NCAA Releases Seeds for 2023 Wrestling Championships
3/8/2023 10:01:00 PM | Wrestling
Saldate Earns Highest MSU Seed, Appears at No. 11 in 157 Bracket
INDIANAPOLIS – Michigan State wrestling learned the seeds and opening-round matchups for its four national qualifiers, as the NCAA published brackets and individual seeding for the 2023 Division I Wrestling Championships on Wednesday night. The Championships are set to begin on Thursday, March 16, and run through Saturday, March 18, inside the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
After landing three podium finishes and automatic bids at the 2023 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, last weekend, the Green & White added junior 165-pounder Caleb Fish as an at-large participant following the NCAA Division I Wrestling Selection Committee's announcement on Tuesday. Four Spartans, including Fish, junior 157-pounder Chase Saldate, redshirt senior 184-pounder Layne Malczewski and graduate 197-pounder Cameron Caffey will represent Michigan State in Tulsa next week.
Saldate garnered the highest individual seed out of MSU's four qualifiers, coming in at the No. 11 position in his third NCAA Championship appearance. The Gilroy, California, native is poised for an impressive run in his true junior season, opening the tournament against No. 22 seed Derek Holschlag of Northern Iowa. Saldate is fresh off a fifth-place performance at the Big Ten Championships, highlighted by an impressive 6-1 decision over sixth-ranked and third-seeded Kendall Coleman of Purdue in the fifth-place bout.
Malczewski gears up for his third appearance in the NCAA Championships as the No. 15 seed in Tulsa. The Macomb, Michigan, native will open his national tournament run against Big Ten-foe and 18th-seeded Brian Soldano of Rutgers, who Malczewski dominated in a 14-6 major decision on the road in Piscataway during the dual season. Malczewski finished eighth at the 2023 Big Ten Championships last weekend in Ann Arbor, and will seek his first NCAA Tournament victory next week.
Caffey prepares for his final NCAA Championship appearance and his fourth overall, also landing his fifth individual qualification despite the 2020 Championships being canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Carbondale, Illinois, native brought in the No. 19 overall seed at 197 pounds, and will challenge fellow-Big Ten competitor and 14th-seeded Jacob Warner of Iowa in the opening round of action on Thursday. Caffey booked a trio of individual victories en route to a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, being forced to medically forfeit the fifth-place bout to due injury in the consolation semifinals.
Fish will enter his second consecutive NCAA Championships as the No. 29 seed at 165 pounds, opening the tournament against fourth-seeded Cornell star Julian Ramirez. The Eaton Rapids, Michigan, native landed an appearance at last season's NCAA Championships with an at-large bid, and will seek his first individual victory at the event this year. Fish put a pair of victories for MSU on the board at last week's Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, including a pin at the 4:45 mark over Nebraska's Bubba Wilson in the opening round of the tournament.
Four of MSU's five NCAA Championship participants from last season return for another chance at the national spotlight, with graduate 133-pounder Rayvon Foley the lone non-returning national qualifier. MSU finished 40th at the 2022 NCAA Championships in Detroit, logging 4.0 team points at the event. Foley picked up a win for the Green & White while Caffey published a pair of individual victories en route to a 2-2 finish last year.
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.
After landing three podium finishes and automatic bids at the 2023 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, last weekend, the Green & White added junior 165-pounder Caleb Fish as an at-large participant following the NCAA Division I Wrestling Selection Committee's announcement on Tuesday. Four Spartans, including Fish, junior 157-pounder Chase Saldate, redshirt senior 184-pounder Layne Malczewski and graduate 197-pounder Cameron Caffey will represent Michigan State in Tulsa next week.
Saldate garnered the highest individual seed out of MSU's four qualifiers, coming in at the No. 11 position in his third NCAA Championship appearance. The Gilroy, California, native is poised for an impressive run in his true junior season, opening the tournament against No. 22 seed Derek Holschlag of Northern Iowa. Saldate is fresh off a fifth-place performance at the Big Ten Championships, highlighted by an impressive 6-1 decision over sixth-ranked and third-seeded Kendall Coleman of Purdue in the fifth-place bout.
Malczewski gears up for his third appearance in the NCAA Championships as the No. 15 seed in Tulsa. The Macomb, Michigan, native will open his national tournament run against Big Ten-foe and 18th-seeded Brian Soldano of Rutgers, who Malczewski dominated in a 14-6 major decision on the road in Piscataway during the dual season. Malczewski finished eighth at the 2023 Big Ten Championships last weekend in Ann Arbor, and will seek his first NCAA Tournament victory next week.
Caffey prepares for his final NCAA Championship appearance and his fourth overall, also landing his fifth individual qualification despite the 2020 Championships being canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Carbondale, Illinois, native brought in the No. 19 overall seed at 197 pounds, and will challenge fellow-Big Ten competitor and 14th-seeded Jacob Warner of Iowa in the opening round of action on Thursday. Caffey booked a trio of individual victories en route to a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, being forced to medically forfeit the fifth-place bout to due injury in the consolation semifinals.
Fish will enter his second consecutive NCAA Championships as the No. 29 seed at 165 pounds, opening the tournament against fourth-seeded Cornell star Julian Ramirez. The Eaton Rapids, Michigan, native landed an appearance at last season's NCAA Championships with an at-large bid, and will seek his first individual victory at the event this year. Fish put a pair of victories for MSU on the board at last week's Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, including a pin at the 4:45 mark over Nebraska's Bubba Wilson in the opening round of the tournament.
Four of MSU's five NCAA Championship participants from last season return for another chance at the national spotlight, with graduate 133-pounder Rayvon Foley the lone non-returning national qualifier. MSU finished 40th at the 2022 NCAA Championships in Detroit, logging 4.0 team points at the event. Foley picked up a win for the Green & White while Caffey published a pair of individual victories en route to a 2-2 finish last year.
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.
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