Sunday, January 15
Minneapolis, Minn.
8 PM
Michigan State University
11
at
21
Minnesota
Photo by: Michigan State Athletics
Saldate Earns Second Top-15 Win of the Weekend, No. 21 Spartans Fall at No. 12 Minnesota
1/15/2023 11:10:00 PM | Wrestling
Fish Books Only Bonus Point Win of the Night by Fall at 165
MINNEAPOLIS – No. 23 Chase Saldate earned his second top-15 individually ranked win of the weekend, but No. 21 Michigan State wrestling yielded a 21-11 defeat at the hands of the 12th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers in dual action from Maturi Pavilion on Sunday night.
Saldate, a junior from Gilroy, California, completed the most dominant weekend of his collegiate career, downing No. 8 Will Lewan of Michigan on Friday, Jan. 13, just before toppling Minnesota's No. 12 Brayton Lee by way of a 3-1 decision on Sunday night. Saldate was previously 0-2 against Lee in his career, losing a couple of closely-contested decisions during the COVID-maligned 2020-21 season. The Spartan captain climbs to 2-1 against nationally-ranked challengers this year, with his only loss coming against then-No. 1 Quincy Monday of Princeton during the Garden State Grapple.
Michigan State also secured the only bonus point win of the evening, with junior Caleb Fish notching a domineering fall over No. 24 Andrew Sparks in the bout at 165 pounds. Fish, a native of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, tallied his seventh fall of the 2022-23 campaign in addition to his first pin in the Spartans' dual lineup. Fish now stands in a tie with redshirt junior 141-pounder Jordan Hamdan for the lead in overall wins on the MSU roster with a 19-4 overall record.
Minnesota opened the night with a win at 125 pounds, as fourth-ranked Patrick McKee opened the match with a first-period takedown, added a reversal in the third period and tacked on the riding time point for a 5-1 decision over No. 25 Tristan Lujan. Another nationally-ranked bout followed at 133, with No. 11 Rayvon Foley squaring off against No. 20 Aaron Nagao. Nagao booked a couple of first period takedowns and Foley notched a pair of escapes, but a takedown apiece in the second and third periods for the Golden Gopher proved too much, finalizing an 8-4 decision for Minnesota. Eleventh-ranked Jake Bergeland registered a 3-2 decision over MSU's Hamdan, and No. 14 Michael Blockhus reached an 8-2 decision over Peyton Omania at 149 to make it 12-0 in favor of the Golden Gophers.
The Spartans looked to No. 23 Saldate to publish their first win of the night, and he answered the call in spectacular fashion against No. 12 Lee at 157 pounds. After a scoreless opening three minutes, each grappler published an escape apiece in the second and third period, respectively. With 57 seconds remaining in the third period, Saldate utilized some fancy footwork and managed to leverage a takedown towards the right nearside of the mat, ultimately finalizing his 3-1 decision moments later.
At 165 pounds, Fish took the mat against No. 24 Sparks. Neither wrestler published a score in the first period, but an offensive onslaught erupted in the second, with Fish leading 5-4 heading into the final stanza. After booking an escape to go up 6-4, Fish elected to finish his night early at the 6:36 mark of the match, pinning his Golden Gopher opponent and publishing his first ranked victory of the 2022-23 season in the process.
The Golden Gophers returned to the win column at 174 pounds, with No. 15 Bailee O'Reilly recording a 10-6 decision over Spartan freshman Ceasar Garza to take a 15-9 lead into the final three bouts of the evening. Minnesota tacked on three more team points following a decision at 184, as No. 12 Isaiah Salazar got the better of 17th-ranked Layne Malczewski by a 5-3 margin. After MSU received a one-point team deduction for throwing headgear, nationally-ranked action resumed at 197 pounds between No. 15 Cameron Caffey and No. 27 Michial Foy.
Caffey and Foy opened the match by going scoreless through the first three minutes of action. After each wrestler exchanged one-point escapes in the second and third periods, respectively, Caffey utilized a masterful single-leg shot on Foy to register the deciding takedown with just over a minute remaining in the match. Despite Foy's best efforts at a comeback, including his second escape of the contest, Caffey came away with his third ranked win of 2022-23 by a 3-2 margin. In the final bout of the night at heavyweight, Garrett Joles won by decision over MSU's Ryan Vasbinder by a 4-3 score, finalizing the 21-11 win for the Golden Gophers.
With their win on Sunday night, Minnesota halted a two-match losing skid against Big Ten Conference opponents, improving to 8-2 overall with a 1-2 ledger against B1G foes. In defeat, Michigan State falls to 7-2 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten, with both defeats coming against opponents ranked inside the top-12 nationally over the course of the weekend.
UP NEXT
No. 21 Michigan State wrestling will embark on the second and third legs of its three-match road trip, as the Spartans face off against No. 18 Rutgers on Friday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m., before challenging the top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions in a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday, Jan. 22. Both duals will be streamed worldwide via B1G+.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
MICHIGAN STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Roger Chandler
On the effort that MSU showed in Minneapolis…
"The effort is definitely there from our team. It's the same thing that I tell them all the time; give your best effort and look for your best execution. I think that we just have to evolve a little bit in some positions, especially when it comes to finishing our shots. I have no doubt that we outshot them tonight in terms of attempted shots, but how many of those did we actually finish? We didn't finish very many of those, so that's the big thing that we really have to address right now. Overall, did we put ourselves in positions to have success? Yes, but in order to come away victorious in a championship-caliber match, you have to be stingy in all positions and we just didn't get enough of that tonight."
WRESTLING MATCH RESULTS
#21 Michigan State 11, #12 Minnesota 21
Maturi Pavilion – Minneapolis, Minn.
125 | #4 Patrick McKee (MINN) dec. #25 Tristan Lujan (MSU) 5-1 | MINN 3-0
133 | #20 Aaron Nagao (MINN) dec. #11 Rayvon Foley (MSU) 9-4 | MINN 6-0
141 | #11 Jake Bergeland (MINN) dec. Jordan Hamdan (MSU) 3-2 | MINN 9-0
149 | #14 Michael Blockhus (MINN) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU) 8-2 | MINN 12-0
157 | #23 Chase Saldate (MSU) dec. #12 Brayton Lee (MINN) 3-1 | MINN 12-3
165 | Caleb Fish (MSU) fall over #24 Andrew Sparks (MINN) 6:36 | MINN 12-9
174 | #15 Bailee O'Reilly (MINN) dec. Ceasar Garza (MSU) 10-6 | MINN 15-9
184 | #12 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) dec. #17 Layne Malczewski (MSU) 5-3 | MINN 18-8 (TM Point Deduction on MSU – Throwing Headgear)
197 | #15 Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. #27 Michial Foy (MINN) 3-2 | MINN 18-11
285 | Garrett Joles (MINN) dec. Ryan Vasbinder (MSU) 4-3 | MINN wins 21-11
FOLLOW THE SPARTANS
Visit MSUSpartans.com for more information on Michigan State wrestling. Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan wrestling team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_Wrestling.
Saldate, a junior from Gilroy, California, completed the most dominant weekend of his collegiate career, downing No. 8 Will Lewan of Michigan on Friday, Jan. 13, just before toppling Minnesota's No. 12 Brayton Lee by way of a 3-1 decision on Sunday night. Saldate was previously 0-2 against Lee in his career, losing a couple of closely-contested decisions during the COVID-maligned 2020-21 season. The Spartan captain climbs to 2-1 against nationally-ranked challengers this year, with his only loss coming against then-No. 1 Quincy Monday of Princeton during the Garden State Grapple.
Michigan State also secured the only bonus point win of the evening, with junior Caleb Fish notching a domineering fall over No. 24 Andrew Sparks in the bout at 165 pounds. Fish, a native of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, tallied his seventh fall of the 2022-23 campaign in addition to his first pin in the Spartans' dual lineup. Fish now stands in a tie with redshirt junior 141-pounder Jordan Hamdan for the lead in overall wins on the MSU roster with a 19-4 overall record.
Minnesota opened the night with a win at 125 pounds, as fourth-ranked Patrick McKee opened the match with a first-period takedown, added a reversal in the third period and tacked on the riding time point for a 5-1 decision over No. 25 Tristan Lujan. Another nationally-ranked bout followed at 133, with No. 11 Rayvon Foley squaring off against No. 20 Aaron Nagao. Nagao booked a couple of first period takedowns and Foley notched a pair of escapes, but a takedown apiece in the second and third periods for the Golden Gopher proved too much, finalizing an 8-4 decision for Minnesota. Eleventh-ranked Jake Bergeland registered a 3-2 decision over MSU's Hamdan, and No. 14 Michael Blockhus reached an 8-2 decision over Peyton Omania at 149 to make it 12-0 in favor of the Golden Gophers.
The Spartans looked to No. 23 Saldate to publish their first win of the night, and he answered the call in spectacular fashion against No. 12 Lee at 157 pounds. After a scoreless opening three minutes, each grappler published an escape apiece in the second and third period, respectively. With 57 seconds remaining in the third period, Saldate utilized some fancy footwork and managed to leverage a takedown towards the right nearside of the mat, ultimately finalizing his 3-1 decision moments later.
At 165 pounds, Fish took the mat against No. 24 Sparks. Neither wrestler published a score in the first period, but an offensive onslaught erupted in the second, with Fish leading 5-4 heading into the final stanza. After booking an escape to go up 6-4, Fish elected to finish his night early at the 6:36 mark of the match, pinning his Golden Gopher opponent and publishing his first ranked victory of the 2022-23 season in the process.
The Golden Gophers returned to the win column at 174 pounds, with No. 15 Bailee O'Reilly recording a 10-6 decision over Spartan freshman Ceasar Garza to take a 15-9 lead into the final three bouts of the evening. Minnesota tacked on three more team points following a decision at 184, as No. 12 Isaiah Salazar got the better of 17th-ranked Layne Malczewski by a 5-3 margin. After MSU received a one-point team deduction for throwing headgear, nationally-ranked action resumed at 197 pounds between No. 15 Cameron Caffey and No. 27 Michial Foy.
Caffey and Foy opened the match by going scoreless through the first three minutes of action. After each wrestler exchanged one-point escapes in the second and third periods, respectively, Caffey utilized a masterful single-leg shot on Foy to register the deciding takedown with just over a minute remaining in the match. Despite Foy's best efforts at a comeback, including his second escape of the contest, Caffey came away with his third ranked win of 2022-23 by a 3-2 margin. In the final bout of the night at heavyweight, Garrett Joles won by decision over MSU's Ryan Vasbinder by a 4-3 score, finalizing the 21-11 win for the Golden Gophers.
With their win on Sunday night, Minnesota halted a two-match losing skid against Big Ten Conference opponents, improving to 8-2 overall with a 1-2 ledger against B1G foes. In defeat, Michigan State falls to 7-2 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten, with both defeats coming against opponents ranked inside the top-12 nationally over the course of the weekend.
UP NEXT
No. 21 Michigan State wrestling will embark on the second and third legs of its three-match road trip, as the Spartans face off against No. 18 Rutgers on Friday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m., before challenging the top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions in a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday, Jan. 22. Both duals will be streamed worldwide via B1G+.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
MICHIGAN STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Roger Chandler
On the effort that MSU showed in Minneapolis…
"The effort is definitely there from our team. It's the same thing that I tell them all the time; give your best effort and look for your best execution. I think that we just have to evolve a little bit in some positions, especially when it comes to finishing our shots. I have no doubt that we outshot them tonight in terms of attempted shots, but how many of those did we actually finish? We didn't finish very many of those, so that's the big thing that we really have to address right now. Overall, did we put ourselves in positions to have success? Yes, but in order to come away victorious in a championship-caliber match, you have to be stingy in all positions and we just didn't get enough of that tonight."
WRESTLING MATCH RESULTS
#21 Michigan State 11, #12 Minnesota 21
Maturi Pavilion – Minneapolis, Minn.
125 | #4 Patrick McKee (MINN) dec. #25 Tristan Lujan (MSU) 5-1 | MINN 3-0
133 | #20 Aaron Nagao (MINN) dec. #11 Rayvon Foley (MSU) 9-4 | MINN 6-0
141 | #11 Jake Bergeland (MINN) dec. Jordan Hamdan (MSU) 3-2 | MINN 9-0
149 | #14 Michael Blockhus (MINN) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU) 8-2 | MINN 12-0
157 | #23 Chase Saldate (MSU) dec. #12 Brayton Lee (MINN) 3-1 | MINN 12-3
165 | Caleb Fish (MSU) fall over #24 Andrew Sparks (MINN) 6:36 | MINN 12-9
174 | #15 Bailee O'Reilly (MINN) dec. Ceasar Garza (MSU) 10-6 | MINN 15-9
184 | #12 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) dec. #17 Layne Malczewski (MSU) 5-3 | MINN 18-8 (TM Point Deduction on MSU – Throwing Headgear)
197 | #15 Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. #27 Michial Foy (MINN) 3-2 | MINN 18-11
285 | Garrett Joles (MINN) dec. Ryan Vasbinder (MSU) 4-3 | MINN wins 21-11
FOLLOW THE SPARTANS
Visit MSUSpartans.com for more information on Michigan State wrestling. Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan wrestling team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_Wrestling.
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