Michigan State Hosts Clarion on Friday, Travels to Nebraska Sunday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State wrestling returns home on Friday, Jan. 24 for the front end of two duals on the weekend. The Spartans take on the Clarion Golden Eagles on Friday, an. 24 at 6 p.m. inside Jenison Field House for a non-conference tilt before traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the No. 7-ranked Cornhuskers on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. Both duals will air on BTN+. The wrestling team will be signing autographs for fans directly after the dual against Clarion.

About the Spartans
Michigan State is off to a 5-5 start in dual action with a 1-3 mark in the Big Ten. MSU has wins over No. 20 Oklahoma, Kent State, Duke, Wyoming and Maryland. MSU has two shutouts on the season, 44-0 over Duke at the South Beach Duals on Dec. 29 and a 36-0 win over Maryland on Jan. 19 inside Jenison Field House. The shutout marked the first over a Big Ten opponent in 36 years, when MSU defeated Illinois, 44-0, on Jan. 20, 1984.

The Spartans are led by redshirt junior Jake Tucker at 157 pounds, who leads the team with 19 wins. Tucker holds a 7-3 mark in duals and is 2-2 in the B1G. Tucker claimed a first-place finish at the Navy Classic, tallying a 5-0 record and capping the title with an 8-3 win over Ohio's Zac Carson in the final.

Redshirt sophomore Cameron Caffey, who has three top-5 finishes in tournament action, including a second-place finish at the Cougar Clash, holds a 17-6 record and leads the team with eight falls at 184 pounds. Caffey is 8-2 in duals and 3-1 in B1G duals. Caffey defeated No. 18 Owen Webster of Minnesota, 9-4, on Jan. 17 and secured a fall over Kyle Jasenski of Maryland on Jan. 19. Redshirt junior Christian Rebottaro is 7-3 in duals (2-2 B1G) and holds a 14-8 record overall at 285 pounds for the Spartans.

Redshirt freshman Layne Malczewski is tied for second on the team with 17 wins, including a 2-0 mark in B1G action. Malczweski ranks No. 22 by TrackWrestling, No. 23 by FloWrestling and No 25 byTheOpenMat at 174 pounds and has third-place finishes at the Navy Classic and Cougar Clash. Malczewski holds two ranked wins in the B1G to go with his 3-1 record. Redshirt junior Drew Hughes, a two-time NCAA Qualifier, sits at 12-6 overall with seven dual wins and ranks No. 26 by TheOpenMat. Hughes won by decision over Tyler Meisiner of Michigan, 6-0, on Jan. 10, and finished with 5:44 of riding time.

Michigan State's Probable Lineup
125 – Logan Griffin (15-8, 5-2 duals)
133 – Garrett Pepple (14-9, 4-4 duals)
141 – Matt Santos (11-8, 4-5 duals)
149 – Alex Hrisopoulos (10-8, 5-4 duals)
157 – No. 22 Jake Tucker (19-5, 7-3 duals)
165 – Drew Hughes (12-6, 7-2 duals) -OR- Austin Hiles (8-7, 0-1 duals)
174 – No. 23 Layne Malczewski (17-8, 6-4 duals)
184 – No. 20 Cameron Caffey (17-6, 8-2 duals)
197 – Nick May (11-11, 3-6 duals)
285 – Christian Rebottaro (14-8, 7-3 duals) -OR Jackson Ross (7-5, 0-0 duals)

Spartans in the Rankings as of Jan. 22, 2020
Rankings by: The Open Mat / TrackWrestling / FloWrestling / InterMat

133 - Garrett Pepple 30 / NR / NR / NR
157 - Jake Tucker 21 / 21 / 22 / 20
165 - Drew Hughes 26 / 32 / NR / NR
174 - Layne Malczewski 25 / 22 / 23 / NR
184 - Cameron Caffey 19 / 17 / 20 / 17

Scouting Clarion
The Golden Eagles are 8-3 to start the season and hold a 5-2 mark in the MAC. Clarion has wins over Indianapolis, Lock Haven, SIUE, Cleveland State, Virginia Military Institute, California Baptist, Buffalo and Bloomsburg. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 16-15 win over Bloomsburg on Jan. 19 and have won eight-straight coming into tonight.

Ty Bagoly leads the Golden Eagles with a 14-3 record and a perfect 10-0 mark in dual action at 285 pounds. Bagoly ranks No. 26 by TheOpenMat and joins two other Golden Eagles in national rankings. Brock Zacherl ranks No. 14 by FloWrestling at 149 pounds and is second on the team with 15 wins, including a 5-1 record in duals. Greg Bulsak leads the squad with 18 wins at 197 pounds and ranks No. 17 by FloWrestling.

Friday's match with Clarion will be the eighth all-time meeting between the programs. Michigan State leads the series, 5-2. Michigan State escaped with a narrow 22-15 win over the Golden Eagles in its last matchup on Feb. 16, 2018.

Clarion's Probable Lineup
125 - Cam Butler (8-5, 5-1 duals)
133 - Seth Koleno (9-9, 6-5 duals)
141 - Alex Blake (2-12, 0-6 duals)
149 - #14 Brock Zacherl (15-3, 5-1 duals)
157 - Avery Shay (9-10, 2-6 duals)
165 - Mike Bartolo (7-8, 4-5 duals)
174 - Max Wohlabaugh (7-7, 3-4 duals)
184 - Luke Funck (7-10, 4-6 duals)
197 - #17 Greg Bulsak (18-5, 9-2 duals)
285 - Ty Bagoly (14-3, 10-0 duals)

Scouting Nebraska
Nebraska enters the weekend ranked No. 10 by FloWrestling and are No. 7 in the NWCA Coaches Poll. The Cornhuskers are off to a 5-2 start (0-2 B1G) with wins over Chadron State, Nebraska-Kearney, Wyoming, Northern Iowa and Oregon State. Nebraska's two losses came to Big Ten Opponents Wisconsin and Iowa. The Cornhuskers have nine starters ranked in the top 25 of the latest InterMat Rankings. Isaiah White (12-2) ranks No. 5 at 165 pounds and is joined by four other wrestlers in the top-10. Eric Schultz, who ranks No. 8 at 197 pounds, leads the team with 15 wins on the season and a perfect 7-0 mark dual action.

Michigan State and Nebraska will meet for the 17th time on Sunday, with the series tied at eight. The Spartans won the first six meetings over the Cornhuskers from 1941 to 1983. Nebraska has won eight of the last meetings, including a 35-6 win in their last meeting on Feb. 14, 2018 in East Lansing. Rayvon Foley and Logan Ritchie each tallied decisions in the loss.

Nebraska's Probable Lineup
125 - Alex Thomsen (6-9, 2-4)
133 - No. 13 Ridge Lovett (8-5, 0-4)
141 - No. 9 Chad Red Jr. (11-4, 5-1)
149 - No. 16 Collin Purinton (10-5, 4-2)
157 - No. 11 Peyton Robb (12-3, 5-1)
165 - No. 5 Isaiah White (12-2, 4-2)
174 - No. 6 Mikey Labriola (13-4, 5-2)
184 - No. 5 Taylor Venz (11-5, 4-2)
197 - No. 14 Eric Schultz (15-2, 7-0)
285 - No.15 Christian Lance 9-5, 3-2)
* InterMat Rankings

Up Next
Michigan State returns to the mat for a road dual with Illinois next Friday, Jan. 31 in Champaign at 7 p.m., before returning home to take on Iowa for Senior Day on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 1 p.m.

Michigan State Hosts Clarion on Friday, Travels to Nebraska Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Caffey

Rayvon Foley

Logan Griffin

Austin Hiles

Alex Hrisopoulos

Drew Hughes

Layne Malczewski

Nick May

Garrett Pepple

Christian Rebottaro

Logan Ritchie

Jackson Ross

Matt Santos

Jake Tucker