Spartan Wrestling Falls at Central Michigan, 21-15

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Michigan State wrestling's late comeback fell short Friday night, falling to Central Michigan, 21-15, inside McGuirk Arena.

Central Michigan jumped out to a 12-0 lead over the Spartans and extended its lead to 15-3 through five matches. The Spartans answered with three-straight wins to tie the dual at 15-all, before CMU pulled away in the final two bouts for the 21-15 win.

"I definitely think we out-attacked them, but attacks and scoring are two different things," said MSU wrestling head coach Roger Chandler. "We have to learn from what happened tonight. If you let guys hang around in close matches, they try to steal one at the end and they did that in quite a few matches. That's the difference in the dual. Good thing it happened now; it's a good learning experience as we go into championship season, you're going to have to learn how to go out there and take the matches right away early."

The bout started at 125 pounds with redshirt senior Logan Griffin and CMU's No. 8-ranked Drew Hildebrandt. Both wrestlers showed excellent defense in the opening rounds with no score after two periods. Hildebrandt scored a fall at 5:30 from the top position to give the Chippewas a 6-0 lead.

Redshirt senior Garrett Pepple took the mat at 133 pounds and faced off against Drew Marten. Marten and Pepple showed nothing after two periods, going to the third period scoreless. Pepple took a 2-0 advantage midway through the third period before Marten answered with a reversal of his own and a four-point near-fall in the final seconds to capture a 7-2 win.

The Chippewas extended their lead at 141 pounds, with a 8-2 decision for No. 12 Dresden Simon over redshirt junior Matt Santos. Simon grabbed an early 2-0 lead with a takedown in the first period and extended his lead with two more takedowns in the second frame. Santos used two escapes in the second period to cut Simon's lead too 6-2 after two. An escape in the third period and a riding-time point gave Simon the 8-2 decision.

Redshirt junior Alex Hrisopoulos put the Spartans on the board with a thrilling 6-5 decision over Corbyn Munson. Munson gained an early edge in the first period with a takedown, but the Spartan answered with and escape and a takedown after a Munson takedown to tie the bout at four. With the riding-time point locked up, Munson couldn't hold off a late scramble reversal by Hrisopoulos to give him the 6-5 win in the winding seconds.

CMU extended its lead to 15-3 after No. 16 Logan Parks edged out No. 25-ranked redshirt junior Jake Tucker at 157 pounds. Tucker and Parks showed early offense but better defense in the first frame, and Tucker used an escape in the second period to go up 1-0 with two minutes left. Parks tied it at one and used a takedown to knock off Tucker, 4-2.

Redshirt junior Drew Hughes started a late comeback for the Spartans at 165 pounds, winning the first of three in a row for MSU with a 4-2 decision over Tracy Hubbard. Hughes controlled the second period on the top position with two minutes of riding time. Hubbard landed a takedown in the third period to tie the match at two after Hughes gained two points from stalling and riding time. Hughes attacked early in overtime, securing a takedown on his way to the 3-1 win.

Redshirt sophomore Layne Malczewski came away with his fourth-straight dual victory at 174 pounds for the Spartans with a 9-4 decision over Jake Lowell. Malczewski led 4-1 after the first with two takedowns and extended his lead to 8-1 with a takedown, stalling point and escape in the second frame. Lowell's late rally fell short after some stellar defense by Malczewski.

At 184 pounds, redshirt sophomore Cameron Caffey secured a fall over Ben Cushman (2:01), his team-best ninth of the season. Caffey fell behind early after a takedown by Cushman early in the first, but Caffey answered with a lateral drop on his way to the fall. Caffey improves to 25-6 on the season and winner of nine duals in a row. Redshirt junior Nick May took the mat against CMU's Landon Pelham at 197 pounds. May led 1-0 after two periods and Pelham tied the bout with an escape in the third. Pelham came away with a scramble takedown in overtime for the 3-1 win. Redshirt junior Christian Rebottaro battled with No. 4-ranked Matt Stencel in the final bout of the evening. Rebottaro was awarded a point for illegal hands to the face to take a 1-0 lead after one. Stencel used a quick reversal in the second and was awarded a stalling point on his way to a 4-1 win for the Chippewas.

Up Next

The Spartans take a few weeks off before heading to the Big Ten Championships in Piscataway, N.J. The championships, hosted by Rutgers, will take place in the RAC on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8.

Central Michigan 21, Michigan State 15

125 - No. 8 Drew Hildebrandt (CMU) fall over Logan Griffin (MSU), 5:30 - CMU leads 6-0

133 - Garrett Pepple (MSU) dec. over Drew Marten (CMU), 7-2 - CMU leads 9-0

141 - No. 12 Dresden Simon (CMU) dec. over Matt Santos (MSU), 8-2 - CMU leads 12-0

149 - Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU) dec. over Corbyn Munson (CMU), 6-5 - CMU leads 12-3

157 - No. 16 Logan Parks dec. over No. 25 Jake Tucker, 4-2 - CMU leads 15-3

165 - Drew Hughes (MSU) dec. over Tracy Hubbard (CMU), 4-2 SV-1, CMU leads 15-6

174 - No. 24 Layne Malczewski (MSU) dec. over Jake Lowell (CMU), 9-4, CMU leads 15-9

184 - No. 9 Cameron Caffey (MSU) fall over Ben Cushman (CMU), 2:01, Tied at 15

197 - Landon Pelham (CMU) dec. over Nick May (MSU), 3-1 SV-1, CMU leads 18-15

285 - No. 4 Matt Stencel (CMU) dec. over Christian Rebottaro (MSU), 4-1 - CMU wins 21-15

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Caffey

Logan Griffin

Alex Hrisopoulos

Drew Hughes

Layne Malczewski

Nick May

Garrett Pepple

Christian Rebottaro

Matt Santos

Jake Tucker