UM vs. MSU Last Night

[kionga 48]

I attended this meet 4 years ago in East Lansing.  There seemed to be less than 100 fans in attendance - despite what the "official" attendance was listed at.  Michigan State won only 3 matches, scoring 9 team points.  I was brand new to collegiate wrestling, but the Spartan squad did not seem very competitive to me.

Last night was strikingly different in many ways.  The portion of Jenison Fieldhouse in use was largely full - the official attendance of 2229 seemed accurate.  Four years ago most fans were Wolverine supporters.  I think the same held true this year, but the percentage of Spartan fans seemed higher.  MSU has two standouts, Rayvon Foley and Cameron Caffey, who have a great shot at becoming AAs.  They also have some first year starters who look promising in Brad Wilton and Chase Beard.  I am not a fan of Drew Hughes because of his defensive style of wrestling.  The final score, however, was similar to last year;  MSU won only 2 matches, scoring 10 team points.  This is more a reflection of Michigan having a stronger team than four years ago.

Looking at the Spartan roster shows two redshirt seniors and no juniors.  They have a very young team, and if they can replace those seniors with a couple studs, and perhaps upgrade at another weight or two they should be very competitive.

[TobusRex 2,108]

Would be nice to see MSU recover and become competitive again.

[LemonPie 1,368]

Beard has quite the gut on him, yet he's still darn quick for a 285.  Can they please get him on a healthier plan in the offseason?   He was gassed in the 3rd. 

[kionga 48]

In addition to his quickness, I was impressed with his excellent balance.

He seemed quite slippery as well.

[squeek 67]

A few things that stuck out to me

125 Foley is getting better every time I see him

133 Missed the match due to a screw up by the production team, but Micic seems to be healthy again

141 Nice bounce back win for Storr

149 Lamantia looked solid filling in for little Amine

157 Pantaleo has one of the best blast doubles in the country. He just needs to use it more

165 Massa still doesn't look right

174 Big Amine did just enough to avoid this year's head scratching loss. He seems to have one every year

184 Caffy looked good making quick work of Correll.

197 Stiggow did everything he could to lose that match. He does not look like a top 20 (or 25) guy right now.

285 First time I've seen Beard. It doesn't look like he misses to many meals.

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[Michigan wrestling 43]

MSU looks much better than they were a few years ago, but they were terrible under Minkel. They have a couple of holes they need to fill in. Beard did look good against Parris, he moves well for a big guy. He was a 152 160lber in 9th and 10th grade so that probably helps. Hughes is frustrating to watch, not good on this feet and doesn't seem to be getting better. Rayvon Foley should be an all-american this year, Caffey has some work to do this year, maybe a round of 12. They are getting some better recruits coming in next year. They also have a very good 174 Layne Malczewski, not sure where he will fit in next year, but they want him in the lineup next year. 

Edited January 21, 2019 by Michigan wrestling

[Sheerstress 168]

1 hour ago, Michigan wrestling said:

MSU looks much better than they were a few years ago, but they were terrible under Minkel. They have a couple of holes they need to fill in. Beard did look good against Parris, he moves well for a big guy. He was a 152 160lber in 9th and 10th grade so that probably helps. Hughes is frustrating to watch, not good on this feet and doesn't seem to be getting better. Rayvon Foley should be an all-american this year, Caffey has some work to do this year, maybe a round of 12. They are getting some better recruits coming in next year. They also have a very good 174 Layne Malczewski, not sure where he will fit in next year, but they want him in the lineup next year. 

Agree with much of your assessment.  If Beard was a 160 pounder only four years ago, he sure put on a lot between then and now!  

If Foley and Caffey perform up to their expectations, and a few of the others win a few matches at nationals, a top 30 or even a top 20 finish is not out of the question.  It would be great to see the program start to emerge once again.

[silvermedal 210]

Rayvon Foley might be the third best guy at 125 right now.  He looks better all the time.  Caffey has talent but he's not a shoo in to AA.

[DrStrange 89]

MSU looks bad.  Who have they developed?  Beard makes wrestling look like a side show.  Sad.

[10point 15]

State is getting better. if you know anything about wrestling, you can see the improvement in MSU. They have a

ways to go, but are definately headed in the right direction

 

[squeek 67]

This coming Friday

MSU is at Rutgers.
Good chance to see if Sparty is moving out of the basement any time soon.

Michigan travels to tOSU
Really looking forward to this meet. Lots of toss-up type matches



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[Michigan wrestling 43]

The Michigan Ohio State dual should be really good. I think Michigan can win, they need to win at 125, 133, 157, 165, 174 and hwt.  The 157 mat will be huge, Michigan will give up big points at 184 and maybe 197. Mattin needs to be back, as well. 

For MSU its not easy to move up the B10 quickly, it takes time. The top 10 in the B10 are very good programs. They have not had an all-american since 2013. So, having one this year would be great, then continue to improve is important. They have a couple of weights that it seems they are not getting better. Adding depth should help that problem.  

Edited January 22, 2019 by Michigan wrestling

[LemonPie 1,368]

When is Embree expected back?

[Michigan wrestling 43]

19 hours ago, LemonPie said:

When is Embree expected back?

Great question. One of only of couple of weights where they are not deep, with a freshman and now seems injury prone. I thought 184 could be a rd of 12, but now not looking good.