Malczewski Powers No. 16 Spartans to Senior Night Win Over No. 21 Central Michigan

EAST LANSING, Mich. – It was another Friday night pin from redshirt junior Layne Malczewski that helped the No. 16 Michigan State wrestling team hold off No. 21 Central Michigan, 19-17, on Senior Night inside Jenison Field House.

Four weeks after pinning No. 5 John Poznanski on the same mat in the Spartans' win over Rutgers, Malczewski fought back from an early deficit in the 184-pound bout to register a 3:58 fall against the Chippewas' Ben Cushman to retake the lead for MSU in a back-and-forth in-state showdown.

Malczewski's fall and redshirt senior Cameron Caffey's decision in the 197-pound battle capped off the 19-17 MSU victory, giving the Spartans a final 10-4 record in dual meets, while CMU ended the dual season at 12-3.

Sophomore Tristan Lujan took the opening match for the Spartans, earning his first ranked win of the season by defeating 33rd-ranked 125-pounder Brock Bergelin, using a late takedown to secure a 3-2 decision. Redshirt senior Rayvon Foley added to the MSU lead at 133 pounds when he finished off a 15-4 major decision over CMU's Vince Perez. The Chippewas got on the board when No. 12 Dresden Simon battled graduate student Matt Santos to pick up a 7-3 decision in the 141 match, and 149-pound Corbyn Munson tallied a third-period near-fall to beat redshirt sophomore Peyton Omania via a 9-5 decision.

A ranked-vs-ranked matchup at 157 saw sophomore Chase Saldate come away with the narrow 4-3 decision over No. 16 Johnny Lovett, and Lovett cost CMU an additional team point when he was called for unsportsmanlike conduct to make it 10-5 Spartans. After the intermission, sophomore Caleb Fish almost forced an extra period against 165-pounder Tracy Hubbard, but Hubbard scored a takedown with one second left in the bout to grab a 6-4 decision. CMU took its first lead after the 174-pound match, as Bret Fedewa's 7-1 decision over redshirt junior Nathan Jimenez put the Chippewas in front, 11-10.

After nearly being pinned in the first period, Malczewski turned it on in the second frame to escape, take down and pin Cushman within a minute, giving MSU a 16-11 edge. Caffey then handled Aaron Bolo in the 197-pound bout, as his 10-5 decision secured the team victory for Michigan State before the heavyweight bout. The heavyweights ended early in the third period, as No. 8 Matt Stencel has able to record a 5:43 fall over redshirt senior Brad Wilton to close out the 19-17 final.

For Caffey, he extended his win streak to 11 matches, while he and Foley both now have a team-high 25 wins on the season. Foley's win was also his 99th win for MSU and the 103rd of his college career. The MSU win moved the all-time series to 21-15 in favor of Central Michigan.

Before the match, the Spartans recognized eight departing seniors in the Senior Night ceremony, as Jimenez, Santos and Wilton were honored alongside Jaden Enriquez, Stone Moscovic, Christian Rebottaro, Julian Saldana and Jake Tucker.

Michigan State begins championship season on March 5-6, when the Green and White will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska for the 2022 Big Ten Championships.

Coach Roger Chandler Quotable
"it's each individual for themselves in the championships, but we really focused on getting through this dual meet portion of the year and that was important for us. A lot of people talk about 'the regular season doesn't matter, it's all about the postseason'. I don't believe that for a second and I've always wanted to build a team that was proud. You saw every single one of our duals, even the ones that we lost, even if we had guys losing bouts, they're right up there cheering their brothers on. That speaks volumes about what this team is about."

"As far as what we're looking forward to in the postseason, continue to be yourself and there's going to be certain situations with each guy. They have to tighten some things up, because this is championship season. In order to get on the podium and get to the national tournament, you're going to have to tighten things up defensively and offensively to win the big matches."

Bout-By-Bout
125: Tristan Lujan (MSU) dec. #33 Brock Bergelin (CMU), 3-2
Handfighting to start helped Lujan get a single-leg shot in halfway through the first period, but a stalemate ended his chance. The restart did not amount to much for either side, as Lujan went down to begin the second period. Bergelin was able to mat-return Lujan early and reach over a minute of riding time before Lujan escaped. In the third, Bergelin went down and Lujan picked up a stall warning but not before getting Bergelin's RT under a minute, and was able to defend a Bergelin attack, putting his own shot in that resulted in a takedown and gave him a 3-2 decision after a late Bergelin escape.

133: #7 Rayvon Foley (MSU) major dec. Vince Perez (CMU), 15-4
Foley put in an early attack, but Perez worked out of it until Foley got a single-leg shot that was successful for a takedown, building up 1:34 of riding time until the horn sounded. Foley got the quick escape and takedown in the second, grabbing three more takedowns before the frame ended. In the third, Perez escaped but was dinged for a stall point, and another Foley takedown with 3:52 RT gave Foley a 15-4 major decision.

141: #12 Dresden Simon (CMU) dec. Matt Santos (MSU), 7-3
Santos defended one Simon shot, but the Chippewa converted on the second shot for a takedown, while Santos was able to escape after 44 seconds. Simon pushed Santos towards the edge of the mat, landing another shot that was called a takedown, but an MSU challenge overturned the initial call to end the first period at 2-1 Simon. Santos went top in the second, but Simon quickly escaped, while a Simon shot pulled the two out and saw Santos warned for stalling. The CMU challenge failed, as no takedown was given, but Santos was called for a second stall on the restart, giving Simon another point. In the third with Santos down, he got the escaped after Simon built up over a minute of riding time, while a late Simon takedown plus the RT gave Simon a 7-3 decision.

149: Corbyn Munson (CMU) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU), 9-5
Omania had to fight off an early attempt by Munson, and his own shot ended up with Munson getting called for a stalling point, putting Omania up 1-0. Another Omania shot pulled the two out, and a third Omania attack resulted in another Munson stalling penalty when the two went off the mat. In the second, Omania nearly turned Munson when starting on top, but Munson eventually broke free, which set up a Omania takedown. Munson then escaped again, and Omania had to work out of a Munson shot before being warned for stalling. Omania was down in the third, getting called for stalling to give Munson a point but then escaping. A stoppage allowed Munson to put up a takedown and a four-point near-fall to grab a 9-5 decision.

157: #17 Chase Saldate (MSU) dec. #16 Johnny Lovett (CMU), 4-3
Saldate had to fend off a single-leg shot by Lovett, re-attacking for his own takedown. A restart allowed Saldate to keep Lovett down for 1:22 before Lovett escaped. A stall warning was given to Saldate, but neither side got anything else the rest of the period. In the second, Saldate went down and got free shortly after, but Lovett converted on a takdown that Saldate then escaped from. A scramble helped Saldate avoid a Lovett shot, but a late single-leg by Lovett nearly resulted in a takedown as time expired. Going neutral in the third, both sides put in shots, as Saldate had defend late against Lovett to earn his 4-3 decision. Lovett throwing his headgear resulted in an unsportsmanlike penalty that deducted one team point from CMU.

165: Tracy Hubbard (CMU) dec. Caleb Fish (MSU), 6-4
Fish was able to get a first-period takedown that Hubbard escaped from shortly after, and Hubbard got his own takedown off a scramble that Fish broke free from. A late Fish shot could not beat the clock, as the opening period ended before he could get control. Fish then escaped early in the second after going bottom, and tried a counter off a Hubbard attack, but was warned for stalling before the second period closed. Hubbard then rolled through to escape after starting down in the third, while his attack later on was reattacked by Fish with a headlock. Hubbard then got another shot in as the period closed, with the takedown coming at the 6:59 mark to give Hubbard a 6-4 decision.

174: Ben Fedewa (CMU) dec. Nathan Jimenez (MSU), 7-1
Fedewa got in several early chances, as Jimenez was warned for stalling but was able to end the first period scoreless. Going neutral in the second, Fedewa was able to get the takedown and build up 1:25 of RT before the middle frame ended. Jimenez went top to start the third, but Fedewa got free after 12 seconds and forced Jimenez into a stalling penalty. Fedewa converted another takedown with 0:15 left, but Jimenez escaped to give Fedewa a 7-1 decision with riding time.

184: #22 Layne Malczewski (MSU) fall over Ben Cushman (CMU), 3:58
An early scramble pulled the two out, and a later restart gave Cushman a takedown and four-point near-fall in the final minute of the period, but Malczewski got the reversal in the final moments. Down in the second, Malczewski was able to get the escape and takedown, finishing off the comeback with the 3:58 pin.

197: #5 Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. Aaron Bolo (CMU), 10-5
Caffey got the first takedown about a minute in, letting Bolo up to get a second takedown and let the Chippewa escape again, but Bolo got his own takedown before the period expired. Bolo kept Caffey down to open the second, but the Spartan escaped and got a takedown just as the second frame ended. Caffey rode Bolo in the third until he built up 1:00 in RT, letting Bolo go afterwards but getting a single-leg takedown late to win a 10-5 decision.

285: #8 Matt Stencel (CMU) fall over Brad Wilton (MSU), 5:43
Wilton had to hold his own against Stencel, ending the first period at 0-0. Stencel then escaped in the opening moments of the second period, as Wilton was then warned for stalling right before Stencel landed a takedown and rode Wilton the rest of the frame. In the third, the two sides went neutral but Stencel got the takedown and pinned Wilton at the 5:43 mark.

#16 Michigan State 19, #21 Central Michigan 17
125: Tristan Lujan (MSU) dec. #33 Brock Bergelin (CMU), 3-2; MSU leads 3-0
133: #7 Rayvon Foley (MSU) major dec. Vince Perez (CMU), 15-4; MSU leads 7-0
141: #12 Dresden Simon (CMU) dec. Matt Santos (MSU), 7-3; MSU leads 7-3
149: Corbyn Munson (CMU) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU), 9-5; MSU leads 7-6
157: #17 Chase Saldate (MSU) dec. #16 Johnny Lovett (CMU), 4-3; MSU leads 10-5*
165: Tracy Hubbard (CMU) dec. Caleb Fish (MSU), 6-4; MSU leads 10-8
174: Ben Fedewa (CMU) dec. Nathan Jimenez (MSU), 7-1; CMU leads 11-10
184: #22 Layne Malczewski (MSU) fall over Ben Cushman (CMU), 3:58; MSU leads 16-11
197: #5 Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. Aaron Bolo (CMU), 10-5; MSU leads 19-11
285: #8 Matt Stencel (CMU) fall over Brad Wilton (MSU), 5:43; MSU wins 19-17
*CMU deducted point for unsportsmanlike penalty at end of 157 bout*

*Individual Rankings based on Intermat*

Malczewski Powers No. 16 Spartans to Senior Night Win Over No. 21 Central Michigan

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Caffey

Jaden Enriquez

Caleb Fish

Rayvon Foley

Nathan Jimenez

Tristan Lujan

Layne Malczewski

Stone Moscovic

Peyton Omania

Christian Rebottaro

Julian Saldana

Chase Saldate

Matt Santos

Jake Tucker

Brad Wilton