Friday, January 20
Piscataway, N.J.
7 PM
Michigan State University
15
at
16
Rutgers
Malczewski Scores Major Decision in No. 20 Spartans’ Narrow Loss at No. 24 Rutgers
1/20/2023 10:31:00 PM | Wrestling
Spartans Earn Five Individual Wins in New Jersey
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Five Spartans earned individual victories, including one major decision, but the No. 20 Michigan State wrestling team dropped a tightly contested 16-15 decision to the No. 24 Rutgers Scarlet Knights in dual action on Friday night inside Jersey Mike's Arena.
Fifteenth-ranked 184-pounder and redshirt senior Layne Malczewski booked the most impressive individual win of the evening, as the Spartan drubbed No. 13 Brian Soldano in a 14-6 showing for his first win in Big Ten dual competition this season. Malczewski, a native of Macomb, Michigan, climbs to 16-3 overall in the 2022-23 campaign and has won 10-of-16 matches in bonus point fashion this year. The MSU captain improves to 8-2 through his first 10 dual matches, 4-1 against Scarlet Knight challengers all-time, and moves into third place on the Spartan roster with 34 dual points registered this season.
The Green & White saw continued success in the middle of the lineup, as No. 15 Chase Saldate continued his undefeated streak in Big Ten dual competition at 165 pounds with an assertive 5-0 decision over Andrew Clark. MSU also picked up individual wins by decision from junior 165-pounder Caleb Fish, graduate 197-pounder Cameron Caffey and graduate heavyweight Ryan Vasbinder. Caffey and Saldate remain deadlocked at the top of Michigan State's leaderboard for dual points with 37 apiece scored this season. Fish, a native of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, also assumed the top spot on the team in overall victories, becoming the first Spartan to 20 wins in 2022-23.
Rutgers started the evening off with a 6-3 decision at 125 pounds, with No. 11 Dean Peterson toppling No. 24 Tristan Lujan to give the Scarlet Knights an early 3-0 lead. The Scarlet Knights maintained their momentum at 133 pounds, as No. 17 Joe Heilmann booked the second-straight Rutgers decision by way of a 4-3 result over No. 16 Rayvon Foley. Leading the match 6-0 heading into the bout at 141, Rutgers registered its only bonus-point victory of the evening, with 17th-ranked Joseph Olivieri booking a 17-4 major decision over Jordan Hamdan. At 149 pounds, Rutgers continued its early win streak with a 5-3 decision, as Anthony White defeated Peyton Omania to give the Scarlet Knights a 13-0 dual lead.
No. 15 Saldate roared out of the gates against Clark, notching a takedown in the opening period and riding Clark out for the entirety of the second. Leading the match 2-0 and dominating the advantage in riding time, Saldate scored a reversal in the third period and held on for the impressive 5-0 individual result at 157 pounds. Action continued in the Garden State at 165, with MSU's 25th-ranked Fish grappling with Rutgers' Connor O'Neill. After a scoreless first period, Fish chose bottom and booked an escape in the second and concluded the match by riding O'Neill for the final two minutes to seal the 2-0 decision for MSU.
The Scarlet Knights booked a 7-2 decision at 174 pounds, temporarily stymying Michigan State's momentum with Jackson Turley defeating Ceasar Garza. With Rutgers ahead by a 16-6 margin, MSU needed a strong showing at 184 pounds from 15th-ranked Malczewski. The Spartan delivered with a dominant 14-6 major decision over No. 13 Soldano, maintaining his composure through a frenetic first period and taking control late in the bout to secure four team points for the Green & White. The Spartans were docked a team point for a technical violation on the bench, culminating in a 16-9 edge for Rutgers with two bouts remaining.
At 197 pounds, No. 14 Caffey challenged Rutgers' Billy Janzer, with MSU needing the win to stay alive in the dual. After both wrestlers notched escapes in the first seven minutes, the match went to sudden victory deadlocked at 1-apiece. With a little more than a minute remaining in the extra period, Caffey utilized expert shot defense and published the match-clinching takedown with a go-behind move that closed out the 3-1 result. In the heavyweight bout, Vasbinder returned to the win column with a well-executed 3-0 decision over Kyle Epperly, but the Scarlet Knights were able to hold on to the 16-15 team advantage at the end of the night.
In defeat, Michigan State falls to 7-3 overall this year with an 0-3 mark against dual competition. All three Spartan losses this season came against opponents ranked inside the top-25 according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Rutgers picked up its first Big Ten dual win of the year, climbing to 9-3 overall with a 1-2 ledger in league action.
UP NEXT
No. 20 Michigan State wrestling travels to grapple against the defending National Champion and top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday, Jan. 22, with first whistle slated for 1 p.m. inside Rec Hall. The dual is set for streaming to a worldwide audience via B1G+.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
MICHIGAN STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Roger Chandler
On the team's performance in New Jersey on Friday...
"We knew that was going to be a tough, hard-fought dual. I think we wrestled well in a lot of those matches, but we have to get back to being tough on top like we were in the early part of the year. There were several situations where we could have scored additional takedowns, and we came up short. In most of our matches, our guys were scoring takedowns, and they were being the offensive wrestlers. I give them a lot of credit. They have nothing to hang their heads about. "
WRESTLING MATCH RESULTS
#20 Michigan State 15, #24 Rutgers 16
Jersey Mike's Arena – Piscataway, N.J.
125 | #11 Dean Peterson (RUT) dec. #24 Tristan Lujan (MSU) 6-3 | RUT 3-0
133 | #17 Joe Heilmann (RUT) dec. #16 Rayvon Foley (MSU) 4-3 | RUT 6-0
141 | #17 Joseph Olivieri (RUT) major dec. Jordan Hamdan (MSU) 17-4 | RUT 10-0
149 | Anthony White (RUT) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU) 5-3 | RUT 13-0
157 | #15 Chase Saldate (MSU) dec. Andrew Clark (RUT) 5-0 | RUT 13-3
165 | #25 Caleb Fish (MSU) dec. Connor O'Neill (RUT) 2-0 | RUT 13-6
174 | Jackson Turley (RUT) dec. Ceasar Garza (MSU) 7-2 | RUT 16-6
184 | #15 Layne Malczewski (MSU) major dec. #13 Brian Soldano (RUT) 14-6 | RUT 16-9
(TM Point Deduction on MSU – Loss of Mat Control During 184 Bout)
197 | #14 Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. Billy Janzer (RUT) SV-1, 3-1 | RUT 16-12
285 | Ryan Vasbinder (MSU) dec. Kyle Epperly (RUT) 3-0 | RUT Wins 16-15
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.
Fifteenth-ranked 184-pounder and redshirt senior Layne Malczewski booked the most impressive individual win of the evening, as the Spartan drubbed No. 13 Brian Soldano in a 14-6 showing for his first win in Big Ten dual competition this season. Malczewski, a native of Macomb, Michigan, climbs to 16-3 overall in the 2022-23 campaign and has won 10-of-16 matches in bonus point fashion this year. The MSU captain improves to 8-2 through his first 10 dual matches, 4-1 against Scarlet Knight challengers all-time, and moves into third place on the Spartan roster with 34 dual points registered this season.
The Green & White saw continued success in the middle of the lineup, as No. 15 Chase Saldate continued his undefeated streak in Big Ten dual competition at 165 pounds with an assertive 5-0 decision over Andrew Clark. MSU also picked up individual wins by decision from junior 165-pounder Caleb Fish, graduate 197-pounder Cameron Caffey and graduate heavyweight Ryan Vasbinder. Caffey and Saldate remain deadlocked at the top of Michigan State's leaderboard for dual points with 37 apiece scored this season. Fish, a native of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, also assumed the top spot on the team in overall victories, becoming the first Spartan to 20 wins in 2022-23.
Rutgers started the evening off with a 6-3 decision at 125 pounds, with No. 11 Dean Peterson toppling No. 24 Tristan Lujan to give the Scarlet Knights an early 3-0 lead. The Scarlet Knights maintained their momentum at 133 pounds, as No. 17 Joe Heilmann booked the second-straight Rutgers decision by way of a 4-3 result over No. 16 Rayvon Foley. Leading the match 6-0 heading into the bout at 141, Rutgers registered its only bonus-point victory of the evening, with 17th-ranked Joseph Olivieri booking a 17-4 major decision over Jordan Hamdan. At 149 pounds, Rutgers continued its early win streak with a 5-3 decision, as Anthony White defeated Peyton Omania to give the Scarlet Knights a 13-0 dual lead.
No. 15 Saldate roared out of the gates against Clark, notching a takedown in the opening period and riding Clark out for the entirety of the second. Leading the match 2-0 and dominating the advantage in riding time, Saldate scored a reversal in the third period and held on for the impressive 5-0 individual result at 157 pounds. Action continued in the Garden State at 165, with MSU's 25th-ranked Fish grappling with Rutgers' Connor O'Neill. After a scoreless first period, Fish chose bottom and booked an escape in the second and concluded the match by riding O'Neill for the final two minutes to seal the 2-0 decision for MSU.
The Scarlet Knights booked a 7-2 decision at 174 pounds, temporarily stymying Michigan State's momentum with Jackson Turley defeating Ceasar Garza. With Rutgers ahead by a 16-6 margin, MSU needed a strong showing at 184 pounds from 15th-ranked Malczewski. The Spartan delivered with a dominant 14-6 major decision over No. 13 Soldano, maintaining his composure through a frenetic first period and taking control late in the bout to secure four team points for the Green & White. The Spartans were docked a team point for a technical violation on the bench, culminating in a 16-9 edge for Rutgers with two bouts remaining.
At 197 pounds, No. 14 Caffey challenged Rutgers' Billy Janzer, with MSU needing the win to stay alive in the dual. After both wrestlers notched escapes in the first seven minutes, the match went to sudden victory deadlocked at 1-apiece. With a little more than a minute remaining in the extra period, Caffey utilized expert shot defense and published the match-clinching takedown with a go-behind move that closed out the 3-1 result. In the heavyweight bout, Vasbinder returned to the win column with a well-executed 3-0 decision over Kyle Epperly, but the Scarlet Knights were able to hold on to the 16-15 team advantage at the end of the night.
In defeat, Michigan State falls to 7-3 overall this year with an 0-3 mark against dual competition. All three Spartan losses this season came against opponents ranked inside the top-25 according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Rutgers picked up its first Big Ten dual win of the year, climbing to 9-3 overall with a 1-2 ledger in league action.
UP NEXT
No. 20 Michigan State wrestling travels to grapple against the defending National Champion and top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday, Jan. 22, with first whistle slated for 1 p.m. inside Rec Hall. The dual is set for streaming to a worldwide audience via B1G+.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
MICHIGAN STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Roger Chandler
On the team's performance in New Jersey on Friday...
"We knew that was going to be a tough, hard-fought dual. I think we wrestled well in a lot of those matches, but we have to get back to being tough on top like we were in the early part of the year. There were several situations where we could have scored additional takedowns, and we came up short. In most of our matches, our guys were scoring takedowns, and they were being the offensive wrestlers. I give them a lot of credit. They have nothing to hang their heads about. "
WRESTLING MATCH RESULTS
#20 Michigan State 15, #24 Rutgers 16
Jersey Mike's Arena – Piscataway, N.J.
125 | #11 Dean Peterson (RUT) dec. #24 Tristan Lujan (MSU) 6-3 | RUT 3-0
133 | #17 Joe Heilmann (RUT) dec. #16 Rayvon Foley (MSU) 4-3 | RUT 6-0
141 | #17 Joseph Olivieri (RUT) major dec. Jordan Hamdan (MSU) 17-4 | RUT 10-0
149 | Anthony White (RUT) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU) 5-3 | RUT 13-0
157 | #15 Chase Saldate (MSU) dec. Andrew Clark (RUT) 5-0 | RUT 13-3
165 | #25 Caleb Fish (MSU) dec. Connor O'Neill (RUT) 2-0 | RUT 13-6
174 | Jackson Turley (RUT) dec. Ceasar Garza (MSU) 7-2 | RUT 16-6
184 | #15 Layne Malczewski (MSU) major dec. #13 Brian Soldano (RUT) 14-6 | RUT 16-9
(TM Point Deduction on MSU – Loss of Mat Control During 184 Bout)
197 | #14 Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. Billy Janzer (RUT) SV-1, 3-1 | RUT 16-12
285 | Ryan Vasbinder (MSU) dec. Kyle Epperly (RUT) 3-0 | RUT Wins 16-15
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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Braden Stauffenberg | Will To Serve | Spartans All-Access
Tuesday, February 18
Spartans All-Access: Layne Malczewski
Monday, January 22
Spartans All-Access: Mayhem at the Mainstage
Tuesday, December 12
Spartans All-Access: Tristan Lujan
Wednesday, December 21