EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State wrestling learned the seeds and opening-round matchups for its five national qualifiers, as the NCAA posted brackets and individual seeding for the 2024 Wrestling Championships on Wednesday night. The Championships will be held from Thursday, March 21, through Saturday, March 23, inside the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
After being added as an at-large bid, senior Caleb Fish enters as the No. 21 seed and is the Spartans' highest individual seed out of the five qualifiers. The Eaton Rapids, Michigan, native will open his third national tournament against a familiar foe, Ohio's Garret Thompson. The two wrestlers faced off earlier in the year in a dual at East Lansing, where Fish bested Thompson with two takedowns and racked up over two minutes of riding time en route to a 7-1 victory.
After placing seventh in last week's Big Ten Championships, graduate 184-pounder Layne Malczewski enters as the second-highest seeded MSU wrestler, slated at No. 23. Malczewski is a veteran in the national tournament, making his fifth appearance. But for the first time in his career, he goes one on one with North Carolina State's No. 10 seed Dylan Fishback in the opening round next Thursday. A native of Macomb, Michigan, Malczewski looks to continue to rise his name into the record books, as last week he earned his 103rd career victory, passing current MSU associate head coach Chris Williams for 20th in program history.
The third Spartan is senior 157-pounder Chase Saldate. After a seventh-place finish at the B1G Championships in College Park, Maryland, Saldate garners the No. 24-seed heading into championship week. In his first contest, Saldate will face Michigan's Will Lewan, in their seventh all-time meeting. The four-time national qualifier is 2-0 overall against Big Ten opponents in the national tournament.
Redshirt senior 141-pounder Jordan Hamdan will enter his second career NCAA Tournament as the No. 28-seed. Hamdan's first round draw is against Anthony Echemendia out of Iowa State. Last week at the Big Ten Championships, Hamdan secured the final automatic bid with a 6-3 victory over Maryland's Kal Miller.
Rounding out the group is redshirt junior Tristan Lujan who makes his national championship debut as the No. 33-seed. Lujan secured his position with a strong day two at the Big Ten Championships with a pair of victories to claim the final allocation spot. Lujan will open the tournament against Brown's Mike Joyce.
Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.
After being added as an at-large bid, senior Caleb Fish enters as the No. 21 seed and is the Spartans' highest individual seed out of the five qualifiers. The Eaton Rapids, Michigan, native will open his third national tournament against a familiar foe, Ohio's Garret Thompson. The two wrestlers faced off earlier in the year in a dual at East Lansing, where Fish bested Thompson with two takedowns and racked up over two minutes of riding time en route to a 7-1 victory.
After placing seventh in last week's Big Ten Championships, graduate 184-pounder Layne Malczewski enters as the second-highest seeded MSU wrestler, slated at No. 23. Malczewski is a veteran in the national tournament, making his fifth appearance. But for the first time in his career, he goes one on one with North Carolina State's No. 10 seed Dylan Fishback in the opening round next Thursday. A native of Macomb, Michigan, Malczewski looks to continue to rise his name into the record books, as last week he earned his 103rd career victory, passing current MSU associate head coach Chris Williams for 20th in program history.
The third Spartan is senior 157-pounder Chase Saldate. After a seventh-place finish at the B1G Championships in College Park, Maryland, Saldate garners the No. 24-seed heading into championship week. In his first contest, Saldate will face Michigan's Will Lewan, in their seventh all-time meeting. The four-time national qualifier is 2-0 overall against Big Ten opponents in the national tournament.
Redshirt senior 141-pounder Jordan Hamdan will enter his second career NCAA Tournament as the No. 28-seed. Hamdan's first round draw is against Anthony Echemendia out of Iowa State. Last week at the Big Ten Championships, Hamdan secured the final automatic bid with a 6-3 victory over Maryland's Kal Miller.
Rounding out the group is redshirt junior Tristan Lujan who makes his national championship debut as the No. 33-seed. Lujan secured his position with a strong day two at the Big Ten Championships with a pair of victories to claim the final allocation spot. Lujan will open the tournament against Brown's Mike Joyce.
Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.
