Wrestling Weekly Release
11/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 20, 2006
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SPARTANS TAKE BREAK FOR THANKSGIVING, REST UP FOR TRIP TO PENNSYLVANIA
Michigan State will take a break during Thanksgiving Week before gearing up for a trip to Pennsylvania the following weekend. The Spartans, who lost to No. 2 Oklahoma State in their season opener last Thursday in Stillwater, travel to Erie, Pa., to take on 13th-ranked Edinboro at the Erie Civic Center on Friday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. Two days later, MSU will compete at the Penn State Open in State College, Pa.
DUE TO INJURY, No. 2 Andy Simmons WILL NOT WRESTLE IN NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC
Senior Andy Simmons, scheduled to wrestle No. 1-ranked Ryan Lang of Northwestern at 141 pounds Monday night in the NWCA All-Star Classic, will not compete in the event due to an injury sustained last Thursday at Oklahoma State. Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State will take the place of Simmons for the event in Dallas, Texas.
MSU FALLS TO No. 2 OKLAHOMA STATE IN SEASON OPENER
MSU jumped out to an early 6-0 lead with victories in the first two matches, but four-time defending national champion Oklahoma State won seven of the next matches to claim a 22-8 victory over the Spartans last Thursday.
No. 5 Franklin Gomez opened the dual by defeating Tyler Shinn at 125 pounds, 4-1, and No. 1 Nick Simmons beat No. 3 Coleman Scott at 133 pounds, 4-0, to get the Spartans on the winning track.
Oklahoma State picked up its first points of the dual with an upset in the 141-pound match, as sixth-ranked Nathan Morgan topped second-ranked Andy Simmons, 5-1.
The Cowboys used the momentum of the upset and won the next four matches to build a 16-5 lead.
Joe Williams snapped the Cowboys' five-match winning streak with a 10-9 victory over Jack Jenson at 184. It marked the second straight year Williams has defeated Jensen.
In the final two matches, Jared Shelton beat Nick Palmieri at 197, 4-0, and Jared Rosholt defeated Alan O'Donnell at heavyweight, 4-1.
EDINBORO NEWS & NOTES:
• Edinboro returns seven NCAA qualifiers from last season's team that finished eighth at nationals.
• The Flying Scots went 12-0 in duals last season, including an 8-0 mark in the Eastern Wrestling League.
• Edinboro is off to a 5-1 start with wins over Mercyhurst, Stanford, Maryland, Millersville and No. 21 Lehigh. The Scots had their 18-match winning streak snapped on Sunday, Nov. 19 with a loss to No. 8 Penn State in the Pennsylvania Duals, hosted by Lock Haven.
A LOOK AT LAST YEAR'S EDINBORO DUAL
The 18th-ranked Michigan State wrestling team took five of 10 matches from No. 17 Edinboro, but fell 17-16 on Sunday, Jan. 22 at Jenison Field House.
In the opening match, Edinboro's Deonte Penn outscored Greg Goidosik 10-2 in the second period of their 165-pound match en route to a 15-4 victory, giving the Fighting Scots a 4-0 lead in the dual.
R.J. Boudro got the Spartans on the board, winning a defensive struggle, 5-1, at 174 pounds. Edinboro went back on top by four points following the 184-pound bout, where No. 15 Alex Clemsen defeated Joe Williams, 5-3.
Riding time proved to be the difference at 197 pounds, as EU's Joe Fendone beat Jeff Clemens, 3-2. After a scoreless first two periods, Fendone notched a reversal midway through the third and held on, despite a stalling call and a Clemens escape late in the period.
For the second-straight match there was no score heading into the final frame, but this time the Spartans prevailed at 285 pounds to narrow Edinboro's lead to 10-6. MSU's Max Lossen held Koel Davia down the entire second period, and then tallied an escape early in the third to improve to 10-8 on the season.
Nick Simmons picked up his 20th win of the season at 125 pounds, defeating Ricky Deubel for the second time this season, 11-4. Simmons gave up the first takedown, but outscored Deubel 10-2 down the stretch to improve to 5-0 in dual meets, and narrow the EU lead to one point.
At 133 pounds, No. 1 Shawn Bunch showed flashes of why he was a 2005 national finalist, defeating MSU red-shirt freshman Jeff Wimberley by major decision, 14-4, and extending the Fighting Scot lead to 14-9.
MSU picked up its first major decision of the dual courtesy of No. 4 Andy Simmons at 141 pounds. Simmons used three takedowns and six near-fall points to knock off Rick McLaughlin, 14-2, for his team-leading 22nd victory of the season.
No. 7 Gregor Gillespie used a takedown and three near-fall points in the first 30 seconds of the match to defeat Spartan senior captain Darren McKnight, 6-2, at 149 pounds.
In a hard-fought battle at 157 pounds, MSU's Tony Greathouse notched the match-clinching takedown halfway through the third period to defeat Matt Hill, 4-2. Greathouse wrestled smart throughout the seven minutes after falling behind 2-0 early. The Mason, Mich., native improved to 12-7 on the season, but because the Green and White needed at least a major decision to tie the dual, Edinboro claimed the 17-16 team win.
Edinboro 17, Michigan State 16165- Deonte Penn (E) maj. dec. Greg Goidosik (MSU), MD, 15-4174- R.J. Boudro (MSU) dec. Eric Ring (E), 5-1184- Alex Clemsen (E) dec. Joe Williams (MSU), 5-3197- Joe Fendone (E) dec. Jeff Clemens (MSU), 3-2285- Max Lossen (MSU) dec. Koel Davia (E), 2-0125- Nick Simmons (MSU) dec. Ricky Deubel (E), 11-4133- Shawn Bunch (E) maj. dec. Jeff Wimberley (MSU), MD, 14-4141- Andy Simmons (MSU) maj. dec. Rick McLaughlin (E), MD, 14-2149- Gregor Gillespie (E) dec. Darren McKnight (MSU), 6-2157- Tony Greathouse (MSU) dec. Matt Hill (E), 4-2
SPARTANS BOAST THREE WRESTLERS RANKED IN TOP FIVE
Michigan State features three wrestlers ranked in the top five of their respective weight class, including Nick Simmons, who is No. 1 at 133 pounds (Amateur Wrestling News). Simmons jumped to the top spot after beating previously-ranked No. 1 and defending NCAA champion Matt Valenti of Penn in the 133 finals at the MSU Open on Nov. 12. Nick's brother, Andy, is ranked second at 141 pounds, while red-shirt freshman Franklin Gomez is fifth at 125. Junior Joe Williams is also ranked, coming in at 17th at 184 pounds.
Nick Simmons NAMED BIG TEN WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Fifth-year senior Nick Simmons was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 15 after winning the 133-pound title at the Michigan State Open. Simmons' upset victory over Matt Valenti of Penn vaulted Simmons to the top of the national rankings and earned him MSU Open Most Outstanding Wrestler honors. This marks the fourth time in Simmons' illustrious career that he has won the award.
 Coach Tom Minkel has signed four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent this fall.  | |
SPARTANS SIGN FOUR TO NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT
Coach Tom Minkel has delivered another top-notch recruiting class to East Lansing, signing four elite student-athletes to National Letters of Intent this fall. Minkel inked Tyler Dickenson (St. Johns, Mich.), Collin Dozier (Virginia Beach, Va.), Ian Hinton (Mishawaka, Ind.) and Anthony Jones (Highland Park, Mich.).
Dickenson (184/197 pounds) compiled an impressive 49-3 record as a junior and placed third at the Michigan state finals at 171 pounds, earning him a place on the Lansing State Journal Dream Team.
Dozier, a three-time Virginia state champion, is ranked the 38th top recruit in the nation according to InterMat, and is listed as fourth in his weight class at 130 pounds by Amateur Wrestling News. Dozier, who will wrestle at either 133 or 141, was a 2006 Freestyle Junior National All-American at 130 pounds. He will be reunited at MSU with former teammate and current Spartan, Walker Faison.
Hinton (174/184) is ranked among the top 150 recruits by InterMat and is listed ninth at 171 pounds by Amateur Wrestling News. He claimed the Indiana state title in 2006 at 160 pounds, and was state runner-up in 2005 at 171 pounds.
Jones, who will likely wrestle at 149 pounds at MSU, placed third in the 2006 MHSAA state finals at 140 pounds. He also finished third at 152 pounds this year at the FILA Cadet National Championships.
"This is a terrific recruiting class for us," said Minkel. "These young men will play a significant role in the success of our wrestling program in the future."
Players Mentioned
