No. 14 Wrestling Defeated in Big Ten Dual with No. 3 Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Redshirt senior Rayvon Foley secured a top-10 victory in front of a hometown crowd, but No. 14 Michigan State dropped a 24-13 match at No. 3 Michigan in Big Ten wrestling action on Sunday afternoon inside Cliff Keen Arena.

MSU shifted to a 9-4 record this season, finishing its conference dual slate at 4-4, while the Wolverines improved to 11-1 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten.

Starting the rivalry showdown at 125 pounds, as top-ranked Nick Suriano defended a strong start from sophomore Tristan Lujan to eventually build up a 14-3 major decision. Foley, an Ann Arbor native, responded for the Spartans in the 133 bout, as he knocked off No. 7 Dylan Ragusin in a 7-2 decision for his second top-10 win of the weekend.

The 141-pound match saw graduate student Matt Santos with a chance to come back late against No. 17 Stevan Micic, but Micic used a late takedown and riding time to score a 10-3 decision. In an anticipated rematch after Peyton Omania's emotional win over him last year, Michigan's 22nd-ranked 149-pounder Kanen Storr came out on the winning side of a hard-fought 5-2 decision over the MSU redshirt sophomore. The 157-pound bout also went to the Wolverines, as a third-period counterattack from ninth-ranked Will Lewan led to a takedown of sophomore Chase Saldate and a 3-2 decision for Lewan.

After the intermission, 14th-ranked Cameron Amine took a 5-1 decision over sophomore Caleb Fish in the 165-pound showdown, while fifth-ranked 174-pounder Logan Massa picked up a 17-1 technical fall over redshirt junior Nathan Jimenez. Second-ranked Myles Amine then used a reversal and two-point near-fall at the start of the third to come back and win an 8-4 decision against redshirt junior Layne Malczewski at 184.

The 197-pound bout saw redshirt senior Cameron Caffey win his tenth-straight match, scoring seven takedowns in a 16-7 major decision over Bobby Striggow, who wrestled in place of No. 11 Patrick Brucki. Fellow redshirt senior Brad Wilton then ended the match with a fall, pinning Zachery Nemec in 1:34 for his third fall at the heavyweight class this season.

With the 4-4 conference mark, the Spartans posted their best B1G dual finish since a 4-3-1 record in the 2004-05 season. For Wilton, his 1:34 pin is the first by a Spartan over Michigan in a dual since 125-pound Brenan Lyon pinned No. 15 Sean Boyle in 2:01. It is also the quickest MSU pin against Michigan in a dual since 125-pound Eric Olanowski pinned Boyle in 1:02. Caffey's 10-match win streak is his longest since beating 12-straight opponents en route to the 2020 Big Ten Championship match at 184 pounds.

Michigan State concludes the regular season on Feb. 18 when it hosts No. 20 Central Michigan in dual-meet action. The opening bout is set for 6 p.m. in Jenison Field House, as the match will also serve as Senior Night and Alumni Night.

Bout-By-Bout
125: #1 Nick Suriano (UM) major dec. Tristan Lujan (MSU), 14-3
Lujan put in a great shot right off the whistle, but Suriano defended it and later got a double-leg attempt in that led to a takedown, while Lujan escaped and put in another shot in the third minute before a stalemate. Suriano quickly got takedown off the restart, going up 4-1 before the second period. In the second, Suriano went down and got an early escape, adding another takedown and a four-point near-fall. Lujan got free and had another attack but could not get any points before the end of the frame. With Lujan on bottom to start the third, he escaped and a scramble did not amount to anything, as Suriano eventually added another takedown and locked up riding time for a 14-3 major decision.

133: #11 Rayvon Foley (MSU) dec. #7 Dylan Ragusin (UM), 7-2
Hand-fighting between the two wrestlers early ended when Ragusin's shot led to a takedown in the second minute, but Foley quickly escaped and defended a Ragusin attempt, but Foley's own single-leg attempt did not result in control before the first buzzer. Foley went down in the second period, breaking free and defending Ragusin's shot on his leg until a restart allowed him to get his own shot in. A MSU challenge resulted in the initial no-call being changed and Foley awarded for a takedown. Foley then rode Ragusin for the remainder of the period, as the two started neutral in the third. Another Foley takedown near the edge of the mat allowed him to pass 1:00 of RT before the two were called out of bounds. Foley rode Ragusin for the rest of the match, getting the 7-2 decision in his hometown.

141: #17 Stevan Micic (UM) dec. Matt Santos (MSU), 10-3
Santos' early attempt was met by Micic, who then had his own shot eventually result in a takedown before Santos escaped on a restart. Santos was then warned for stalling, while Micic landed another takedown before the end of the first. Micic escaped early in the second after going down and added a takedown before Santos escaped himself and held off Micic until the second buzzer. Santos escaped in the third and rolled through a Micic shot to put himself in position to score, but a stalemate was called. Micic got another takedown in the final five seconds of the bout and earned riding time bonus for a 10-3 decision.

149: #22 Kanen Storr (UM) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU), 5-2
An ankle pick by Storr got him an early takedown, but Omania escaped shortly after and had to defend a Storr headlock attempt before the first period ended. Omania was down to begin the second, rolling through for an early escape and fending off another pick attempt while getting some underhook shots in himself. Storr eventually got a single-leg takedown and Omania was warned for stalling, but Omania was able to avoid the Storr near-fall attempt as the second ended. Omania then let Storr up in the third, working out of another Storr shot before a restart led to a shot from each side and time expired in a 5-2 winning decision for Storr.

157: #9 Will Lewan (UM) dec. #17 Chase Saldate (MSU), 3-2
Not much offense early saw a shot from Saldate, but the first period ended scoreless. Lewan went on bottom to begin the second, and Saldate rode him for 0:48 until Lewan escaped, and hand-fighting rounded out the second frame. Saldate was down to start the third, but escaped in two seconds and went in for a shot that Lewan evaded. A shot by Saldate led to a re-attack from Lewan that got the takedown after a lengthy scramble, as a Saldate escape resulted in the Wolverine scoring a 3-2 decision.

165: #14 Cameron Amine (UM) dec. Caleb Fish (MSU), 5-1
Amine got Fish in a single-leg and converted the takedown two minutes into the bout, but Fish escaped quickly before the period expired. Fish went on bottom in the second, getting mat-returned by Amine three times and getting called for stalling twice to give Amine a penalty point. Amine got the early escape in the third, as Fish then defended a double-leg shot and had to defend another Amine that nearly put Fish on his back, but Amine ended the bout with a 5-1 decision after factoring in riding time bonus.

174: #5 Logan Massa (UM) tech. fall over Nathan Jimenez (MSU), 17-1
Massa put in several shots early that Jimenez defended each time, but Jimenez was warned for stalling before a restart got Massa a takedown and two-point near-fall. Another restart got Massa a pair of four-point near-falls before the first period ended. Massa tacked on another takedown in the second after going neutral, while a second stall on Jimenez gave Massa a penalty point. A Jimenez escape and another Massa takedown in the second ended the match early, as Massa got the 17-1 technical fall.

184: #2 Myles Amine (UM) dec. #19 Layne Malczewski (MSU), 8-4
The early shot from Amine was rolled through by Malczewski, and another Amine attempt was ducked by Malczewski, who put in his own shot after that but the two wrestlers went into the second period scoreless. Malczewski got the quick escape after going down in the second, put in a shot that resulted in a takedown and the lead, but Amine got free on a restart and then worked out a takedown after another Malczewski shot. Malczewski then tried a reversal. A locked-hands call on Amine gave Malczewski an extra point, but Amine rode him for the rest of the period on the restart. A quick reversal and a two-point near-fall by Amine in the third put him ahead, as riding time gave Amine the 8-4 decision in the end.

197: #7 Cameron Caffey (MSU) major dec. Bobby Striggow (UM), 16-7
Caffey converted an early shot into the takedown, as Striggow escaped but was quickly taken down again by Caffey, who nearly got a near-fall that Striggow worked out of. Striggow then got another escape and tried his shot as time expired. With Caffey on top in the second, he kept Striggow down for over a minute before giving Striggow an uncontested escape and getting a third takedown. Striggow escaped again, but Caffey picked up another takedown in the closing moments of the second. Caffey then escaped shortly after the start of the third frame, as he tacked on three more takedowns with three Striggow escapes, getting the 16-7 major decision after tallying over three minutes of RT.

285: Brad Wilton (MSU) fall over Zachery Nemec (UM), 1:34
Nemec nearly had a takedown early on, but Wilton scooted out of it, getting his own takedown and quickly pinning Nemec for a 1:34 fall.

#3 Michigan 24, #14 Michigan State 13
125: #1 Nick Suriano (UM) major dec. Tristan Lujan (MSU), 14-3; UM leads 4-0
133: #11 Rayvon Foley (MSU) dec. #7 Dylan Ragusin (UM), 7-2; UM leads 4-3
141: #17 Stevan Micic (UM) dec. Matt Santos (MSU), 10-3; UM 7-3
149: #22 Kanen Storr (UM) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU), 5-2; UM leads 10-3
157: #9 Will Lewan (UM) dec. #17 Chase Saldate (MSU), 3-2; UM leads 13-3
165: #14 Cameron Amine (UM) dec. Caleb Fish (MSU), 5-1; UM leads 16-3
174: #5 Logan Massa (UM) tech. fall over Nathan Jimenez (MSU), 17-1; UM leads 21-3
184: #2 Myles Amine (UM) dec. #19 Layne Malczewski (MSU), 8-4; UM leads 24-3
197: #7 Cameron Caffey (MSU) major dec. Bobby Striggow (UM), 16-7; UM leads 24-7
285: Brad Wilton (MSU) fall over Zachery Nemec (UM), 1:34; UM leads 24-13

*Individual rankings based on Intermat*

No. 14 Wrestling Defeated in Big Ten Dual with No. 3 Michigan

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Caffey

Caleb Fish

Rayvon Foley

Nathan Jimenez

Tristan Lujan

Layne Malczewski

Peyton Omania

Chase Saldate

Matt Santos

Brad Wilton