Searching For A Sparty Surge: Michigan State 2021 Lineup Look
Searching For A Sparty Surge: Michigan State 2021 Lineup Look
A weight-by-weight breakdown of Sparty's wrestling team going into the 2021 NCAA season.
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Michigan State struggled in the loaded Big Ten Conference last season, going 2-7 in duals and placing 10th in the tournament.
However, the Spartans were 8-10 overall, including wins over Wisconsin and Oklahoma which finished a combined 16-13 overall.
Michigan State hopes a lineup featuring a pair of All-Americans, five ranked wrestlers and six NCAA qualifiers will lead to a better Big Ten showing this season.
Here is a closer look:
125: Rayvon Foley
The redshirt junior is back after taking an Olympic redshirt last season and is second in the latest NCAA rankings.
Rayvon Foley is a two-time NCAA qualifier and an All-American in 2018 when he finished seventh. His biggest win in collegiate competition thus far came against two-time Oregon State All-American Ronnie Bresser.
Last month, Foley finished fifth in U23 freestyle (57 kilograms) at the UWW Junior and U23 Nationals. There, he beat Purdue's Devin Schroder, a two-time NCAA qualifier who is ranked sixth. Foley also bested 21st-ranked NCAA qualifier Joe Manchio (Columbia).
Foley owns a 64-17 record and finished sixth in the Big Ten tournament in 2019 and seventh in 2018.
Check out Foley's victory over Penn State's Devin Schnupp in a sold-out Rec Hall:
133: Jordan Hamdan
The redshirt freshman went 18-5 in open competition last season, including a win over Northwestern's Colin Valdiviez. He reached the round of 16 at the 2018 NCAA Championships.
Hamdan was fifth in the 60kg junior Greco-Roman competition at the UWW Junior and U23 Nationals. Along the way, he defeated Nebraska redshirt freshman Nick James, a two-time Nebraska state champion who posted a 181-12 high school record. He was 25-6 in open matches last season.
Hamdan was very decorated prep wrestler, capturing four state titles for Hudson (Michigan) High School and earning the state's Mr. Wrestler award as a senior. His high school record was 207-8, including 101 pins.
141: Matt Santos
The redshirt senior, who collected the team’s Commitment Award last season, is hoping for improvement after going 15-17 last year and 25-33 the past two seasons. He has not placed at the Big Ten Tournament
Santos did upset Pennsylvania’s Doug Zapf last season, an NCAA qualifier who finished the year 30-7 and 20th in the final NCAA season rankings.
Santos also finished seventh in the 63kg Greco-Roman competition at the UWW Junior and U23 Nationals.
149: Peyton Omania
The redshirt freshman finally begins his first season as a starter after taking his redshirt in 2018-19 and an Olympic redshirt last season.
Peyton Omania has nonetheless built a decent resume the past two years, including a bronze medal at the 2019 Greco-Roman World Junior Championships. He also won the 67kg U23 Greco competition at the UWW Junior and U23 Nationals, beating defending champion Benji Peak in the title match.
Omania went 19-6 in open competition in 2018-19 and is a two-time Fargo runner-up.
157: Nathan Atienza
The redshirt junior enters his first season as a full-time starter with a 22-15 career record, including 10-8 last season.
Atienza’s most significant win of last season was an 82-second pin of Lock Haven’s Jonathan Ross, who owns a 39-32 career mark.
165: Jacob Tucker
The redshirt senior is ranked 18th and was an NCAA qualifier last season.
Jacob Tucker defeated three-time NCAA qualifier Zac Carson (Ohio) twice last season and another three-time qualifier (Eric Barone, Illinois), who reached the round of 16 in 2019.
Tucker also notched victories over two-time NCAA qualifier Justin Ruffin (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville) and qualifier Peyton Robb (Nebraska). Robb is ranked 10th and Ruffin 12th at 157.
Tucker boasts a 68-40 career record, including 27-9 last season. He was sixth in the Big Ten Tournament.
174: Drew Hughes
The redshirt senior is ranked 17th and is a three-time NCAA qualifier. Hughes has been a solid performer for the Spartans throughout his career, but would like to regain the form of his true freshman season when he went 29-10 and reached the round of 12 at the NCAA Championships.
Drew Hughes’ biggest career wins have come against Ohio State’s Te’Shan Campbell and Minnesota’s Nick Wanzek.
Campbell was a four-time NCAA qualifier who reached the round of 16 three times. Before transferring to Ohio State, he won an ACC championship at Pittsburgh. Wanzek was a three-time qualifier who made the round of 12 twice.
Hughes owns a 73-36 career record, including 18-11 last season. He has placed seventh in the Big Ten the past two seasons after finishing fifth as a true freshman.
184: Layne Malczewski
The redshirt sophomore is ranked 22nd and took home the program’s Outstanding Freshman award last season after going 25-13, qualifying for the NCAA Championships and placing seventh in the Big Ten.
Among those he beat was four-time NCAA qualifier Joey Gunther (Illinois), who reached the round of 16 twice and was 20th in the final rankings. Layne Malczewski also knocked off Kent State’s Andrew McNally, a two-time NCAA qualifier who is ranked No. 12 at 174 pounds.
Other notable wins came against Lock Haven’s Jared Siegrist, an NCAA qualifier who was 22nd in the final rankings, and Pittsburgh’s Gregg Harvey, a two-time qualifier who is ranked 23rd at 184.
Malczewski was fourth in 86kg freestyle competition at the UWW Junior and U23 National Championships.
197: Cameron Caffey
The redshirt junior collected Michigan State’s Outstanding Wrestler of the Year and Collins-Mikles Leadership awards last season after going 27-7 with nine pins and placing second at the Big Ten tournament. Caffey is also a two-time NCAA qualifier who reached the round of 16 in 2019.
Watch Caffey squeak by Iowa's Abe Assad to make the 2020 Big Ten finals:
Cameron Caffey, currently ranked seventh, was named a first-team 2020 NWCA All-American as well.
He fashioned an impressive victories list last season, including against 2018 All-American and three-time NCAA qualifier Taylor Venz (Nebraska), who is ranked seventh at 184 pounds. Caffey also knocked off two-time qualifier Andrew Morgan (Campbell), ranked sixth at 184.
Another win came against Wisconsin’s Johnny Sebastian, a three-time NCAA qualifier who reached the round of 16 in 2018 and was 14th in the final 184-pound rankings. Caffey also defeated three other qualifiers currently ranked at 184, including Iowa’s Abe Assad (ninth), Illinois’ Zach Braunagel (11th) and Minnesota’s Owen Webster (16th).
Caffey was U23 Greco-Roman 87kg champion at the UWW Junior and U23 National Championships and finished third in freestyle. He was ninth in the Big Ten in 2019.
285: Christian Rebottaro
The redshirt senior owns a 41-40 career record, including 17-16 last season, but hopes his final season will be his finest.
Rebottaro’s biggest career win came against NCAA qualifier Colton McKiernan (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville), who has a 39-21 career mark.