Michigan State University
NCAA Championships
Wrestling Shifts Focus to NCAA Championships in Kansas City
3/18/2024 5:17:00 PM | Wrestling
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Five members of the Michigan State wrestling team gearing up in preparation for the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships which are set to take place Thursday, March 21 through Saturday, March 23 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
HEAD COACH ROGER CHANDLER
"This is the week that every college wrestler point towards at the beginning of the season. They all set goals of becoming All-Americans and NCAA Champions," said head coach Roger Chandler. "Now it's time to step out on the mat, be your best, and wrestle at a championship level. I know all five of our guys who have qualified are very much looking forward to their opportunity and will be ready to go."
MEET THE SPARTANS
The Spartans have five wrestlers competing in the championships for the third time under Chandler. Senior 165-pounder Caleb Fish enters as the No. 21 seed and is the Spartans' highest individual seed out of the five qualifiers. The Eaton Rapids, Michigan, native will open his third national tournament against a familiar foe, Ohio's Garret Thompson. The two wrestlers faced off earlier in the year in a dual at East Lansing, where Fish bested Thompson with two takedowns and racked up over two minutes of riding time en route to a 7-1 victory.
Graduate 184-pounder Layne Malczewski enters as the second-highest seeded MSU wrestler, slated at No. 23. Preparing for his fifth national tournament, he goes one on one with North Carolina State's No. 10 seed Dylan Fishback in the opening round on Thursday.
Senior 157-pounder Chase Saldate will enter his fourth consecutive NCAA Championships as the No. 24 seed, starting out against No. 9-seeded Will Lewan out of Michigan. The Gilroy, California, native is 2-0 overall against Big Ten opponents in the national tournament.
Redshirt senior 141-pounder Jordan Hamdan will enter his second career NCAA Tournament as the No. 28-seed. Hamdan's first round draw is against Anthony Echemendia out of Iowa State.
Rounding out the group is redshirt junior Tristan Lujan who makes his national championship debut as the No. 33-seed. Lujan will start his journey at the NCAA Championships facing off against Brown's No. 32-seed Mike Joyce in the pigtails round, with the winner facing No. 1 seed Braeden Davis from Penn State.
A PAIR OF PODIUM FINISHES
Spartan wrestling saw a pair of wrestlers reach the podium on the final day of the 2024 Big Ten Championships on Sunday, March 10. Saldate and Malczewski each placed seventh in their respective weight classes and clinched an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
In Saldate's seventh-place match, he picked up his 11th fall of the season as he made quick work against No. 9 seed Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern with a first period pin at the 2:05 mark.
Malczewski went head-to-head against Wisconsin's Shane Liegel for the second time this season. The Macomb, Michigan, native edged out Liegel with an 8-2 victory.
SPARTANS IN THE NCAA'S
Under the leadership of head coach Roger Chandler, the Spartans have had 35 NCAA national qualifiers and one All-American (Rayvon Foley, 2019).
WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 21
TIME SESSION COVERAGE
11 a.m. Session 1 ESPNU / ESPN+
6 p.m. Session 2 ESPN / ESPN+
Friday, March 22
TIME SESSION COVERAGE
11 a.m. Session 3 ESPNU / ESPN+
7:00 p.m. Session 4 ESPN / ESPN+
Saturday, March 23
TIME SESSION COVERAGE
10 a.m. Session 5 ESPNU / ESPN+
6:00 p.m. Session 6 ESPN / ESPN+
Players Mentioned
