Logan Griffin: Shooting His Best Shot

Michigan State wrestling head coach Roger Chandler has said to his team, "Shoot your best shot." Redshirt senior Logan Griffin did that his entire career at Michigan State, and it paid off for him in a big way during his final run in the Green and White.

Griffin, a native of Erie Township, Michigan, began wrestling as a toddler, as it was brought to his attention by his two older brothers.

"I started wrestling when I was like three of four," said Griffin from a phone interview from his home. "I wrestled for Erie Mason for a little bit and then as I started getting better, I started going to a place called Betts' Army."

A standout wrestler at Erie Mason High School, Griffin amassed a 152-7 record in high school and was a four-time state finalist and three-time state champion. Griffin capped his senior year with a perfect 42-0 record en route to his third Division 4 Michigan state title.

Chandler, who was an MSU assistant at the time, recruited Griffin, and a few things stood out to him. He wasn't the flashiest guy in a weight class known to be high octane and uptempo. He was a grinder, and Chandler noticed that right away about Griffin.

"The thing that stood out about Logan was he was just a tough, gritty kid," said Chandler. "That's what I liked about him. He wasn't flashy, he was just gritty and was willing to grind his way through matches. I thought it was a good fit for him to wrestle in the Big Ten."

Griffin had a list of schools to choose from, but ultimately chose Michigan State because of Chandler and the belief he had for the trajectory of the program and his style of coaching.

"There were a few things that he said to me on my recruiting trip that actually stood out to me as a person and that's the reason that I went there," said Griffin. "Coach Chandler was probably the only one to me that was in it, that he would change the program and they were going to be on the up, so I was all for that. I liked how he was and I liked how he talked."

Logan Griffin

The next five years of Griffin's life were full of many high points along with a handful of challenging times. Many college athletes endure highs and lows during their careers. Griffin encountered many of those times, but never hung his head or showed pity. After completing his redshirt season in 2015-16, where he went 19-5 in open tournaments, followed by a solid sophomore campaign in 2016-17 which saw him post a record of 17-11 overall and 5-5 in duals, Griffin hit one of those lows. After the season, Griffin underwent shoulder surgery that set him back as he entered his third season with the Spartans. Griffin was making a name for himself in the lineup, where he started eight of the final 11 duals of the season.

Fast forward to 2017-18, when Griffin only saw action in seven total matches after recovering from shoulder surgery. Another setback happened to be from an incoming freshman, Rayvon Foley, in the same weight class. Foley finished his freshman season 28-11 overall and became only the third true freshman since 1978 for the Spartans to reach the NCAA Championships. Griffin took it as a way to become better and fulfill his dream of one day reaching the NCAA Championships.

"Rayvon helped me a lot; he's aggresive, he has a gas tank, just non-stop," said Griffin.

Griffin continued to train and compete against Foley for that 125-pound spot going into his redshirt junior year. Everything was put on hold when he found out he would need Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2018. Griffin competed in two duals after recovering, while Foley clinched a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships, becoming the first All-American for MSU since 2014. Griffin knew it would be tough to get back into the lineup at the rate that Foley was going at, but he always kept the mindset of everything happens for a reason.

Something happened this season. Foley needed to take a redshirt after sustaining minor injuries over the summer of 2019, and Griffin knew the opportunity would be there for him to take that spot and compete in the lineup.

"Logan had a lot of peaks and valleys," said Chandler. "Obviously from his shoulder surgery and going through that, and then having to recover from it and then Rayvon Foley coming to the program and him having to battle with him for the spot. Then Rayvon going on to become an All-American, but it worked out perfect this year. When we put Rayvon in the lineup, it was because Logan hurt his elbow and had Tommy John surgery, so it was kind of two perfect worlds meeting at the same time because we have two great guys who are going to push each other and make each other better. With Rayvon having a redshirt year available this year, it was a perfect opportunity for Logan to shoot his best shot."

Logan Griffin

This season, Griffin compiled a 10-6 record in three tournaments in the fall, including a fourth-place finish at the Cougar Clash in Edwardsville, Illinois. He went on to start the first four duals of the season, where he went 4-0, but knew that he couldn't take his foot off the accelerator, as redshirt junior Julian Saldana would be knocking at the door to compete in the lineup.

Saldana and Griffin often wrestled each other in the wrestling room, and Griffin credits Saldana for making him a better wrestler over the course of the season.

"I'm not going to lie, the biggest person that helped me out this year was Julian Saldana," said Griffin. "Between him and me, his style is really weird. He prepared me for a lot of random styles. He was always different, he was different every day."

Saldana knew that it wasn't going to be easy to steal the spot in the lineup from Griffin, but at the end of the day, he knew that whatever he did, he was not only helping himself get better, but getting the most out of Griffin every single day. There were no days off in the wrestling room with the two, and they knew that anything could happen at any moment, so the wrestling room was a place for both of them to give it everything they had.

"Something that me and Logan did was we weren't afraid of adapting to different wrestling situations," said Saldana. "We weren't afraid to help each other out and help each other with different wrestling positions. We would always commend each other on something we did well and when we were frustrated, we would walk each other through positions in order to see what we were doing wrong. He's a fierce competitor and an even better friend, and I am thankful for the relationship we developed."

Griffin wrestled his way to a 7-8 record in duals and earned the 125-pound spot for the Spartans and was the 12-seed at the Big Ten Championships, held at the RAC in Piscataway, N.J., on March 7-8.

Griffin opened the championships with a first-round match against Jack Medley of Michigan. The Spartan hung around early, but fell short, 8-3, dropping to the consolation bracket. Eight allocation spots were given at 125 pounds, so Griffin would need to win the next two duals to clinch a spot in the Top 8. He took on Brandon Cray of Maryland in the first round of consolations, where he came away with a 10-2 major decision win to advance to the consolation quarterfinals. There, he took on Penn State's Brandon Meredith with a qualification spot on the line. Griffin held steady against Meredith, collecting takedowns in the first and third periods on his way to a 5-1 decision.

Griffin's dream finally came true; he was going to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career. The experience was something he dreamed about and a big reason why he chose to come to Michigan State. Getting the opportunity to represent Michigan State and compete on the biggest stage in the toughest conference.

"It was amazing," said Griffin. "That was my main dream coming in to Michigan State, to make it to NCAAs. I would like to place higher than what I did at Big Tens, but that was a dream since I started wrestling. That is one of the reasons I came to Michigan State, because I wanted to wrestle Big Ten and make it to NCAAs through the Big Tens, because it's the hardest conference in the country."

Logan Griffin

Griffin was experiencing the highest of highs after making the NCAA Championships, but shortly thereafter, came the ultimate low. It was Sunday, March 7 that Griffin stood on the podium inside the RAC after an eighth-place finish, and then the following Thursday rolled around. There was speculation going around that the NCAA Wrestling Championships, set to be held at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, could potentially get postponed, or go on without fans due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That afternoon, while the team took part in a swim for conditioning, Chandler received a call from administration that the remainder winter and spring championships were canceled. He called the team out of the water and broke the news. Lots of emotions ran through Griffin's head when he heard the news. He thought about everything he put into the sport, from his youth days to just the weekend before at the Big Ten Championships. He thought about the long and enduring practices in the wrestling room battling Rayvon Foley and Julian Saldana. He thought about his injuries, how he overcame them to get to this point. All to just be shot down, in a matter of minutes.

"It was shocking, I was speechless," said Griffin. "Seeing as it was my last year and that was everything that I've been trying to do my whole life. It took me to a bad place at first, and then I realized that everything happens for a reason, so you just take it as it is and you make it something better."

Eventually, after it finally set in that he wouldn't be competing in the NCAA Championships in his final year as a Spartan, he had to look back at the positive. He went back and thought about all his teammates and coaches. Without them, none of this would have been possible. He thought about his family being there for him through every obstacle that he faced in his life, never leaving his side.

"I'm not going to lie, I will never take any of it back," said Griffin. "It was probably the best five years of my life. I had my ups and downs, but at the same time, I always had a family behind me and it was always an amazing time."

Coach Chandler always kept him going, and Griffin couldn't help but think about all the things that he did for him, from the recruiting process to his time at Michigan State. Chandler helped him in every aspect of life, whether it was academically, in wrestling, or in life.

"Coach Chandler to me is kind of like a father figure," Griffin said. "He taught me how to develop my style of wrestling. He was always hard on me because he knew what I could do. He brought me up to where I need to be, and he's the one who brought me to Michigan State in general.

"He gave me a chance, he brought me out, and he helped me raise my GPA, helped me get better in school. All together, he helped me to become a better person and helped me develop who I am today."

Although Griffin wasn't able to compete on the biggest state and fulfill his lifelong dream, he can take away a lot of things from his time at Michigan State. There's one thing that he can never say he didn't do: He shot his best shot.

"I say that all the time, shoot your best shot," said Chandler. "He never gave up, he never gave up the whole year. He was a total team player and he accomplished a lot of things this year and in his career as a Spartan."

Players Mentioned

Rayvon Foley

Logan Griffin

Julian Saldana

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