EAST LANSING – In a showdown of one-loss teams, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights wrestling team came into East Lansing on Friday night to face the Michigan State Spartans. Michigan State was hoping to avoid dropping two straight duels, but it was Rutgers in the end who proved to be too much to handle for MSU, as the Spartans dropped the matchup, 22-13.
Rutgers improved its record to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while Michigan State fell to 7-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
In the first match of the night, MSU’s 125-pound senior Tristan Lijuan (12-7) faced off against Rutgers’ redshirt sophomore Dean Peterson (7-2). Both sides could not get any moves to fall their way and much of the match consisted of tie-ups. It wasn’t until the opening of the second period that Peterson got the escape point, and the rest of the second period finished with no scoring opportunities for either side. Likewise, Lijuan got his point off an escape to open up the third period. After another two minutes, the match would be forced to overtime where Peterson would nail a takedown to get the win by decision and push Rutgers’s lead to 3-0 early.
At the 133-pound level, junior Andy Hampton (4-13) took on junior Dylan Shawver (16-3), and Shawver was having his way throughout this match. With three takedowns in the first period, Shawver had a 9-2 lead heading into the second period. Hampton tallied a few points from escapes, but could not get much going against the talented Shawver, and Shawver took this one by a score of 22-6 by tech fall.
Moving on to the 141-pound class, MSU picked up its first points of the match with a win from redshirt senior Jordan Hamden (14-5) over eleventh-ranked graduate Mitch Moore (10-0). An escape from Moore in the second period and an escape from Hamden in the third had this one knotted up at one as time was running out. With a minute left, Hamden swiftly got the takedown over Moore to cut the deficit for the Spartans.
“I’ve been saying this for the last three or four years,” head coach Roger Chandler said. “Jordan Hamden is the best guy in our room.”
Sophomore Braden Stauffenberg (6-11) got the call at the 149-pound division for the Spartans, going up against redshirt sophomore Michael Cetta (9-4) for Rutgers. A very active first period put Cetta up 3-1 at the end of the first period after a takedown for Cetta and an escape from Stauffenberg. Stauffenberg wrestled with intent for the rest of the match but came up just short after Cetta made it difficult to get the takedown. Cetta took the decision, 4-3.
Senior Chase Saldate (15-3) for MSU had his way with junior Al DeSantis (5-7), grasping a takedown in the early seconds. DeSantis would get back two points quickly, but it was all Saldate from there. After a few escapes and a nasty takedown, Saldate would finish this one off and win by decision, 8-2.
Only down 11-6 in the duel, a win of any kind from senior Caleb Fish (17-4) would get MSU right back in the duel at the 165-pound weight class. Fish opened up the scoring in the second period against redshirt sophomore Anthony White (9-8) with an escape to take the narrow 1-0 lead. White knotted a point on a controversial escape call to tie it at one. With 15 seconds left in the match, Fish is able to secure the four-point near fall and secure the win 5-1.
Redshirt senior DJ Shannon (9-10) for MSU got the nod at the 174-pound division, taking on redshirt junior Jackson Turley (6-2) for Rutgers. This match was scoreless for a while until Turley grappled for a takedown after the Rutgers coaching staff made their case for one for roughly 10 seconds. Shannon grabbed two points right before the second-period buzzer rang, but it would not be enough and Turley took the victory, 4-2.
Graduate Layne Malczewski (5-4) stepped on the mat looking to close the gap on Rutgers’s lead, facing off against sophomore Brian Soldano (10-4). After an early takedown from Soldano, Malczewski carved his way through the rest of the match. A four-point near fall and a takedown propelled Malczewski over Soldano to snag a huge major decision victory, 18-6.
MSU was only down one, 14-13, with two matches to go.
197-pound redshirt freshman Kael Wisler (20-8) looked to take the lead in the duel against senior John Poznanski (10-0). Poznanski showed why he is undefeated on the season, securing multiple takedowns and making it difficult for Wisler to have any scoring opportunities. Poznanski took the match by tech fall, 22-6.
In the final match of the night, heavyweight Josh Terrill (23-7) would need a pin against Rutgers’ Yaraslau Slavikouski (12-0) to tie the duel at 19. After a scoreless first period, Slavikouski tallied a takedown to score the first points of the match, but Terrill would come right back to snatch two points of his own and only trail by one heading into the final period. Slavikouski escaped for one more point, and Terrill couldn’t find a last-minute miracle, losing the match 4-2.
Michigan State fell to Rutgers by a score of 22-13, their second loss in a row after being dominated by Michigan in the previous duel.
“We’re in the gauntlet of our Big Ten schedule,” Chandler said. “This is why you come to Michigan State, this is why you come to the Big Ten. After two duels, we’re relatively healthy, and we have a great opportunity on Sunday to wrestle with the very best.”
Michigan State will host No. 1 Penn State, who have won 49 duels in a row, on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Jenison Fieldhouse.
