Apparently Spartans couldn't wrestle
There isn't much to say about Michigan State's program. The good? They try hard. The bad? Mostly everything else right now. Make no mistake about it: this is a Big Ten wrestling program and they can beat a majority of Division 1 programs, but they have to compete with the top tier of college programs. If nothing else, they have a cool mascot. The 2011 squad for Michigan State was a very young one, which may promise good things to come.
2011 Summary
Michigan State qualified 5 wrestlers for the NCAA tournament. While none of them achieved All American status, none of them graduated either. This could spell a good immediate future for Michigan State.
Name: Dan Osterman (149)
Record: 24 - 11
Status: Junior
Big Ten place: 7th
NCAA place: Round of 32
Notable win(s): none
Season ended when: Two straight losses in the NCAA tournament to Derek Valenti (VA, SV 2-3) and Zac Cibula (Rider, 7-8)
Vs. PSU: Molinaro won 12-5
Name: Sean McMurray (157)
Record: 16 - 15
Status: Sophomore
Big Ten place: 6th
NCAA place: Round of 33
Notable win(s): none
Season ended when: Lost both of his tournament matches to James Fleming (Clarion, 0-5) and Bryan Deutsch (N. Ill, 0-5)
Vs. PSU: Lost to Taylor 21-5
Record: 25 - 13
Status: Junior
Big Ten place: 7th
NCAA place: Round of 24
Notable win(s): none
Season ended when: Had back to back losses to Ben Bennett (CM, 2-16) and Ryan Patrovich (Hofstra 5-9)
Vs. PSU: Lost twice to Ruth 18-6 and 18-5
Record: 23 - 17
Status: Senior
Big Ten place: 4th
NCAA place: Round of 24
Notable win(s): none
Season ended when: Lost to Zack Giesen (Stanford, 1-9) in the second round of wrestlebacks
Vs. PSU: Beat Ruggear twice (5-2, 4-0)
Record: 21 - 14
Status: Junior
Big Ten place: 4th
NCAA place: Round of 24
Notable win(s): Beat Cameron Wade 8-2
Season ended when: Back to back losses by fall to Levi Cooper (ASU) and Kyle Simonson (ISU)
Vs. PSU: Defeated Wade 8-2
None of the aforementioned wrestlers had very good records but they still managed to turn it on at the end of the year and qualify for the NCAA's. This suggests either good growth, good tournament wrestling or good coaching. Most likely it was a combination of growth and coaching. All five of them returning to the 2012 lineup means they will only get better. Furthermore only one of them will graduate in 2012 which gives an even better outlook for the 2013 squad. I wouldn't put any of them down as high favorites for All American, but don't be surprised to see them in the NCAA's again in 2012.
2011 Team Stats
Dual Record: 8 - 9 (1 - 8 in Big Ten)
Big Ten Championship: 11th
NCAA Championship: Tied for 43rd
Midlands: 23rd
Individual Record: 349 - 281
Pins: 48
Tech. Falls: 10
Major Decisions: 47
Vs. PSU: Loss 9 - 30
Recruiting
Michigan State nabbed one top 100 recruit in their 2011 class but he is a good one. Roger Wildmo (#24 - d1 college wrestling) had a high school career record in Michigan of 230 - 2 with 163 pins. He comes in at the same weight as NCAA qualifier Dan Osterman (149lbs) so either he Wildmo will red shirt or one of them will bump a weight. By the look of Osterman, he has room to grow into 157. Wildmo will undoubtedly add talent to a lineup that is in need of it. Expect Osterman to benefit greatly from having Wildmo as a training partner.
For the recruiting class of 2012, MSU has already received a commitment from #65 (Intermat) Freddie Rodriguez who projects as a 125/133lb college wrestler. He is a 3 time MI state champion with a combined record of 135 - 4. Additionally in 2010 he was a FILA Cadet champion in both freestyle and greco-roman, a junior national champion in both freestyle and greco-roman, a FloNationals champion in folkstyle and took 6th at the Super 32 Challenge.
If Michigan State can bring in recruits like Wildmo and Rodriguez with more frequency, they have a good chance of clawing their way up to the middle echelon of the Big Ten. It will be interesting to see what the rest of their 2012 class looks like.
2012 Outlook
Michigan State had a horrendous season last year, finishing last in the Big Ten and also the lowest of any Big Ten team at the NCAA tournament. Despite qualifying 5 wrestlers for the NCAA, none of them placed higher than 4th at the Big Ten's and the closest any of them came to being All American was the Round of 24. Their only dual win in the Big Ten came against an injury plagued Illinois. The good news on all of this is they can only go up from here.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the 2012 season for MSU is that they only graduated one starter, who was the weakest link on the squad going 0-16 in 2011. In fact out of 42 wrestlers on the squad in 2011, only 3 of them were seniors. Expect this young team that is developing to pick up more than one win in the conference.
Michigan State will start the 2012 season with two open tournaments before starting their dual schedule. This season they will pass on both the Sprawl and Brawl duals and the Midlands, instead heading to the Reno Tournament of Champions for their Christmas tournament. It's a bit unusual that a team as far East as MSU would head to the Reno tournament instead of the Midlands or the Southern Scuffle, but I like it. This will give the Michigan State wrestlers a chance to face a ton of Western wrestlers that they would never see, and avoid them having repeat season bouts against a lot of Big Ten opponents. Also attracting Big Ten teams to tournaments out West will only help build respect for the Western programs. They are making an interesting trip into PA in early December where they will stop at Lock Haven and wrestler at noon, then drive down the road and wrestler at Bucknell at 7PM. Their other non-conference duals include Eastern Michigan, West Virginia, Edinboro and Central Michigan (tough competition all around). All in all, Michigan State has put together a unique and very challenging schedule, which all points to a coach that wants to take his squad to the next level. Kudos, Michigan State.
On an interesting side note, according to the schedule on the Michigan State site Penn State will be traveling to Michigan to wrestle MSU on January 8th, however they WILL NOT be wrestling in East Lansing.
Jenison Fieldhouse, MSU Campus
Kellog Arena, Battle Creek, MI
Clearly MSU is expecting a big crowd for the Penn State dual, more so than what their fieldhouse can handle. I think this is an excellent example of how much effect Cael coming to Penn State is having on the wrestling nation as a whole. It's great to see universities supporting larger venues for big duals.
All in all don't expect Michigan State to wow you this year, but look for them to be improved over last year. In 2 years this is a team that could easily be sitting under the big dogs of the Big Ten. Maybe it's just me, but I think they have really cool singlets...
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