Saldate Remains Unbeaten in B1G Action, No. 20 Spartans Fall at No. 1 Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 20 Michigan State wrestling saw continued success at 157 pounds from No. 15 Chase Saldate, but the Spartans fell to the defending National Champion and top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions by a 34-6 score in dual action on Sunday inside Rec Hall.

Saldate, a junior from Gilroy, California, notched his fifth-straight win and fourth consecutive in Big Ten Conference action, downing Penn State junior Terrell Barraclough by decision in 6-2 fashion. The Spartan star remains unbeaten against Nittany Lions in his collegiate career, boasting a 3-0 record against individuals from Penn State including two wins over Barraclough. MSU's captain and season-long starter at 157 scored two decisions against NCAA All-Americans a week ago and followed that performance with two more B1G decisions this week.

Despite a valiant effort in the first bout of the afternoon from No. 24 Tristan Lujan, the Nittany Lions were able to notch an early decision with a 3-1 win in sudden victory from Gary Steen to put Penn State ahead 3-0. Top-ranked 133-pounder Roman Bravo-Young put his ranking on full display in the second bout of the day, winning by fall over 16th-ranked Rayvon Foley at the 6:25 mark of the match. Penn State's success continued with a 7-1 decision at 141 pounds, as fourth-ranked Beau Bartlett defeated Spartan redshirt junior Jordan Hamdan.

MSU freshman Braden Stauffenberg made his collegiate dual match debut on one of the sport's biggest stages, but the highly touted Nittany Lion redshirt freshman and 14th-ranked Shayne Van Ness booked the second PSU pin of the day with a 5:44 result. Penn State took an 18-0 lead into the battle for 157 pounds, with No. 15 Saldate facing off against Barraclough. The Nittany Lion took a 2-1 lead into the second period and maintained his advantage on the scoreboard into the third despite allowing over a minute of riding time in the middle two minutes. Saldate booked an escape in the third, and with only 11 seconds remaining, notched a thrilling takedown in addition to a two-point near fall to book his fourth straight Big Ten win by way of a 6-2 decision.

The Nittany Lions returned to work with a 3-1 win in sudden victory at 165 pounds, as No. 16 Alex Facundo defeated 25th-ranked Caleb Fish to give PSU a 26-3 lead. Penn State saw continued success at 174, with top-ranked Carter Starocci defeating Spartan freshman Ceasar Garza in a 19-4 technical fall at the 6:39 mark of the match. At 184, No. 15 Layne Malczewski booked his second Big Ten win of the weekend, defeating Donovon Ball in a dominant 6-0 showing that included a significant riding time advantage. Malczewski climbed to 17-3 overall following his decision on Sunday, rising to 9-2 in dual action with 37 dual points scored this year, the second-most on the team.

Penn State closed the night out with wins at 197 and 285, with fourth-ranked Max Dean defeating No. 14 Cameron Caffey in a 4-0 result just before top-ranked Greg Kerkvliet defeated Ryan Vasbinder by 19-4 technical fall, finalizing the 34-6 team win for the Nittany Lions.

The Nittany Lions climb to 10-0 overall and boast an unbeaten 3-0 record against Big Ten Conference opponents following a dominant 30-8 performance against No. 3 Michigan inside the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday night. In defeat, the Spartans fall to 7-4 overall with an 0-4 B1G ledger.

UP NEXT
No. 20 Michigan State wrestling returns home to the Banks of the Red Cedar later this week, as the Green & White get set to host another B1G dual against Maryland inside Jenison Field House on Friday, Jan. 27. First whistle is slated for 6:30 p.m., with the dual set for streaming worldwide via B1G+

WRESTLING MATCH RESULTS
#20 Michigan State 6, #1 Penn State 34
Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125 | Gary Steen (PSU) dec. Tristan Lujan (MSU) SV-1, 3-1 | PSU 3-0
133 | #1 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) fall over #16 Rayvon Foley (MSU) 6:25 | PSU 9-0
141 | #4 Beau Bartlett (PSU) dec. Jordan Hamdan (MSU) 7-1 | PSU 12-0
149 | #14 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) fall over Braden Stauffenberg (MSU) 5:44 | PSU 18-0
157 | #15 Chase Saldate (MSU) dec. Terrel Barraclough (PSU) 6-2 | PSU 18-3
165 | #16 Alex Facundo (PSU) dec. #25 Caleb Fish (MSU) SV-1, 3-1 | PSU 21-3
174 | #1 Carter Starocci (PSU) tech. fall over Ceasar Garza (MSU) 19-4, 6:39 | PSU 26-3
184 | #15 Layne Malczewski (MSU) dec. Donovon Ball (PSU) 6-0 | PSU 26-6
197 | #4 Max Dean (PSU) dec. #14 Cameron Caffey (MSU) 4-0 | PSU 29-6
285 | #1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) tech. fall over Ryan Vasbinder (MSU) 19-4, 4:14 | PSU Wins 34-6

EXTRA 165 | Brian Borden (PSU) dec. Miles Hoey (MSU) 7-2

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 Remains Unbeaten in B1G Action, No. 20 Spartans Fall at No. 1 Penn State

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Caffey

Caleb Fish

Rayvon Foley

Ceasar Garza

Jordan Hamdan

Miles Hoey

Tristan Lujan

Layne Malczewski

Chase Saldate

Braden Stauffenberg

Ryan Vasbinder