of how everyone competed today."

WRESTLING MATCH RESULTS
#25 Michigan State 38, Brown 3
Pizzitola Sports Center – Providence, R.I.
125 | Benny Gomez (MSU) major dec. Shane Hanson-Ashworth (BROWN) 9-1 | MSU 4-0
133 | #5 Rayvon Foley (MSU) major dec. Hunter Adrian (BROWN) 11-3 | MSU 8-0
141 | Jordan Hamdan (MSU) dec. Nicky Cabanillas (BROWN) 5-1 | MSU 11-0
149 | Peyton Omania (MSU) dec. Blake Saito (BROWN) 6-4 | MSU 14-0
157 | #17 Chase Saldate (MSU) fall over Keegan Rothrock (BROWN) 6:17 | MSU 20-0
165 | Caleb Fish (MSU) tech. fall over Harrison Trahan (BROWN) 16-1, 2:47 | MSU 25-0
174 | Drew Clearie (BROWN) dec. Ryan Boucher (MSU) 7-4 | MSU 25-3
184 | #10 Layne Malczewski (MSU) dec. James Araneo (BROWN) 8-2 | MSU 28-3
197 | #17 Cameron Caffey (MSU) major dec. Aaron Wolk (BROWN) 18-9 | MSU 32-3
285 | Ryan Vasbinder (MSU) fall over Alex Semenenko (BROWN) 1:15 | MSU wins 38-3

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Saldate, Vasbinder Lead No. 25 Spartans to Victory Over Brown

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Players Mentioned

Ryan Boucher

Cameron Caffey

Caleb Fish

Rayvon Foley

Benny Gomez

Jordan Hamdan

Layne Malczewski

Peyton Omania

Chase Saldate

Ryan Vasbinder