Wrestlers Face a Pair of Big Ten Foes on Road
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
January 21, 1999
EAST LANSING -
#14 MSU at Wisconsin, Fri., Jan. 22, 7 p.m. #14 MSU at #2 Minnesota, Sun., Jan. 24, 2 p.m.
National Wrestling Duals Review- The Spartans had a difficult weekend at the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals in Iowa City, Iowa. MSU drew third-ranked and host school Iowa for the opening match of the tournament. The Hawkeyes proved they deserved their lofty ranking as they won the dual by a score of 35-3. Michigan State would bounce back in a dual against Montana St.-Northern, the number three team in the NAIA. The Green and White would win eight of ten matches en route to a 29-9 victory. Not more than ten minutes after the conclusion of the dual with Montana St.-Northern, Michigan State had to face 12th-ranked Arizona State. MSU had defeated the Sun Devils, 17-16, on Jan. 8, but could not duplicate the feat and fell to ASU 30-18.
Scouting the Badgers- The Spartans will begin a string of eight consecutive Big Ten matches with a visit to Madison, Wis. on Friday night. The Badgers are currently unranked and sport a 3-5-1 record. Five Badgers are ranked in the top 20 according to Amateur Wrestling News. Wisconsin leads the all-time series 20-13-1.
Scouting the Gophers- Michigan State will be in for a major challenge when they travel to Minneapolis to tangle with second-ranked Minnesota. The Gophers recently finished second at the National Duals. They return three All-Americans from last year and boast individuals ranked in nine of 10 weight classes.This list includes 1998 NCAA Champion Tim Hartung, who is currently ranked number one at 197. Minnesota also has the number one wrestler at 157 (Chad Kraft) and 184 (Brandon Eggum). The Spartans lead the all-time series 22-16.
Spartans in the Rankings- Five members of the MSU squad are ranked among the top wrestlers in their individual weight classes according to the Amateur Wrestling News and/or InterMat Wrestling. Chris Williams is 18th/19th at 125, Pat McNamara is third/fifth at 133, Will Hill is 11th/ninth at 174, Nick Muzashvili is sixth/seventh at 197 and Matt Lamb is 13th/19th at 285.
Keeping Up with the Spartans- There are now more ways than ever to stay current with Michigan State wrestling. Fans can visit the MSU website at www.msuspartans.com. The wrestling program has also recently launced a new website. For complete results, Spartan wrestling merchandise or any other information on MSU wrestling visit www.msuwrestling.com. Finally, be sure to call the Spartan wrestling hotline for results updated within minutes of every match. Call (517) 355-0289.
PROJECTED SPARTAN STARTING LINEUP
125- CHRIS WILLIAMS - Redshirt Freshman - Perry, Mich./Fowlerville - 19-9 #18-Amateur Wrestling News/#19-InterMat Wrestling Placed third at the Eagle Open at Ashland University and sixth at the Northern Iowa Open ... Williams also placed seventh in the MSU Open ... defeated ninth-ranked Matt Azevedo, 5-2, in a dual meet with Arizona State on Jan. 8.
133- PAT McNAMARA - Sophomore - Jordan, Minn./Jordan - 20-3 #3-Amateur Wrestling News/#5-InterMat Wrestling The 1998 All-American has four tournament titles to his credit this season, winning the MSU Open, Eagle Open, Northern Iowa Open and Midlands Championships ... has defeated Iowa's second-ranked Eric Juergens two times this season ... selected to participate in NWCA All-Star Duals on Feb. 1 ... placed fifth at the 1998 NCAA Championships at 126 pounds ... he posted a 33-9 record in 1997-98, including 12-9 in Big Ten action.
141- ISSAC MILLER - Senior - Flint, Mich./Beecher - 21-9 Miller is the lone senior competing this season for the Spartans ... this fall, he has placed second at the MSU Open and the Ashland Eagle Open and sixth at the Northern Iowa Open ... as a junior, he qualified for the NCAA Championships after placing sixth at the Big Ten Championships ... had a 1997-98 record of 21-19, 7-15 in the Big Ten.
149- MIKE CASTILLO - Soph. - Ada, Mich./Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central - 17-10 Earns the starting nod this season after serving primarily as Isaac Miller's backup in 1997-98 ... this fall, he captured his first tournament title at the Eagle Open ... he also placed third at the MSU Open ... last season he compiled a record of 17-12, including 3-8 in the Big Ten ... placed eighth in the Big Ten Championships at 142 pounds.
157- CORY POSEY - Sophomore - Westfield, N.J./Westfield - 15-8 Started the season in strong fashion with a victory at the MSU Open ... placed fifth in the Eagle Open ... posted a record of 12-10 last season while splitting time at 142 and 150.
165- KEVIN SPIESS - Freshman - Ovid, Mich./Ovid - 5-13 A true freshman, who earned his first collegiate tournament title with a victory at the Ben McMullen Open at Muskegon Community College ... a 1998 Michigan state champion, he posted a four-year high school record of 156-20.
174- WILL HILL - Junior - Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central - 23-7 #11-Amateur Wrestling News/#9-InterMat Wrestling A 1998 NCAA qualifier who has had a successful early season run ... placed second at the Eagle Open, third at the MSU Open and Northern Iowa Open and fourth at the Midlands Championships ... defeated Central Michigans Ryan Cunningham and Northwesterns Mark Bybee at the Midlands, who were ranked fifth and second respectively ... finished 1997-98 with a 27-18 record, including 10-10 in the Big Ten ... qualified for the NCAA Championships by placing fifth at the 1998 Big Ten Championships.
184- NIK FEKETE - Freshman - Cranford, N.J./Cranford - 11-12 A true freshman, placed sixth at the MSU Open in his first collegiate tournament ... won his first tournament at the Ben McMullen Open ... posted a three-year record of 95-5, including 74 pins, at Cranford H.S. ... in 1998, finished first at the Junior Nationals in the freestyle competition.
197- NICK MUZASHVILI - Junior - Unadilla, N.Y./Unatego - 19-8 #7-Amateur Wrestling News/#6-InterMat Wrestling A 1998 NCAA qualifier ... placed first at the Eagle Open, second at the MSU Open, fourth at the Northern Iowa Open and fifth at the Midlands Championships ... defeated third-ranked Sam Neider of Northwestern and 12th-ranked Chris Vike of Central Michigan at the Midlands ... posted a 1997-98 record of 23-20, including 7-11 in the Big Ten ... finished sixth at the 1998 Big Ten Championships ... came to the United States before his senior year of high school after growing up in the Republic of Georgia in the former Soviet Union ... given name is "Shota".
285- MATT LAMB - Sophomore - Pensacola, Fla./Beaufort - 21-8 #13-Amateur Wrestling News/#19-InterMat Wrestling Joined the MSU program last January after serving a six-year stint in the United States Navy ... finished second at the MSU Open, third in the Eagle Open and seventh at the Midlands Championships ... defeated 13th-ranked Abe Boomer of Wyoming at the Midlands ... finished fifth at the 1998 U.S. National Championships in the Greco-Roman division ... posted a 4-16 record in 1997-98.
NWCA Top 25 (Jan. 19) Team Points 1. Oklahoma State (13-0) 300 2. Minnesota (7-2) 288 3. Iowa (7-1) 276 4. Iowa State (14-4) 264 5. Oklahoma (10-3) 251 6. Illinois (7-0) 227 7. Nebraska (9-3) 226 8. Arizona St. (5-5) 208 9. Central Michigan (6-5) 207 10. Michigan (5-1) 200 11. Penn St. (6-2) 182 12. Cal-Bakersfield (8-5) 149 13. West Virginia (2-2) 145 14. Michigan State (3-4) 144 15. Northwestern (3-3) 142 16. Purdue (10-1) 133 17. Oregon State (8-4) 100 18T. Cornell (7-2) 83 18T. Rider (5-2) 83 20. Pennsylvania (3-0) 82 21. North Carolina (7-2) 50 22. Harvard (3-2) 34 23. Northern Iowa (5-6) 34 24. Brigham Young (3-3) 29 25. Pittsburgh (4-1-1) 17