Wrestlers prepare for inaugural Spartan Duals
Senior Franklin Gomez attempts to take down his opponent from West Virginia, Colin Johnston, in their 133-pound weight class match during Saturday’s meet at Jenison Field House. Gomez defeated Johnston 12-4 in a major decision and the Spartans defeated the Mountaineers 24-9.
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Stanford, Rutgers and Northern Illinois will travel a combined 3,000 miles to East Lansing for Saturday’s inaugural Spartan Duals event as they prepare for a rare nonconference matchup against MSU.
But despite the distance traveled and unfamiliarity of their opponents, the Spartans are focusing squarely on their own performance and putting forth a good showing as the Big Ten season nears.
They’re all young teams and talented like we are, and there should be a lot of good matches,” 141-pound freshman Dan Osterman said. “Personally I try not to think about my opponent, and I just try to focus about what I can do in the match, and I think it’s helped a lot.”
By defeating West Virginia 24-9 last weekend, MSU began perhaps the toughest month of its schedule with a solid start. The Spartans went 3-0 against ranked West Virginia wrestlers and showed promise as they prepare for the Big Ten and several top-tier opponents.
In the next month, MSU will wrestle five of the country’s top 15 teams as the Big Ten season kicks into gear.
To improve upon its 4-1 record and collect a series of wins before Big Ten play, MSU will look for contributions early in the lineup from wrestlers like Osterman and defending national champ, 133-pound senior Franklin Gomez, the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the 133-pound class, who sports a 9-0 record and has leveled the competition thus far.
Osterman will try to repeat his performance from last weekend, in which he defeated West Virginia’s No. 11 Brandon Rader in a thrilling match that extended the Spartans’ early lead against the Mountaineers to 7-3.
Saturday’s duals will be the second of three consecutive home weekends for MSU, which seeks to benefit from the partisan crowd and more comfortable workout opportunities before the match.
“Here we have facilities readily available, and making weight and weighing in is a lot easier,” sophomore David Cheza said. “When you’re traveling … it makes it harder when you get there to be ready and motivated to start your workout.”
The first set of matches begins at 11 a.m., with the Spartans set to face off against Stanford. Eastern Michigan and Findlay also will take part in the event, although MSU will not wrestle those schools.
The Spartans’ second match will start around 1 p.m. against Rutgers, with the final match expected to begin at 3 p.m. between MSU and Northern Illinois. The action is expected to finish around 5 p.m.
MSU has won its last two matches and hasn’t lost a dual meet since Nov. 22 against Northern Iowa. Nevertheless, this weekend’s opponents have fared well against the Big Ten this season, with Northern Illinois and Stanford scoring key victories against Big Ten adversaries. The Cardinal also defeated Northern Iowa earlier this season.
“All three of those teams are new on our schedule — we have not seen them before,” head coach Tom Minkel said Monday at his weekly press conference.
“It was an opportunity for us to bring in some teams that we don’t normally see … (the opponents) get an opportunity to wrestle three duals and make the trip a little more viable for them.”
MSU (4-1)
Key Wins: West Virginia
Top wrestlers: No. 1 133-pound senior Franklin Gomez (9-0), No. 13 149-pound sophomore David Cheza (12-7)
Stanford (6-3)
Key Wins: Purdue, Northwestern, Northern Iowa
Top wrestler: 165-pound sophomore Nick Amuchastegui (8-0)
Rutgers ( 7-2)
Key Wins: Army
Top wrestler: 133-pounder Billy Ashnault (13-1)
Northern Illinois (6-3)
Key Wins: Northwestern
Top wrestler: 133-pound junior Tristen DeShazer
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