No. 25 MSU Wrestling Prepares For 41st Midlands Championships
12/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 23, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 25 Michigan State wrestling team travels to the 41st Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30, where it will face some of the country's stiffest competition. The Midlands Championships, held at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., annually attract the nation's top wrestlers.
MSU boasts four wrestlers ranked in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Top 20 individual rankings. At 141, redshirt freshman Andy Simmons (Williamston, Mich./Williamston) is currently ranked 18th with a 12-3 overall record. At 174, senior Anton Hall (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) carries a No. 19 ranking with a 13-5 record in 2003, while classmate Nate Mesyn (Clinton Twp., Mich/Fraser) climbed into the rankings with the 20th spot in the coaches' ranking at 184 pounds with a 10-1 record. Rounding out the competitors for the Spartans, heavyweight Mike Keenan (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) is MSU's top-ranked wrestler with a No. 13 ranking. Keenan is 13-5 for the year.
The first and second sessions are set for Dec. 29. The first session begins at 9:30 a.m., while the second session is slated for 7 p.m. Wrestling continues Dec. 30 at noon, with the third session while the fourth and final session begins at 7:30 p.m.
Michigan State wrestling finds familiar names in the Midlands Championships record books. Current assistant coach Roger Chandler holds the record for fastest fall at 149 pounds when he wrestled for the Schultz Wrestling Club in 1999. He pinned his opponent in a Midlands-record 21 seconds. Gray Maynard, a 2003 MSU graduate and four-year letterwinner for Michigan State, finished second in the championships in 2002 with a 14-6 record. Throughout his MSU career, Maynard finished second, fourth and sixth. Nick Simmons, currently vying for a spot on the 2004 Olympic team, placed third at the championships in 2002 with a 6-1 record.
As a team, Michigan State is tied for 25th in the latest NWCA poll with Fresno State and The Citadel. The Spartans are 0-2 in dual meet competition but put together a stellar effort at the North Carolina Open, Dec. 6. Four Spartans took individual championships as six MSU grapplers competed in their respective finals.
MSU opens the 2004 season in dual meet competition against Kent State in Kent, Ohio, on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
