Spartan Wrestlers Defeated by Badgers

The Michigan State wrestling team lost to No. 17 Wisconsin, 34-6, Sunday at Jenison Field House.

The Spartans (4-8, 0-5 Big Ten), were clear underdogs going into the match, and Wisconsin (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) showed why they were the favorites.

The dual started with 125 pound Mitch Rogaliner recording his first career fall in a Big Ten dual by pinning Wisconsin’s Matt Cavallaris. Other than a quick takedown at the start of the match, Rogaliner dictated the flow and never gave his opponent a break, taking a 5-2 lead into the third period. Rogaliner then finished off Cavallaris early in the third.

Rogaliner’s dominating win put the Spartans up 6-0 over the Badgers, but that lead would quickly fade.

The Badgers would record a pin of their own at 133 pounds. Hermilo Esquivel faced No. 10 Ryan Taylor and was pinned before the end of the first period.

It was much of the same after that, but the Spartans fought hard.

The 149 pounds match between Nick Trimble and Rylan Lubeck went into the first sudden-victory session. Escapes were traded by the wrestlers in regulation and Trimble had a few opportunities, but could not convert. Lubeck recorded a quick takedown in the first sudden-victory session and won 3-1.

At 157 pounds, Travis Curley could not match Jarod Donar and lost a 4-0 shutout.

Roger Wildmo had a close match against No. 3 Isaac Jordan at 165, but lost 5-1 after Jordan’s riding time of 4:49 was added on.

John Rizqallah lost a close match to Ricky Robertson at 184 pounds. It seemed as if Rizqallah was in charge, as he had two minutes of riding time going into the final period, but Robertson recorded a near-fall for three points and held on for the victory. Rizqallah did earn a late escape, but there was not enough time to make up the difference and lost 3-1.

At 197, Nick McDiarmid lost to No. 9 Timmy McCall, 5-3. For the heavyweight match, Wisconsin’s third-ranked Connor Medbery recorded a 15-0 technical fall over Chris Nash.

Michigan State takes on the four-time defending NCAA Champion Penn State, Sunday, Feb. 1 at Jenison Field House at 2 p.m.


Luke Robbins is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports

Photo: Hannah McEnroe/Impact Sports