"We really competed hard for seven minutes in each match," said head coach Roger Chandler. "We knew that Lock Haven would be the tougher of duals. The key there was we won the close matches and battled through.
"Any time you look at the dual component of wrestling, you have to get bonus points and pins. Any time you can get a pin that is worth two wins. We have been preaching to look for the bonus points and we stepped up to the challenge."
Michigan State notched three falls in the day's first dual, downing Bloomsburg 31-12. The Spartans started off with six-straight wins before the Huskies notched a team tally. MSU scored 13 takedowns over the 10 bouts to Bloomsburg's four.
After a bus trip to Lock Haven, Pa., the Spartans once again started the match by claiming the opening six bouts. The difference maker in the day's second contest were the close matches going in Michigan State's favor. Three of the first four bouts were decided by decision, including an overtime match at 125 pounds between freshman Mitch Rogaliner and Jake Field, and Nick Trimble coming out with a one-point decision over LHU's Kyle Shoop.
"We talked about starting fast before each dual," Chandler said. "(Austin) Eicher got us started earlier in the day and set tone for the team. There is definitely something to be said for momentum and the mindset it gives everyone else. (Mitch) Rogaliner started the second match with an overtime win and you could feel the energy on the team kick in."
Redshirt junior Javier Gasca maintained his perfect record, moving to 11-0 after a pair of victories on the Keystone State road trip. Gasca's first bout came against Bloomsburg's Grant Bond. He took an early 2-0 lead with a takedown and worked Grant to his back in the second period for a near fall. With riding time, Gasca sealed the match 10-0. In match two, Gasca scored first but found himself trailing late. He connected on a shot in the third to tie it up, but Ronnie Perry escaped. The neutral position was short lived though as Gasca immediately reengaged for a takedown on his way to a 9-7 win.
"It was good for Javier to have a high-level match this early in the season," said Chandler. "It sets him up for the long term for the year. He got in a hole and caught in a cradle, but kept his mind and came back. Javier was on the offensive with the late takedown, which we are preaching."
Redshirt sophomore Austin Eicher, entering the weekend 7-3 on the year and finished third at the Michigan State Open, had the Spartans' first bout of the day. Eicher started the momentum rolling for the Green & White with a pin of Bloomsburg's Matt Noble just 1:30 into the match. He finished the day with a victory against the Bald Eagles' Joe Ghione. Eicher scored a takedown in the first and a reversal in the second. A third takedown after a stall call and riding time gave the Fenton, Michigan, native the 8-0 major decision.
Joining Eicher with falls against the Huskies was freshman Drew Hughes at 165 pounds and redshirt sophomore Matthew Okaiye at 197. Hughes has begun his career in East Lansing in stellar fashion, taking second at the highly-competitive EMU open and winning the 165-pound bracket at the Michigan State Open. Hughes scored an early takedown against Reid Stanley and worked over the remainder of the opening three minutes to earn the pin at 2:53. Okaiye's pin also came in the first period. After Tyler Worthing escaped from the first strike, Okaiye worked him to his back after taking him down to the mat for the second time.
"Drew (Hughes) is a guy we debated over whether we would redshirt or not," Chandler said. "He is ready now and ready to compete to be an all-american and national champ now. He is always looking to score and for the pin. When you have that mindset, you are going to have success."
Hughes had the Spartans' most convincing victory in the night cap at Lock Haven, winning by tech fall, 16-0. He tilted LHU's Jared Siegrist twice for a four-point near fall in the opening period. In the second, Hughes turned Siegrist for a third four-point move and then picked up the tech fall in the third with a two-point near fall.
MSU returns to the mat on December 3 at the Nebraska Quad in Lincoln. Michigan State will start the day with an 11 a.m. bout with the No. 7 Cornhuskers before matching up against RV Princeton and Drexel at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
"I will probably be preaching it all year long, but as a team we need to compete for seven minutes," said Chandler. "You can wrestle for seven, but are you competing for seven. We did a better job of it today, but have to continue to challenge ourselves and put points up. When you do that, good things will happen."
Michigan State 31, Bloomsburg 12 - Play-by-Play
133: Austin Eicher - Michigan State vs. Matt Noble - Bloomsburg
Hand-clutching early resulted in a stalemate 30 seconds into the opening period ... Eicher had a quick takedown after the restart to give him a 2-0 advantage ... Eicher followed with a four-point near fall and then turned it into a fall 90 seconds into the match.
141: Javier Gasca - Michigan State vs. Grant Bond - Bloomsburg
Gasca made a move that converted into a takedown to take a 2-0 lead with 40 seconds left in the first period ... Gasca rode Bond out for the rest of the period and led 2-0 after one ... Bond started on top at start of the second, but Gasca escaped 15 seconds in to extend the lead to 3-0 ... Gasca earned a takedown with 30 seconds left in the period to take a 5-0 advantage ... Gasca earned four back points in the process to take a 9-0 advantage heading to the final period ... Gasca closed out the period on top and won, with the riding time point, 10-0.
149: Nick Trimble - Michigan State vs. Nate Newberry - Bloomsburg
Hand fighting through the first minute resulted in no scoring ... Trimble had Newberry by one leg, tripped him down to the mat, and scored two takedown points to take a 2-0 advantage ... stalemate called with 31 seconds left in the opening period ... after the restart, Trimble tried to turn Newberry for back points but Newberry able to counter ... period ended with Trimble on top and leading, 2-0 ... Trimble started on top to start and Newberry escaped 45 seconds into the period to cut Trimble's lead to 2-1 ... just before going out-of-bounds, Trimble took down Newberry to extend the lead to 4-1 with 20 seconds left in the period ... Trimble rode Newberry out the remainder of the period ... neutral to start the third period ... Trimble dove at the knees and took down Newberry for a 6-1 advantage ... Newberry escaped to cut the lead to 6-2 ... stall point against Newberry gave Trimble a 7-2 lead ... stalemate called with 25 seconds left ... Trimble shot but couldn't connect and settled for an 8-2 decision.
157: Austin Thompson - Michigan State vs. Brendon Colbert - Bloomsburg
Thompson scored a takedown just over a minute into the first period to take a 2-0 advantage ... stall warning issued against Colbert ... Colbert made a move to escape, nearly turning it into a reversal, but cut the lead to 2-1 after one period ... Thompson on top to start the second period ... Colbert got to his feet but slammed back to the mat ... second effort got Colbert an escape and tied the match at 2-2 with 1:10 left in the second period ... Thompson on bottom to start the third and escaped quickly to take a 3-2 advantage ... Colbert with a takedown to take a 4-3 advantage with 90 seconds left in the period as both went out-of-bounds ... Colbert gave Thompson an escape to tie the match at 4-4 ... Colbert tried to make a move but Thompson slipped out and converted into a takedown to take a 6-4 lead on Colbert ... 47 seconds left in the third period … Colbert escaped and dove but was countered by Thompson and the period ended with Thompson winning by decision, 7-5, with riding time.
165: Drew Hughes - Michigan State vs. Reid Stanley - Bloomsburg
Little action in the first 1:20 ... Hughes scored a takedown to take a 2-0 lead with 1:30 left in the opening period ... Hughes went up over a minute of riding time ... ten seconds left and Hughes turned Stanley over on to his back for the fall with seven seconds left in the first.
174: Shane Shadaia - Michigan State vs. Trevor Allard - Bloomsburg
After a scoreless first period, Allard started on the bottom to begin the second period ... Allard escaped to get the first point on the scoreboard with 1:15 left in the middle period ... Shadaia began the third on the bottom ... Shadaia escaped 15 seconds into the third to tie the match at 1-1 ... Shadaia made a move that was countered by Allard, however, Allard was issued a stalling penalty to give Shadaia a 2-1 lead ... Allard loaded up a shot but to no avail and Shadaia wins.
184: Wesley Maskill - Michigan State vs. Kyle Murphy - Bloomsburg
Murphy scored a takedown 40 seconds into the period to take a 2-0 lead ... after an out-of-bounds restart, Maskill earned a reversal to knot the match at 2-2 with 1:45 left in the first period ... Murphy countered and turned the move into a reversal to take a 4-2 advantage after one period ... Maskill started the second period on top ... Murphy escaped to take a 5-2 advantage with 45 seconds left in the middle period ... Murphy was on top to start the third ... Maskill got to his feet with an escape with 45 seconds left in the third period to cut Murphy's lead to 5-3 ... Murphy eliminated the threat of a comeback with a takedown with 20 seconds left in the period ... Murphy rode out Maskill the rest of the way to earn a 7-3 victory.
197: Matthew Okaiye - Michigan State vs. Tyler Worthing - Bloomsburg
Okaiye notched an early takedown to grab a 2-0 lead ... a restart at the center of the mat allowed Worthing to get out quickly and cut the lead to 2-1 ... Okaiye with a move right in front of the table turned it into a takedown ... Okaiye worked Worthing to his back and earned the fall 2:10 into the opening period.
285: Jacob Cooper - Michigan State vs. Bruce Graeber - Bloomsburg
Graeber scored a takedown in the closing seconds of the first period to give him a 2-0 advantage ... Cooper given an unnecessary roughness point as Graeber leads 2-1 after the opening period ... Graeber started on the bottom in the third and escaped early to take a 3-1 advantage ... Cooper with a move and converted a takedown to tie the match at 3-3 ... Graeber worked to his feet and escaped with 15 seconds left ... Cooper responded with a shot at a takedown but Graeber countered the move and rode out the clock with a 4-3 victory.
125: Logan Griffin - Michigan State vs. Willy Girard - Bloomsburg
Griffin scored the first takedown for a 2-0 lead ... Girard turned it into a reversal 12 seconds later to tie the match at 2-2 before Griffin responded with a reversal of his own 22 seconds later to regain a two-point lead, 4-2 ... technical violation point was given to Griffin to extend the lead to 5-2 … Girard on bottom to start the second ... Girard escaped early and put Griffin in trouble ... Griffin went on to his back and Girard worked his shoulders to the mat for the fall just 25 seconds into the second period.
Michigan State 24, Lock Haven 12 - Play-by-Play
125: Mitch Rogaliner - Michigan State vs. Jake Field - Lock Haven
Both wrestlers notched takedowns in the first period, but Rogaliner led 3-2 after the opening minutes … Rogaliner scored an escape in the second to go up 4-2 to head to the third … a Field takedown forced overtime … Rogaliner scored mat points in OT on a four-point move to win the decision 8-5.
133: Austin Eicher - Michigan State vs. Joe Ghione - Lock Haven
Eicher earned over a minute of riding time in the first period after taking Ghione to the mat on a takedown … Eicher started on bottom in the second and reversed Ghione for a 4-0 lead … the third period started from neutral after Eicher rode out Ghione in the second … Ghione was penalized with a stall call to give Eicher a 5-0 edge … Eicher earned a takedown late in the period to earn a major decision, 8-0.
141: Javier Gasca - Michigan State vs. Ronnie Perry - Lock Haven
Both wrestlers were close to a takedown in the opening period but it was Gasca that was able to score the two points for an early advantage … Perry escaped shortly after … Perry wrestled Gasca near the out of bounds line and worked to takedown for a 3-2 edge … Gasca tied the score at three immediately with an escape after the restart … Gasca started on bottom in the second … Perry turned Gasca trying to escape and got Gasca to his back for two points … Gasca escaped to make the deficit 5-4 before the end of the second … Gasca began on top in the third … Perry escaped after about 25 seconds beneath … Gasca shot and connect right away to tie the bout … Gasca rode out to get the riding time point in the final minute of the third … Perry escaped with eight second left, but Gasca reengaged for a takedown and win 9-7.
149: Nick Trimble - Michigan State vs. Kyle Shoop - Lock Haven
Trimble jumped out top early with a takedown in the first period … Shoop escaped moments later … in the final minute of the period, Trimble pushed the lead to 4-2 with another takedown, but Shoop earned a second escape … Shoop opened the second on top … Shoop rode out the period, closely putting Trimble to his back but was unable to get a count … Trimble moved to the bottom for the third and was hit with a stall warning … despite four minutes of ride time for Shoop, Trimble held on for a 4-3 decision.
157: Austin Thompson - Michigan State vs. Kyle Hammond - Lock Haven
Thompson wrestled Hammond to the mat for a takedown in the first … He rode Hammond for a few seconds before giving up the escape … Thompson just missed on a shot late in the period but held a 2-1 advantage going to the second … Thompson began the middle period on top but could not hold Hammond down for long … Heading into the third at 2-2, Hammond lifted Thompson and threw him down before surrendering an escape … Thompson went behind with 45 seconds to go to gain position for the takedown and go up 5-2 … Thompson earned a near fall off the restart and won 8-2.
165: Drew Hughes - Michigan State vs. Jared Siegrist - Lock Haven
Siegrist had the first strike but couldn't grab full control of Hughes … Hughes worked and hooked a leg over to gain position for a takedown … Hughes wrestled Siegrist to his hip and eventual back and earned four mat points, nearly earning a fall … Hughes was able to turn Siegrist once again for another four points to make it 10-0 after the opening period … Hughes started on top in the second … worked for another four mat points with riding time to nearly three minutes up 14-0 … Siegrist was hit with a stall warning and gave up more mat points to give Hughes the technical fall, 16-0.
174: Shane Shadaia - Michigan State vs. Tyler Wood - Lock Haven
Shadaia came in on a low single but was able to fully connect the shot … Wood earned the first takedown of the bout and rode Shadaia out for the period … Shadaia was given a stall call … Wood finished with nearly two minutes of ride time and started down in the second period … Shadaia gave up the escape early into the period … Wood was hit with a second stall call to make it 3-1 in his favor still … Wood flattened Shadaia out to earn another takedown and win the decision, 6-1.
184: Shwan Shadaia - Michigan State vs. Corey Hazel - Lock Haven
Hazel gave up a stall warning after stepping out as Shadaia nearly connected on a takedown … Hazel got in on a single leg to bring Shadaia to the mat … Shadaia escaped late in the first after 13 seconds on the bottom … Shadaia began on the bottom in the second and escaped to even the bout at 2-2 … Shadaia scored a pair of takedowns in the period to build a 6-3 lead late in the second … Hazel was able to reverse the position for two points … Shadaia began the third on top … Hazel escaped to even the score with riding time a non-factor … in overtime, Shadaia got Hazel into a headlock and takedown on the edge for an 8-6 decision.
197: Matthew Okaiye - Michigan State vs. Tristan Sponseller
Sponseller took Okaiye to the matt immediately for a takedown and then was able to tilt him for two mat points … Sponseller wrestled Okaiye back to his shoulder again for a four-point near fall for an 8-0 lead at the end of the first … Okaiye finished on a takedown in the second to cut into the deficit but let Sponseller go off a restart … Sponseller shot quickly to take down Okaiye once again … Okaiye started on bottom in the final period … Okaiye was hit with a stall penalty late … Sponseller won with a major decision 13-2.
285: Jacob Cooper - Michigan State vs. Thomas Haines - Lock Haven
Scoreless opening period … Haines started down in the second … Haines escaped on a second effort to take a 1-0 lead … Haines finished on a takedown and quickly turned Cooper to his back for a tilt for four mat points … Haines brought Cooper to the mat once again late in the bout and forced a stall from Cooper … Cooper was hit with a second stall penalty before being turned for another four-point near fall … Finished as a technical fall, 15-0.
Michigan State 31, Bloomsburg 12
133: #20/20/20 Austin Eicher (MSU) fall Matt Noble (BU) (1:30)
141: #9/14/20 Javier Gasca (MSU) major dec. Grant Bond (BU) (10-0)
149: Nicholas Trimble (MSU) dec. Nate Newberry (BU) (8-2)
157: Austin Thompson (MSU) dec. Brendon Colbert (BU) (7-5)
165: Drew Hughes (MSU) fall Reid Stanley (BU) (2:53)
174: Shane Shadaia (MSU) dec. Trevor Allard (BU) (2-1)
184: Kyle Murphy (BU) dec Wesley Maskill (MSU) (7-3)
197: Matthew Okaiye (MSU) fall Tyler Worthing (BU) (2:10)
285: Bruce Graeber (BU) dec. Jacob Cooper (MSU) (4-3)
125: Willy Girard (BU) fall Logan Griffin (MSU) (3:25)
Michigan State 24, Lock Haven 12
125: Mitch Rogaliner (MSU) dec. Jake Field (LHU) (8-5 (OT))
133: Austin Eicher (MSU) major dec. Joe Ghione (LHU) (8-0)
141: Javier Gasca (MSU) dec. Ronnie Perry (LHU) (9-7)
149: Nick Trimble (MSU) dec. Kyle Shoop (LHU) (4-3)
157: Austin Thompson (MSU) dec. Kyle Hammond (LHU) (8-2)
165: Drew Hughes (MSU) tech fall Jared Siegrist (LHU) (16-0 (4:30))
174: Tyler Wood (LHU) dec. Shane Shadaia (MSU) (6-1)
184: Shwan Shadaia (MSU) dec. Corey Hazel (LHU) (8-6 (OT))
197: Tristan Sponseller (LHU) major dec. Matthew Okaiye (MSU) (13-2)
285: Thomas Haines (LHU) tech fall Jacob Cooper (MSU) (15-0 (7:00))
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