Wrestling Wraps up Dual Slate Friday at Central Michigan

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State's wrestling team wraps up their dual slate and regular-season action on Friday, Feb. 21 when they travel to in-state foe Central Michigan. Action will begin at 7 p.m. inside CMU's McGuirk Arena with all of the action live on ESPN +.

Michigan State Probable Lineup

125 - Logan Griffin (17-13, 7-7 duals)

133 - Garrett Pepple (16-13, 7-9 duals)

141 - Matt Santos (13-13, 6-10 duals)

149 - Alex Hrisopoulos (12-13, 7-9 duals)

157 - No. 25 Jake Tucker (24-7, 12-5 duals) -OR- Nathan Atienza (10-8, 0-0 duals)

165 - Drew Hughes (14-9, 9-5 duals) -OR- Austin Hiles (8-10, 0-3 duals)

174 - No. 24 Layne Malczewski (21-11, 10-7 duals)

184 - No. 9 Cameron Caffey (24-6, 15-2 duals)

197 - Nick May (12-17, 4-12 duals)

285 - Christian Rebottaro (16-13, 9-8 duals)

Central Michigan Probable Lineup

125 - No. 8 Drew Hildebrandt (27-3, 11-0 duals)

133 - Drew Marten (16-12, 2-9 duals) -OR- Brock Berglin (17-12, 2-2 duals)

141 - No. 12 Dresden Simon (24-8, 8-3)

149 - Corbyn Munson (14-12, 4-5 duals) -OR- Mason Breece (23-7, 1-1 duals)

157 - No. 16 Logan Parks (17-10, 6-5 duals)

165 - Tracy Hubbard (10-14, 2-7 duals) -OR- Blake Montrie (2-4, 0-2 duals)

174 - Jake Lowell (5-14, 2-9 duals)

184 - Ben Cushman (11-15, 3-8 duals)

197 - Landon Pelham (17-10, 8-3 duals) -OR- Aaron Bolo (18-8, 0-0 duals)

285 - No. 4 Matt Stencel (25-4, 10-1 duals)

SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN

The Chippewas are riding a five-match dual win streak coming into Friday's dual and hold a 7-4 record overall with a 7-2 mark in the MAC. Central Michigan has wins over two ranked opponents, No. 25 Lock Haven (24-12) and No. 20 Rider (28-10). CMU's other wins include SIUe (25-15), Ohio (25-15), Cleveland State (18-13), Buffalo (24-15) and Kent State (27-12). Central Michigan finished in third place at the Black Knight Invite in West Point on Nov. 17. Drew Hildebrandt captured first at 125 pounds and Matt Stencel was second at 285 pounds for the Chippewas.

SERIES HISTORY

Michigan State and Central Michigan will meet for the 35th time on Friday, Feb. 21, with Chippewas leading the all-time series, 19-15. The Spartans snapped a four-match losing streak against the Chippewas last season after a 24-15 win in East Lansing. Central Michigan won 12-straight duals from 2002-13 and have won 16 of the last 18 over the Spartans. Head Coach Roger Chandler is 1-2 against CMU.

Redshirt junior Jake Tucker is 2-0 all-time against Logan Parks at 157 pounds with two decisions last season. Redshirt junior Christian Rebottaro is 0-4 all-time against Stencel at heavyweight with all four losses coming by fall.

Hildebrandt, who ranks No. 8 at 125 pounds, leads the Chippewas with a 27-3 record and is undefeated in duals (11-0). Stencel ranks No. 4 at 285 pounds and carries a 25-4 overall record and 10-1 mark in dual action. Dresden Simon (No. 12) and Logan Parks (No. 16) are among the other wrestlers ranked, at 141 and 157 pounds, respectively.

CAM THE MAN

Redshirt sophomore Cameron Caffey has been on fire for the Spartans at 184 pounds. After a 3-2 start to the season, Caffey has won 22 of his last 26 matches and nine-straight in dual action. Caffey ranks in the top 10 in four polls, including a No. 7-ranking by TrackWrestling. Caffey, who ranks No. 9 by FloWrestling, has knocked off four top 25 wrestlers during his win streak, including wins by decision over No. 6 Taylor Venz of Nebraska (11-6) and No. 6 Abe Assad of Iowa (3-2). The Spartan trailed 5-1 in the third period on his way to the win over Venz. Caffey held off Illinois's Zac Braunagel (7-6) on Jan. 31, who ranked No. 14 at the time. Caffey leads the team with 61 dual points, highlighted by six bonus point wins in duals and a team-best eight wins by fall. Caffey ranks in the top 10 in four polls, including a No. 7-ranking by TrackWrestling.

A 2019 NCAA Qualifier and Junior Greco-Roman World Team member, Caffey hopes to return to the NCAA Championships for a second-straight year after a stellar 32-9 freshman campaign.

CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING

The NCAA released the second coaches' panel rankings and Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2019-20 wrestling season last week (Feb. 13). The rankings and RPI will be two of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota. To be eligible for an RPI ranking, a wrestler must have a minimum of 17 Division I matches at a given weight class.

Five Spartans were listed in the most recent rankings release on Thursday, Feb. 13:

Garrett Pepple: NR Coaches' Ranking / No. 20 RPI

Jake Tucker (157): No. 21 Coaches' Ranking / No. 14 RPI

Drew Hughes (165): No. 29 Coaches' Ranking / NR RPI

Layne Malczewski (174): No. 23 Coaches' Ranking / No. 19 RPI

Cameron Caffey (184): No. 7 Coaches' Ranking / No. 14 RPI

SPARTANS IN THE RANKINGS

Redshirt junior Jake Tucker - 157 pounds

No. 15 by InterMat

No. 16 by TheOpenMat

No. 23 by TrackWrestling

No. 25 by FloWrestling

Redshirt junior Drew Hughes - 165 pounds

No. 27 by TheOpenMat

No. 32 by TrackWrestling

Redshirt freshman Layne Malczewski - 174 pounds

No. 20 by TrackWrestling

No. 24 by FloWrestling

No. 27 by TheOpenMat

Redshirt sophomore Cameron Caffey - 184 pounds

No. 7 by TrackWrestling

No. 8 by InterMat

No. 9 by FloWrestling

No. 9 by TheOpenMat

*rankings as of Feb. 19

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Players Mentioned

Nathan Atienza

Cameron Caffey

Logan Griffin

Austin Hiles

Alex Hrisopoulos

Drew Hughes

Layne Malczewski

Nick May

Garrett Pepple

Christian Rebottaro

Matt Santos

Jake Tucker