EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 14 Rutgers (12-3, 2-3) lost at No. 21 Michigan State (8-1, 3-1), 20-17, on Friday in East Lansing. The Scarlet Knights won three of their first four bouts of the night, but the Spartans worked bonus points at 184 and 197 pounds to earn the win in the five-five bout split.
No. 3
Sebastian Rivera (141) continued his bonus streak with his nation-leading 10th tech fall of the season. No. 17
Michael VanBrill (149), No. 27
Dylan Shawver (125),
Connor O'Neill (174) and
Boone McDermott (HWT) all added decisions against MSU. It marked the first win for Michigan State in the all-time series, as RU owned a 5-0-1 advantage before Friday night.
- Shawver opened the dual with Tristan Lujan and landed a takedown at the first-period buzzer for a quick 2-0 lead. Shawver added another takedown in the second en route to a 4-2 win.
- Joseph Olivieri (133) wrestled hard against No. 12 Rayvon Foley, his fourth consecutive ranked opponent since his redshirt was lifted against Wisconsin. Olivieri got in on several shots but was unable to finish in a 1-0 loss to Foley.
- Rivera followed against Jordan Hamdan and scored two takedowns in the first period, added seven points in the second and closed his tech fall with a tilt for the 18-2 tech fall. The win moved Rivera to 17-0 on the year and gave RU an 8-3 advantage.
- VanBrill faced Peyton Omania in a rematch from the 2021 Big Ten Champions, a meeting Omania won by 9-6 decision. VanBrill reversed Omania in the second period and added the riding-time point for the 3-1 win. The decision provided Rutgers with its biggest lead of the night at 11-3.
- Losses at 157 and 165 followed, but O'Neill stepped up big in his match against Nathan Jiminez. Tied 1-1 in the third period, O'Neill landed a takedown in the final period for the 3-1 win, as the Scarlet Knights went up 14-10 with three bouts to go.
- Michigan State was able to collect bonus points in back-to-back upset wins to take control of the dual. No. 5 John Poznanski (184) lost by first-period fall to No. 27 Layne Malczewski, and No. 6 Greg Bulsak (197) suffered a 12-4 major decision to No. 15 Cameron Caffey.
- McDermott closed the match with a 3-1 decision in sudden victory over Brad Wilton, but MSU finished the night with a 20-17 win.
- Rutgers faces No. 3 Michigan on Sunday in Ann Arbor. The dual is slated for a 4 p.m. ET start on Big Ten Plus.
No. 21 Michigan State 20, No. 14 Rutgers 17
125: 27/23/NR
Dylan Shawver (RU) dec. Tristian Lujan (MSU), 4-3; RU leads, 3-0
133: 12/11/11 Rayvon Foley (MSU) dec. 20/22/20
Joseph Olivieri (RU), 1-0; RU tied, 3-0
141: 3/3/3
Sebastian Rivera (RU) TF Jordan Hamdan (MSU) 18-2; RU leads, 8-3
149: 17/14/19
Michael VanBrill (RU) dec. Peyton Omania (MSU) 3-1; RU leads, 11-3
157: 19/HM/20 Chase Saldate (MSU) MD
Al DeSantis (RU), 9-0; RU leads, 11-7
165: Caleb Fish (MSU) dec.
Andrew Clark (RU), 4-0; RU leads, 11-10
174: Connor O'Neill (RU) dec. Nathan Jimenez (MSU), 3-1; RU leads, 14-10
184: 27/21/NR Layne Malczewski (RU) fall 5/5/6
John Poznanski (RU) (2:21); MSU leads, 16-14
197: 15/18/14 Cameron Caffey (MSU) MD 8/12/8
Greg Bulsak (RU), 12-4; MSU leads, 20-14
HWT: Boone McDermott (RU) SV1 Brad Wilton (MSU), 3-1; MSU wins, 20-17
Extra Matches
141: Matt Santos (MSU) dec.
Michael Cetta (RU), 5-2
