No. 22 Spartans Return Home Against Maryland, Face No. 6 Ohio State on the Road

EAST LANSING, Mich. (MSU Athletics) - No. 22 Michigan State wrestling returns to Jenison Field House for its first home contest in 14 days, as the Spartans play host to the Maryland Terrapins in a 6:30 p.m. start on Friday, Jan. 27. MSU then hits the road for its fourth road trip in five duals, as the Green & White take the mat against No. 6 Ohio State inside the Covelli Center on Sunday, Jan. 29, with first whistle tabbed for 1 p.m. Both duals are available for streaming via B1G+.

HEAD COACH ROGER CHANDLER SAID…

“After having our last three dual matches on the road, it is going to feel great being back at Jenison with all our fans. We have another opportunity to go out and compete against two very good teams this week. Maryland has been in the top-25 of the NWCA poll and has seen a great deal of improvement this season. Ohio State is a team that will be in the mix for the team trophy this year at the NCAA Championships. Both matches this week will be great challenges for us, and I know our guys will go out and compete at a high level in all ten bouts. Getting a little bit better every time we step out on to the mat is a priority for each and every member of our program right now, especially as we inch closer and closer to the postseason.”

BRIGHT LIGHTS, B1G STAGES

No. 13 Chase Saldate boasts an unblemished 4-0 record in Big Ten dual action this season, starting the campaign off with a resounding 3-1 win in sudden victory over Michigan’s Will Lewan before toppling his second-straight All-American in then-No. 12 Brayton Lee of Minnesota. The Spartan star added two more decisions in B1G action last weekend, downing Andrew Clark of Rutgers by a 5-0 margin before defeating Terrell Barraclough of Penn State in a 6-2 decision. Saldate has already matched his dual win total of 10 from last season. Graduate 197-pounder Cameron Caffey is off to a 3-1 start in Big Ten play, boasting a 14-2 overall record with a 9-2 ledger in dual matches. Redshirt senior Layne Malczewski notched his first two B1G wins of the 2022-23 season, toppling No. 13 Brian Soldano of Rutgers in a resounding 14-6 major decision before besting Penn State’s Donovon Ball in a 6-0 showing.

FIRST LOOK: MARYLAND

Led by fourth-year head coach Alex Clemsen, the Maryland Terrapins return to Big Ten dual action in East Lansing following a 29-11 loss on the road against then-No. 25 Illinois last Sunday. The Terrapins maintain an 8-4 overall record but have lost each of their three Big Ten duals. The Terrapins are led by ranked athletes at multiple positions, with 125-pounder Braxton Brown boasting the nation’s No. 18 ranking, 149-pounder Ethen Miller owning the No. 18 ranking and heavyweight Jaron Smith cracking the InterMat rankings at the No. 25 spot. Michigan State and Maryland get set for the ninth all-time meeting between the two programs. MSU holds a dominant 7-1 lead in the all-time series which dates to the 1968-69 season. Since Maryland joined the Big Ten, MSU leads 5-1. The last meeting inside Jenison Field House resulted in a dominant 42-0 Spartan victory on Jan. 16, 2021. That result remains the most recent shutout for MSU in Big Ten dual action.

FIRST LOOK: OHIO STATE

Under the direction of 18-year head coach Tom Ryan, the sixth-ranked Buckeyes enter the weekend boasting a 9-1 overall record coupled with an unblemished start to Big Ten play with a 3-0 record. The Buckeyes travel to face off against No. 3 Michigan in Ann Arbor on Friday before Sunday’s dual against MSU. OSU is fresh off a dominant road win over Maryland last weekend, downing the Terrapins by a 38-6 margin. Ohio State owns four wins over opponents currently ranked inside the NWCA top 25 and suffered its only loss of the season to No. 15 Northern Iowa by a 19-13 score earlier this year. The Buckeyes are led by six individuals that currently own top-10 rankings at their respective weight classes according to InterMat, including Malik Heinselman (#10 | 125), Jesse Mendez (#9 | 133), Sammy Sasso (#3 | 149), Carson Karchla (#9 | 165), Ethan Smith (#8 | 174) and Kaleb Romero (#5, 184). Michigan State and Ohio State take the mat for the 84th time in an all-time series which dates to the 1922-23 campaign, with the Spartans holding on to a 42-39-2 lead overall.

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