EAST LANSING, Mich. - Th e Michigan State wrestling team won several close bouts and held off a feisty Purdue squad en route to a 20-13 win on
Sunday afternoon at Jenison Field House. With the win, MSU improved to 8-5-1 and 2-3 in the Big Ten while No. 24 Purdue fell to 10-9 and 1-5
in the conference.
“Purdue is a good team and we had to fi ght hard for the win today, so I was pleased with our eff ort and our kids gave it everything they had,” said
MSU head coach Tom Minkel.
After Purdue’s Cashe Quiroga opened the dual with a 14-4 major decision over MSU’s Brennan Lyon at 125 pounds, the Spartans’ Franklin Gomez
responded for the Green and White with a technical fall. Taking on the Boilermakers’ Matt Fields at 133 pounds, Gomez got a quick takedown and
scored six more near fall points in the fi rst period for the early lead. Th e fourth-ranked Gomez controlled the remainder of the bout with over six
minutes of riding time for the 17-1 win.
With MSU leading 5-4, the Spartans’ Dan Osterman defeated No. 20 Juan Archuleta, 8-5, in a thriller at 141 pounds. Osterman led, 2-1, after the
fi rst period, but in the second, Archuleta fought back with an early escape, followed by a takedown. Osterman got an escape near the end of the period
to cut the defi cit to 4-3 entering the third period. Starting the third in the defensive position, Osterman got an escape to tie the score at four and
then went on the off ensive, getting a reversal and to grab a 6-4 lead. Osterman gave up another escape point before sealing the bout with a takedown
in the fi nal seconds for an 8-5 win.
Th e Spartans’ 12th-ranked David Cheza made it three consecutive wins for MSU as he defeated Purdue’s Nick Bertucci, 8-2, at 149 pounds and
extended the team lead to 11-4. Cheza led just 2-1 entering the third period but after an escape, Cheza got a takedown and near fall and picked up
his 20th win of the season.
Purdue’s Colton Salazar won a tight bout at 157 pounds, holding off MSU’s Anthony Jones Jr. for a 4-3 decision. With the score tied at two at the
start of the third, Jones began in the off ensive position and let Salazar escape to take a 3-2 lead. With less than 20 seconds remaining, Salazar was called
for stalling – tying the match at three. Salazar prevented Jones from scoring in the fi nal seconds and won the match, 4-3, with riding time.
Kyle Bounds gave MSU a 14-7 lead when he defeated Purdue’s Jason Martin at 165 pounds. Bounds got two fi rst-period takedowns and held Martin
to just three escape points en route to the 6-3 decision.
At 174 pounds, the Spartans’ Ian Hinton gave sixth-ranked Luke Manuel a battle but takedown with 12 second remaining in the third period gave
Manuel the win. With the score tied at four in the third, Manual broke the stalemate when Hinton was called for stalling and later got the takedown
for a 7-4 decision - cutting MSU’s lead to 14-10.
Th e closely-contested bouts continued at 184 pounds when MSU’s Curran Jacobs and Purdue’s Nick Corpe went to overtime. After a scoreless fi rst,
Corpe took a 3-0 lead with an escape and takedown before Jacobs fought back to tie it with an escape and takedown of his own. After Corpe got an
escape just before the second period ended, Jacobs picked up an escape early in the third to make the score 4-4. With neither wrestler able to score
anymore points in the third, the bout went to overtime where 36 seconds in, Jacobs took down Corpe for the 6-4 win.
“In overtime there I just gave it every last bit of energy I had into that takedown,” said Jacobs.
In the 197-pound bout, No. 11 Logan Brown defeated Tyler Dickeson, 4-2. Th e score was tied through two periods, but Brown got an escape in the
third and added another riding-time point to make the score 17-13 MSU heading into the fi nd dual.
In the day’s fi nal bout, Alan O’Donnell sealed the win for the Green and White when he defeated Purdue’s Adam Walls, 1-0; giving the Spartans the
20-13 victory.