EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State wrestling continues its 2024-25 campaign on the road this weekend traveling to Athens, Ohio for a 1:00 p.m. dual at Ohio University on Sunday, November 17. Sunday's dual will be streamed on ESPN+ ($).
"Ohio is a strong program with a number of ranked guys in their lineup that will be a great early season test for our team," said Michigan State head wrestling coach Roger Chandler. "They're a well coached team that wrestles hard in every position. Our guys will need to be ready to wrestle hard for all seven minutes."

The First Whistle
This is the second consecutive season that MSU has met Ohio for a dual, with MSU winning 20-11 on January 6, 2024. Previously the teams hadn't met since 2015 when Ohio won 34-3. MSU is 11-3-1 all-time against Ohio dating back to 1926-27 when the Spartans won 17-10. MSU has won 23 straight non-conference duals dating back to 2/21/20 at Central Michigan (L, 21-15).

Michigan State opened its dual season with a 20-12 victory over American University as redshirt freshman Remy Cotton secured the dual with a tech fall victory at 197 pounds. The Spartans followed up with strong performances at the MSU Open in week two where they finished with nine placewinners overall and one champion redshirt freshman Caleb Weiand, who took first in the 125-pound freshman/sophomore division.

MSU will be one of the younger teams in the B1G this season, with 10 wrestlers in this week's probables listed as a redshirt sophomore or younger.

Michigan State returns one NCAA qualifier and five other wrestlers that started in 10 or more duals for the Spartans last season. Redshirt senior Tristan Lujan is MSU's returning NCAA qualifer and is joined by redshirt junior Andy Hampton, redshirt sophomore Braden Stauffenberg, redshirt senior DJ Shannon, redshirt sophomore Kael Wisler and redshirt sophomore Josh Terrill as a returning starter. Returning to the lineup is redshirt sophomore Cesar Garza at 174 pounds, who started in 10 duals as a true freshman in 2022-23 before redshirting during the 2023-24 campaign.



First Look: Ohio
Ohio started its season 1-0 with a dual victory over Wisconsin on Nov. 1, 25-14 in the Wisconsin wrestling showcase. The Bobcats were in attendance at the MSU Open last weekend where Jeremy Olszko won the 174 pound freshman/sophomore bracket and Peyten Kellar won the open 157 pound division. Jordan Greer took second at heavyweight and Garrett Thompson placed second at 174.

All three of Kellar, Greer and Thompson were NCAA qualifiers in 2024. Kellar is a two-time NCAA qualifier and took 5th at the championships last season to earn All-American status. Kellar is also slated to participate at the 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic held at Penn State at 7 PM on Saturday, November 16th where he'll wrestle Penn State's Tyler Kasak.

At the MSU Open last weekend, Kellar took out ranked opponents in Chase Saldate (Michigan) and Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) en route to the title.


Last Meeting - Jan. 6, 2024 in East Lansing
Michigan State 30, Ohio 11
125 | Tristan Lujan (MSU) dec. Ryan Meek (OU) 8-3 | MSU 3-0
133 | Mason Brugh (OU) SV-1 Andy Hampton (MSU) 5-2 | Tied 3-3
141 | Jordan Hamdan (MSU) major dec. Aidan Waszak (OU) 12-4 | MSU 7-3
149 | Derek Raike (OU) major dec. Braden Stauffenberg (MSU) 11-3 | Tied 7-7
157 | Chase Saldate (MSU) fall over Dan Segura (OU) 2:33 | MSU 13-7
165 | Caleb Fish (MSU) dec. Garrett Thompson (OU) 7-1 | MSU 16-7
174 | Sal Perrine (OU) major dec. Marty Larkin (MSU) 15-2 | MSU 16-11
184 | Layne Malczewski (MSU) major dec. Zayne Lehman (OU) 8-0 | MSU 20-11
197 | Kael Wisler (MSU) major dec. Austin Starr (OU) 14-3 | MSU 24-11
285 | Josh Terrill (MSU) fall over Jordan Greer (OU) 6:05 | MSU 30-11

MSU Open Wrap Up
Michigan State had three finalists and nine total placewinners at the 2024 MSU Open, which included two wrestlers that battled back for a third-place finish. Weiand was the Spartans lone champion of the day, but was joined as a finalist by redshirt freshman Jack Conley (157) and freshman Cory Thomas (184). Both placed second in their respective freshman/sophomore brackets.

Freshman Mason Stewart fell in the semifinals of the 157-pound freshman/sophomore bracket and later placed fourth. Cotton and redshirt junior Luke Daly took third, with Daly placing in the 184 pound open bracket. Redshirt sophomore Kael Wisler was defeated by Cotton for third at 197 to take fourth. Redshirt sophomore Ceasar Garza (174) and redshirt freshman Max Vanadia (HVY) took fifth.

Remy In The Rankings
Redshirt freshman Remy Cotton worked his way into the rankings this week after a 5-1 start to his season. Cotton ranks #27 in the FloWrestling rankings and is #29 on InterMat as the lone ranked Spartan competitor.

Cotton wrestled back to place third at the MSU Open last weekend, winning two matches by bonus with a pin of Kent State's Blake Schaffer (1:22) and a major decision over Michigan's Hayden Walters (12-3). Cotton earned his first career dual victory in MSU's season opener at American with a tech fall over Liam Volk-Klos (21-6).

Up Next
Michigan State travels to the Black Knight Invitational next weekend in West Point, N.Y. hosted by Army University. The Spartans took 4th at the invite last season where Kael Wisler claimed the individual title at 197 pounds.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Great Lake Regional Championships
Date: Friday, Nov. 15
Time: Women's 6k Race - 11 a.m.
Men's 8k Race - 12 p.m.
All time Eastern
Location: Silver Creek Metro Park (Norton, Ohio)

EAST LANSING, MICH. - Michigan State's cross country teams will travel to Norton, Ohio for the 2024 Great Lakes Regional Championships on Friday, Nov. 15, hosted by the Mid-American Conference.

The women's 6k race will begin at 11 a.m. ET, while the men's 10k race will start at 12 p.m. ET. The race will take place at Silver Creek Metro Park, which is the second oldest park district in Ohio. There is no cost for parking.

The top-2 finishers at each of the nine regional races taking place Friday will be granted a bid. Thirteen other teams will be assessed for the remaining at-large bids which will be announced in the selection show Saturday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.

The Spartan women finished sixth in the Big Ten Championships in Champaign, Illinois on Nov. 1. Rachel Forsyth finished fourth with a stunning time of 19:26.2. It was the best time for a Spartan in a 6k Big Ten Championship, just besting All-American Leah O'Connor, who ran a 19:26.3 to win the 2014 title. By finishing fourth, the freshman earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. She was later named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

The Ann Arbor native was the first Spartan to win the award since Kaitlyn Hynes in 2021 and Maggie Farrell in 2017. She is only the sixth Michigan State woman to be named the top Big Ten rookie in program history.

In the men's 8k race, Michigan State finished fourth. All five of the Michigan State scorers recorded new personal-best times. For the second-straight season, Andrew Nolan took home first-team All-B1G honors. This season, he finished eighth with a time of 22:59.3, which was a new personal best. Riley Hough crossed the line in 23:08.4, which was good for 18th. For his efforts, Hough was named second-team All-Big Ten.

Last season, the women took third place in the Great Lake Regionals, while the men were fifth. Last year was the second time in the last three years that seven Spartans between both teams claimed the All-Region honors and the 13th time in the last 15 seasons with six plus runners earned the accolade.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – It's a split weekend for Michigan State volleyball who is set to host the annual Battle at Breslin against Michigan on Friday, November 15 at 6 PM before hitting the road to face Iowa at 3 PM ET on Sunday, November 17.

Both matches will be streamed live on B1G+. Fans can tune into John Kreger's call of the action on MSUSpartans.com or via the Michigan State Athletics app for Friday night's match.

Michigan State hockey is set to take the ice at 7 PM on Friday night, so be aware of the parking layout below.

SERIES HISTORY
​

Michigan
- Michigan State is 56-51-1 all-time against Michigan and is 36-17 when facing the Wolverines in East Lansing.
- MSU swept the Wolverines last season, but dropped the first meeting of the 2024 season in Ann Arbor.
- The Spartans were defeated 3-0 at Michigan on Sept. 27, 2024.

Iowa
- Michigan State is 54-29 all-time against Iowa and is 24-14 when facing the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
- MSU has won two straight over Iowa, winning 3-1 in Iowa City and 3-0 in East Lansing last season. The series is 5-5 over the last 10 meetings.
- In the last meeting, MSU got 16 kills from Taylah Holdem as the Spartans hit .400 for the match. Holdem hit .419 (16-3-31) and Amani McArthur hit .778 (8-1-9).

STATE PRIDE ON THE LINE ​

Since 1990, MSU and Michigan have competed for the "State Pride" flag. The Spartans are the current holder of the flag after last season’s sweep of Michigan.
Michigan leads the Spartans in total “State Pride” series wins, 18-14. Michigan State has not retained the flag in back-to-back seasons since 2015.
The school that wins both matches is declared “State Pride” winner. If teams split the matches, the school that wins the greatest number of sets will be declared the “State Pride” winner. If teams split the matches and have won the same number of sets, the school with the most total points is the “State Pride” winner.
There has been only one tie in the series – in 2014, Michigan and Michigan State split the two matches with both teams earning 4-set victories and scoring 197 points.
If Michigan wins a set on Friday, they will be declared "State Pride" winners. If MSU wins in three sets, it must hold Michigan to fewer than 60 points to tie or win the series this season.

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IN THE B1G RANKINGS​

Nalani Iosia is #1 in digs/set in the B1G at 4.46 and ranks #1 in total digs with 410.
Iosia is #1 in B1G only matches with 4.48 digs/set on 233 total digs.
Last week Iosia ranked #2 in digs/set with 4.75 on 38 total digs.
Zuzanna Kulig ranks #3 in the B1G in blocks thus far at 1.44 blocks/set, only behind Purdue's Raven Colvin (1.56) and Minnesota Phoebe Awoleye (1.49).
Kulig's total blocks (127) rank second in the conference behind Colvin's 139 and is tied with Awoleye's 127, and her solo blocks (23) lead the league.
In B1G only matches Kulig ranks #3 in blocks/set with 1.40.
Kulig is #9 in the B1G in overall season hitting at .362 (132-21-276).
Last week, Kulig ranked #7 in service aces with 0.63 per set.
Michigan State led the B1G in digs last week with 131 on 16.38 digs/set. MSU was #3 in service aces per set at 2.00 (16 total).

LAST ONE, BEST ONE​

Fifth-year libero Nalani Iosia saved her best for last, averaging a career-high 4.46 digs per set. Her previous career-high was 4.16 in 2023.
Iosia posted a career-best 34 digs against Ohio State on Nov. 3, the most digs by a B1G libero this season. It's the most digs by an MSU player ever in a four set match and the third-most digs in a match at MSU all time.
If the season ended today, Iosia's 4.46 digs/set would rank No. 6 in the program history book for a single season.
Iosia's 4.20 career digs/set at MSU is good for third all-time in the Green & White.
Last weekend Iosia moved into No. 5 in career digs at MSU and now has 1,360 in a Spartan jersey. Jamye Cox is No. 4 with 1,424 career digs.
Iosia ranks No. 26 in active career dig leaders among all DI players with 1,914.
Iosia is one the most experienced players in DI ranking No. 1 in matches played (145) and No. 14 in sets played (517).
Iosia entered the season ranked second in the B1G in career digs among active players with 1,504 (now 1,876).
Iosia ranked fifth in the B1G last season in digs/set at 4.16.
Iosia was an AVCA All-North Region honorable mention following the conclusion of the 2023 season, the first Spartan to earn a regional honor since 2017 and the first libero since 2014.
Iosia's 483 digs last season ranked No. 8 all-time for a single season at MSU.

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Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Michigan State (4-5 overall, 2-4 in Big Ten play) travels to Champaign to play Illinois (6-3 overall, 3-3 in Big Ten play) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time/1:30 p.m. Central Time, with the game airing live on FS1. Both teams are coming of a bye week, but riding two-game losing streaks.

Ahead of the matchup, Spartans Illustrated spoke with Doug Bucshon of Orange and Blue News — Rivals' home for all things Illinois — to learn more about the Fighting Illini.

What is the current state of the Illinois football program? How is head coach Bret Bielema perceived by the fan base? Why have the Illini struggled on defense? Doug answers these questions and more.

Fresh off of a bye week, Michigan State football is looking to finish the season strong and become bowl-eligible. MSU's rush ends coach Chad Wilt, linebacker Wayne Matthews III, and defensive back Nikai Martinez spoke about the game this Saturday against Illinois and the team's outlook heading into the rest of the season.

Join Jonah and Abby as they react immediately following Michigan State men's basketball's loss versus No. 1 Kansas, as the Spartans laid brick after brick from 3-point range.

Jonah gives a geometry lesson as they go over the cylinder rule in basketball and what it means. MSU football isn't forgotten about as the final stretch of the season is upon us.

Watch:

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From left to right:
DL Mason Nickel
RB Shawn Foster
QB Atticus Carridine
OL Andrew Dennis (transferred to MSU from ILL)
TE Reeves Taylor
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MSU needs to improve drastically in a few key areas, and this Illinois team might be the ideal team to see them materialize. Learn more about it in the 3-2-1 Preview