MSU drops home finale to Hoosiers 24-15

---

Tweet

In the final home match of his career, Franklin Gomez wasted no time in securing an advantage and pinning Indiana’s Matt Ortega for a six-point fall.

The No. 4-ranked 133-pound senior had a 6-2 edge in the first period before tying up his opponent in his last match at Jenison Field House. He left with a chorus of cheers. The defending national champion improved to 20-1 on the year, with 15 of those victories coming as falls, technical falls or major decisions, and will go for his third straight Big Ten title on March 6-7.

“I definitely feel a little emotional,” Gomez said. “Being a Spartan is a privilege, but I will move on to different goals.”

As a team, the Spartans fell 24-15 against No. 13 Indiana and completed a rigorous Big Ten schedule that included seven ranked opponents during an eight-game conference season.

MSU finished 2-6, but like its effort Sunday, the team fought hard and came close to pulling off a few upsets.

In addition to Gomez, 141-pound freshman Dan Osterman, No. 11-ranked 149-pound sophomore David Cheza and 174-pound sophomore Ian Hinton also picked up victories.

Osterman provided excitement during his 8-4 victory against Indiana’s Danny Monaco when he was in a tight match early, then responded with a couple takedowns to secure the victory and put MSU ahead by three points.

Cheza followed with a takedown and reversal to climb ahead to a 4-0 lead against Indiana’s Matt Coughlin, then shut down his opponent for a 5-0 victory that put the Spartans on top, 12-6.

Following two Hoosiers victories, Hinton put the Spartans back on top when he recorded a reversal against Indiana’s Nick Avery with 15 seconds remaining in the match to win 4-1.

However, the Hoosiers responded by winning the last three weight classes, and denying the Spartans’ bid to send their seniors out with a win.

The Spartans’ four seniors and redshirt junior Eric Anderson were among those recognized before the game for their contributions to the program.

“They bring a lot of maturity to the team, and we’re definitely going to miss them,” Hinton said.

“They’ve been there and have been through it, but we have some young guys who can step up.”

The Spartans’ four seniors are Gomez, 165-pounder Kyle Bounds, 184-pounder Nick Palmieri and heavyweight Alan O’Donnell.

The Hoosiers, who improved to 16-3 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten, featured five ranked wrestlers and two with undefeated marks. All five ranked Indiana wrestlers picked up victories, with four of them earning major decisions or falls.

Junior Anthony Jones Jr. of the 157-pound class lifted Indiana’s No. 8 Kurt Kinser and threw him to the mat for an early takedown, but saw a 3-3 tie slip away at the end as the Indiana junior earned the victory.

The Spartans stand at 8-8-1 overall after facing ranked opponents in eight of their last nine matches. Of those nine matches, six were against opponents ranked in the top 15. MSU’s two victories during the stretch were against Michigan and No. 23 Purdue.

“I’m kind of glad it’s behind us,” head coach Tom Minkel said of the Big Ten stretch.

“We’ve had some injuries and had to face a brutal schedule, but our kids are doing well.”

The wrestlers will be off this week before competing in the Big Ten Championships.

---