Wrestling Heads to NWCA National Duals
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
January 14, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
#15 MSU at National Team Championships Jan 16-17 Iowa City, Iowa
Wild Week Recap - Last week proved to be a wild one for the Spartans. Although they were expecting a busy week, it did not turn out exactly as they had planned. First, their dual with top-ranked Oklahoma State was postponed after MSU was unable to catch a flight to Stillwater, Okla. due to incliment weather. Michigan State then headed to Tempe, Ariz. where they defeated eighth-ranked Arizona State by a score of 17-16. Despite a loss by previously unbeaten Pat McNamara, the Spartans emerged victorious when Cory Posey won the last match of the dual.
MSU was then able to catch a break in the snowy weather and return home to host a pair of duals on Sunday. In the afternoon, they fell to ninth-ranked Central Michigan 25-13. They responded, however, by defeating NAIA powerhouse Findlay 25-10. To get the victory though, they had to endure a one hour snowy bus ride to Durand, Mich.
National Wrestling Duals Preview - After taking a day to rest, the Spartans will prepare this week for the 1999 Cliff Keen/NWCA National Wrestling Duals. The national team championships will be held Sat. and Sun., Jan. 16-17 in Iowa City, IA.
The duals will play host to 16 teams. Included in the field will be the top six teams in the nation and 13 teams ranked among the top 18 in Division I. The remaining three teams include the number three team in Division II, the number one team in Division III and the number three team in the NAIA.
1998 National Duals Review- If last year's performance is any indication, MSU could post an impressive finish at this years tournament. In the 98 duals, the Green and White finished fourth among 16 teams, while capturing victories against top teams such as Oklahoma, Arizona State and Northwestern. Their only losses came to Minnesota and Penn State, both top five squads.
Spartans in the Rankings- Five members of the MSU squad are currently ranked among the top wrestlers in their individual weight classes according to the Amateur Wrestling News and/or InterMat Wrestling. Chris Williams is 20th at 125, Pat McNamara is second at 133, Will Hill is ninth/seventh at 174, Nick Muzashvili is seventh/sixth at 197 and Matt Lamb is 14th/19th at 285.
Follow the Spartans on the Web- The wrestling program has recently launced a new website. For complete results, Spartan wrestling merchandise or any other information on MSU wrestling visit www.msuwrestling.com.
NWCA DUALS PROJECTED SPARTAN STARTING LINEUP
125- CHRIS WILLIAMS - Redshirt Freshman - Perry, Mich./Fowlerville - 17-8 #20-Amateur Wrestling News/#20-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 sixth-ranked Matt Azevedo, 5-2, in a dual meet with Arizona State on Jan. 8.
133- PAT McNAMARA - Sophomore - Jordan, Minn./Jordan - 19-1 #2-Amateur Wrestling News/#2-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 third-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 - 20-7 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 - 16-8 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 - 13-7 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 - 5-10 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 - 21-6 #9-Amateur Wrestling News/#6-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 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 - 11-10 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 - 18-6 #6-Amateur Wrestling News/#7-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.
285- MATT LAMB - Sophomore - Pensacola, Fla./Beaufort - 19-7 #14-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.
1998-99 Spartan Leaders
Most Wins1. Will Hill - 21 (21-6) 2. Issac Miller - 20 (20-7) 3. Pat McNamara - 19 (19-1) Matt Lamb - 19 (19-7) 5. Nick Muzashvili - 18 (18-6)
Best Winning Percentage1. Pat McNamara - .950 (19-1) 2. Will Hill - .778 (21-6) 3. Nick Muzashvili - .750 (18-6) 4. Issac Miller - .741 (20-7) 5. Matt Lamb - .731 (19-7)
Most Pins1. Pat McNamara - 3 2. Chris Williams - 2 Kevin Spiess - 2 Will Hill - 2
NWCA Top 25 (Jan. 13) Team Points 1. Oklahoma State (9-0) 325 2. Minnesota (4-1) 310 3. Iowa (3-0) 301 4. Iowa State (11-1) 272 5. Penn State (5-0) 271 6. Oklahoma (4-1) 268 7. Illinois (6-0) 252 8. Central Michigan (4-2) 215 9. Michigan (2-1) 212 10. Nebraska (6-1) 208 11. West Virginia (2-0) 207 12. Arizona St. (2-3) 168 13. Northwestern (2-1) 155 14. Cal-Bakersfield (7-3) 148 15. Michigan State (2-2) 147 16. Cornell (7-1) 143 17. Purdue (7-1) 128 18. Oregon State (7-3) 106 19. Pennsylvania (3-0) 105 20. Rider (3-2) 55 21. Brigham Young (3-2) 49 22. Harvard (3-2) 42 23. North Carolina (3-2) 40 24. Northern Iowa (3-5) 26 25. Pittsburgh (3-1-1) 23