No. 20 Spartans Hit the Road to Challenge No. 24 Rutgers and No. 1 Penn State

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State wrestling concludes its first road trip in Big Ten Conference dual action this weekend, as the No. 20 Spartans face off against the No. 24 Rutgers Scarlet Knights inside Jersey Mike's Arena on Friday, Jan. 20, with first whistle slated for 7 p.m. The Green & White then travel to grapple against the defending National Champion and top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday, Jan. 22, with matches slated to begin at 1 p.m. inside Rec Hall.

HEAD COACH ROGER CHANDLER SAID…
"The biggest thing for us is that we need to continue to evolve and build individually. We are attacking quite a bit, but we have to finish our shots. We have to be able to control the center of the mat, and if we do those things, then good things are going to happen for us as we go forward. You look at guys like Chase Saldate, he specifically has been dictating the pace of his matches. He is not doing the reacting anymore, and that's the true sign of a champion. When you can dictate pace, and dictate the action, good things will happen for you. In many ways, when you look at other guys that have had success like Caleb Fish, they're doing a lot of the same things. Guys can't be tentative in any position, and you have to have a willingness to grind through whatever comes your way."

BRIGHT LIGHTS, B1G STAGES
Fifteenth-ranked 157-pounder Chase Saldate booked a pair of career-defining results last week against Michigan and Minnesota, as the junior grappler recorded the second-highest ranked win of his career, as well as the first instance of consecutive top-12 victories in his career. The Gilroy, California, native toppled eighth-ranked Wolverine Will Lewan by a 3-1 margin in sudden victory on Friday, Jan. 13, and followed that performance with a 3-1 decision over 12th-ranked Golden Gopher Brayton Lee on Sunday, Jan. 15. In recognition of his stellar start to the B1G campaign, Saldate was honored in Shane Sparks' Monday Medal Stand on Big Ten Network, taking home the silver medal for the week.

Team captain and graduate 197-pounder Cameron Caffey also got out to a 2-0 start in B1G dual action, defeating Michigan's Brendin Yatooma by a 6-5 score after the tiebreaker, as well as Minnesota's No. 27 Michial Foy by a 3-2 decision. Junior and 25th-ranked Caleb Fish picked up his first ranked win of the year at 165, pinning No. 24 Andrew Sparks at the 6:36 mark in the dual against Minnesota.
Graduate captain and 16th-ranked 133-pounder Rayvon Foley punctuated his collegiate dual career against Michigan with a resounding 12-4 major decision over fifth-ranked Wolverine Dylan Ragusin. The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native Spartan concluded his dual career against the school down the road with a 5-0 record.

FIRST LOOK: RUTGERS
Head Coach Scott Goodale leads 24th-ranked Rutgers into its third Big Ten dual of the 2022-23 season boasting an 8-3 overall record and maintaining an 0-2 start against B1G challengers. The Scarlet Knights got out to an 8-1 start before entering Big Ten competition, with their only loss coming against then-No. 12 Arizona State by a 25-16 score during the Liberty High School Showcase. Despite starting strong with wins in the first three bouts of the night at Indiana, the Scarlet Knights dropped a 24-16 result on the road in their B1G opener. They followed that with a 27-12 loss at the hands of No. 7 Ohio State, taking the bouts at 125 and 141, adding a Buckeye forfeit at 174. Michigan State and Rutgers take the mat for the eighth time in an all-time series that dates to the 2009-10 campaign. Rutgers leads the series by a
5-1-1 margin overall. Michigan State took home its first win in the series a year ago at home, winning 20-17 highlighted by a 2:21 fall by Layne Malczewski at 184 over then-No. 5 John Poznanski.

FIRST LOOK: PENN STATE
Led by nine-time National Champion head coach Cael Sanderson, the Penn State Nittany Lions enter the fray this weekend boasting an untouched 8-0 record coupled with a 1-0 start to Big Ten Conference Dual competition. PSU defeated Wisconsin on the road by a 28-12 score to open the New Year. Penn State, the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Champion, returns four of its five individual National Champions from a season ago in Roman Bravo-Young (133), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184) and Max Dean (197). The only non-returning National Champion from PSU's 2022 roster is Nick Lee, the former Nittany Lion starter at 141 pounds. The Nittany Lions feature four wrestlers who own the No. 1 ranking in their respective weight classes, including Bravo-Young, Starocci, Brooks and heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet. Last season's contest inside Jenison Field House saw MSU drop a 28-9 decision to the Nittany Lions. MSU's highlight of the match came in Cameron Caffey's stunning 3-2 decision over eventual National Champion Max Dean at 197 pounds.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Both of MSU's nationally-ranked duals this weekend will be streamed to a worldwide audience via B1G+. Click the link here for Friday's dual against Rutgers, and here for Sunday's dual at Penn State and sign in with credentials to follow along with all the live action. As always, fans are encouraged to follow the Spartans on Twitter @MSU_Wrestling for live updates as individual matches complete.

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.

No. 20 Spartans Hit the Road to Challenge No. 24 Rutgers and No. 1 Penn State

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Caffey

Caleb Fish

Rayvon Foley

Layne Malczewski

Chase Saldate