Wrestlers Host Ohio State and Penn State
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
February 19, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#23 MSU vs. Ohio State, Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m.
#23 MSU vs. #10 Penn State, Feb. 21, 2:00 p.m.
#23 MSU at Eastern Michigan, Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m.
Scouting the Buckeyes-
The Spartans return home this weekend to host the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday night in Jenison Field House. Last weekend, the Buckeyes fell to unranked Wisconsin by a score of 20-17. Ohio States record stands at 10-8-1, 1-4-1 in the Big Ten. Four Buckeyes are currently ranked in the Amateur Wrestling News top 20: Robert Sessley (17th, 133), Jeff Bucher (16th, 149) Peter Rogers (17th, 165) and Bo James (18th, 174). MSU defeated OSU 22-13 last year and leads the all-time series by a count of 40-24-2.
Scouting the Nittany Lions-
On Sunday, Michigan State will host the 10th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. PSU comes to East Lansing having split a pair of Big Ten duals last weekend. They fell to #8 Illinois 20-14 on Friday night and defeated #18 Northwestern 21-20 on Sunday. Their record currently stands at 11-4, 4-2 in the Big Ten. Four Nittany Lions are currently ranked: Jeremy Hunter (2nd, 125), Nate Parker (18th, 133), Clint Musser (3rd, 157) and Glenn Pritzlaff (2nd, 174). Hunter and Musser have perfect records in dual competition. The Spartans fell to the Nittany Lions twice last season and trail the all-time series 5-6.
Weekend Recap-
The Spartans return home after a pair of Big Ten dual meets in the Hoosier State. On Friday night, they were defeated 24-7 by #15 Purdue, dropping five matches by one point. On Sunday they tied #23 Indiana, 20-20. Pat McNamara and Nick Muzashvili had perfect 2-0 weekend records. McNamara outscored his opponents 25-4 while Muzashvili took two major decisions by a combined score of 27-7. Against Indiana, Will Hill and Issac Miller would score victories over ranked opponents, while Mike Castillo scored his first pinfall of the season.
Spartans in the Rankings-
Four 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. Pat McNamara is third/fifth at 133, Issac Miller is 19th/20th at 141, Will Hill is 14th/14th at 174 and Nick Muzashvili is sixth/eighth at 197.
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 - Fowlerville, Mich./Fowlerville - 20-15
Placed third at the Eagle Open, sixth at the Northern Iowa Open and 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 - 26-5
#3-Amateur Wrestling News/#5-InterMat Wrestling/#1-Big Ten Wrestling Coaches
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 ... wrestled in the NWCA All-Star Duals against two-time national champion Eric Guerrero of Oklahoma State, losing 15-6 ... leads the team with four falls ... has outscored opponents 260-82 ... 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 - 25-12
#19-Amateur Wrestling News/#20-InterMat Wrestling
Miller is the lone senior competing this season for the Spartans ... defeated Northwester's eighth-ranked Scott Schatzman ... this year, 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.
149- MIKE CASTILLO - Soph. - Ada, Mich./Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central - 19-15
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 ... eighth in the Big Ten Championships at 142 pounds.
157- CORY POSEY - Sophomore - Westfield, N.J./Westfield - 17-13
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 Elsie- 5-19
A true freshman, who earned his first collegiate tournament title with a victory at the Ben McMullen Open ... a 1998 Michigan state champion, he posted a four-year high school record of 156-20.
174- WILL HILL - Junior - Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central - 26-11
#14-Amateur Wrestling News/#14-InterMat Wrestling/#5-Big Ten Wrestling Coaches
A 1998 NCAA, placed second at the Eagle Open, third at the MSU Open and Northern Iowa Open and fourth at the Midlands Championships ... defeated Central Michigan's Ryan Cunningham and Northwestern's 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 - 11-18
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 - 24-10
#6-Amateur Wrestling News/#8-InterMat Wrestling/#4-Big Ten Wrestling Coaches
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 ... has won his last four matches by major decision ... defeated third-ranked Sam Neider of Northwestern and 12th-ranked Chris Vike of CMU at the Midlands ... 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.
285- MATT LAMB - Sophomore - Pensacola, Fla./Beaufort - 23-13
#5-Big Ten Wrestling Coaches
Joined the MSU program last January after serving a six-year stint in the United States Navy ... 7-2 in his last nine matches ... 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 (Feb. 17) Team Points 1. Oklahoma State (22-0)300 2. Minnesota (16-2) 288 3. Nebraska (16-4) 260 4. Iowa (13-3) 259 5. Oklahoma (15-5-1) 252 6. Illinois (12-2) 241 7. Iowa St. (19-5-1) 239 8. Central Mich. (13-5-1)216 9. Michigan (9-4) 206 10. Penn St. (11-4) 181 11. Cal-Bakersfield (14-5-1)179 12. Arizona St. (9-7-1) 163 13. Purdue (15-4-1) 156 14. Pennsylvania (8-0-2)142 15. Cornell (12-2-1) 123 16. Oregon State (13-8) 120 17. West Virginia (6-3) 87 18. Lehigh (8-5) 77 19. Northwestern (4-8) 76 20. Rider (10-3) 75 21. North Carolina (10-4)50 22. Pittsburgh (11-2-1) 46 23. Michigan St. (4-9-1)42 24. Indiana (8-5-2) 29 25. Brigham Young (10-4)25