Wrestling Hosts No. 14 Rutgers and No. 1 Penn State This Weekend

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State wrestling team is back in Jenison Field House this weekend with a pair of Big Ten matchups as they host No. 14-ranked Rutgers on Friday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m., and defending 2022-23 National Champions, No. 1-ranked Penn State on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. Both duals will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.

MSU Notes | Rutgers Notes | Penn State Notes | B1G+

Words From Coach Chandler

"Every one of these guys came to Michigan State because they get to compete in the best conference in the country. We told them in the locker room after the Michigan dual, now you got a feel for Big Ten competition. You're going to see that week in and week out for the next seven weeks and we're looking forward to the challenge."

FISHING UP BIG WINS

No. 10-ranked 165-pound senior Caleb Fish defeated Michigan's No. 5-ranked Cameron Amine for the first time in his career. Fish notched his second-straight victory over a Top 10 opponent (defeated Ohio's No. 9-ranked Garrett Thompson in the dual against Ohio). The Eaton Rapids, Michigan, native is a two-time national qualifier and is the highest ranked Spartan in the latest InterMat individual rankings. Fish has started all eight duals and has a perfect 8-0 record.

B1G DEBUTS

· Four Spartans - redshirt sophomore 133-pounder Andy Hampton, redshirt freshman 149-pounder Braden Stauffenberg, redshirt freshman 197-pounder Kael Wisler, and redshirt freshman HWT. Josh Terrill - all made their first Big Ten dual start against Michigan.

· Wisler made his Big Ten dual debut earning his third ranked victory of the season by defeating No. 29-ranked Bobby Striggow in a 5-0 decision.

FOUR IN A ROW

· No. 21-ranked senior 157-pounder Chase Saldate has won four-straight matches that resulted in a fall with three coming in the first period. His seven falls on the year ranks eighth in the country.

· It is the second time in Saldate's career to win four-straight matches via fall. The last time came in 2022 where he began the season 4-0 at the MSU Open.

· The Gilroy, California, native has started 7-0 in dual matches for the first time in his career.

RANKED SPARTANS

The Spartans feature five ranked wrestlers by InterMat: 141-pound redshirt junior Jordan Hamdan at No. 33, Saldate moved up one spot to No. 21, Fish cracked the top-10 entering at No. 10, 184-pound graduate Layne Malczewski slides up to No. 22, and 197-pound redshirt freshman Kael Wisler continues to climb up to No. 29.

Know The Foe: Rutgers

· Rutgers enters the weekend 9-1 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten, and ranked No. 14 in the InterMat poll and No. 13 in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll.

· The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 2-0 weekend where they defeated No. 21-ranked Indiana (30-11) on Jan. 12, and Purdue (26-13) on Jan. 14.

· 174-pounder Jackson Turley was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday.

· Rutgers has six wrestlers ranked by InterMat. Dean Peterson is No. 13 at 125, Dylan Shawver is No. 8 at 133, Mitch Moore is No. 11 at 141, Turley is No. 19 at 174, John Poznanski is No. 9 at 197, and Yaraslau Slavikouski is No. 7 at HWT.

Know The Foe: Penn State

· Penn State enters the week with a perfect 4-0 record, 1-0 in the Big Ten, and ranked No. 1 in both InterMat and NWCA Coaches Poll.

· In their last outing, the Nittany Lions pounced on Indiana on Jan. 14 blanking the Hoosiers, 46-0.

· All 10 of Penn State's projected lineup are nationally ranked with the lowest ranked slotted at No. 14 and four wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their respective weight class.

· The Nittany Lions have won 10 of the last 12 national championships winning each of the last two seasons.