Feb. 9, 2012

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Spartan wrestling team travels to face No. 20 Edinboro on Friday, Feb. 10 and will compete in the Edinboro Open on the following day. Michigan State wrapped up its conference schedule last weekend and faces a ranked opponent for the sixth consecutive week.

"We have to understand that we need to wrestle well no matter who we are wrestling," head coach Tom Minkel said. "This is a big dual for them, as it is for us. What we have to do is bring that same intensity and competition level that we had against Ohio State to Edinboro. If we do that, then I think we will do fine."

Edinboro (8-2) is coming off a 40-0 victory over Cleveland State on Jan. 28 and is 4-0 wrestling in the Eastern Wrestling League. Edinboro competed earlier this season in the Michigan State Open and a rematch could take place at 197 pounds. Red-shirt freshman Nick McDiarmid faced No. 2 Chris Honeycutt and defeated McDiarmid at the MSU Open, 15-5.

The Edinboro Open will be held the following day and will provide a change of pace for the Spartan wrestlers accustomed to the grind of the Big Ten season.

"It is really important for us," Minkel said. "The Big Ten tournament is just three weeks away and this will give us a chance to get in that tournament environment. And hopefully it will build some confidence as we head into the final stretch of the season."

Next up Michigan State travels to Central Michigan for its last dual contest of the season on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Spartans fell to No. 6 Ohio State, 24-13, on Senior Day at Jenison Field House. Michigan State wrestled hard and was in control of the dual with only two matches remaining. The Spartans won four matches in the dual and had the lead late with only two weight classes to go, but lost in the final matches. Seniors Anthony Jones Jr. (157) and Curran Jacobs (174) each recorded decisions for Michigan State.

"That was the best we've wrestled all year, it just got away from us at the end," said Michigan State head coach Tom Minkel following the dual. "I think we can build on this. Ohio State is one of the best teams in the country - that's a really good squad. I think our guys should come out of this with some confidence, knowing that if we wrestle like this, if we go hard every match, we can do some good things."

RANKING THE SPARTANS
Three Spartan seniors are currently ranked according to InterMat's latest rankings. No. 10 Anthony Jones Jr. (157) jumped two spots after beating then No. 20 Josh Demas of Ohio State last weekend. Jones is one of five Big Ten wrestlers ranked inside the top 10 at 157 pounds.

No. 16 Curran Jacobs (174) stayed at his spot from a week ago at No. 16 after beating Joe Grandiminico of Ohio State last weekend, 6-1. Jacobs has three wins over ranked wrestlers this season.

No. 13 Tyler Dickenson (197) remains in the rankings at No. 13 after suffering an injury at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 18.

WELCOMING NEBRASKA AND TRAVELING TO IN-STATE RIVAL MICHIGAN
Michigan State lost to No. 7 Nebraska and No. 11 Michigan on Jan. 27 and Jan. 29, respectively. MSU hosted Nebraska and fell 27-8. Senior Eric Olanowski recorded a technical fall at 125 pounds and junior Dan Osterman had a decision at 149 pounds. The Spartans led 8-7 after four matches following Osterman's win in the 149-pound weight class, but Nebraska won the final six matches of the dual to claim the victory. Four of the 10 matches were decided by just one point.

The Spartans fell to in-state rival Michigan 27-8 at Cliff Keen Arena on Sunday, Jan. 29. Anthony Jones Jr. (157), Ian Hinton (184) and Nick McDiarmid (197) each recorded decisions at their respective weight classes. Michigan lead 9-6 over the Spartans heading into intermission. The Wolverines won four of the final five matches to claim the dual victory.

DICKENSON LOST FOR SEASON
Michigan State senior 197-pounder Tyler Dickenson suffered a career-ending knee injury at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 18. Dickenson was 7-1 on the season and ranked as high as No. 12 according to InterMat.

Dickenson placed fourth in the Big Ten Championships a year ago and made his first trip to NCAA's last year. He defeated No. 12 A.J. Kissel of Purdue this season and owns a career record of 57-56.

BIG TEN WEEKEND
Michigan State had a tough road weekend in which it faced No. 18 Northwestern on Jan. 20 and No. 6 Illinois on Jan. 22. The Spartans lost to Northwestern, 30-12, and fell to Illinois, 26-13.

Senior Curran Jacobs had an outstanding weekend, picking up two decisions over ranked wrestlers over the weekend. Jacobs defeated No. 11 Lee Munster of Northwestern, 3-1, and dropped No. 10 Jordan Blanton of Illinois, 7-3.

MSU WINS TIEBREAKER
The Spartans lost to non-conference foe West Virginia on Jan. 13, 23-12, but defeated Indiana 21-20 on Jan. 15, in a thrilling match at Jenison Field House. The win over the Hoosiers was the first conference win for Michigan State.

The win over Indiana came in exciting fashion in front of the home crowd. Michigan State led 20-16 heading into the final match at 141 pounds between Andrew Ermatinger and Matt Ortega of Indiana. Although Ortega recorded an 11-2 major decision over Ermatinger, the Spartans were awarded a tiebreaker point based on total match victories. MSU won six matches throughout the dual and Indiana won four.

Spartans that contributed to the victory were Eric Olanowski (125), Terry Turner (133), No. 13 Anthony Jones Jr. (157), David Cheza (165), Curran Jacobs (174) and No. 10 Michael McClure (HWT).

SPARTANS IN BATTLE CREEK
Michigan State fell to No. 4 Penn State, 36-6, on Jan. 8 at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Mich. Over 3,000 spectators took in the dual that served as a feature event for the Spartan Country youth tournament in an attempt to bridge collegiate and youth wrestling in the same setting.

"It is nice to have an event like this in conjunction with the youth tournament because youth wrestling is very important to collegiate wrestling," head coach Tom Minkel said after the dual. "We have to foster youth wrestling in the state of Michigan in order for collegiate wrestling to go to the next level."

STRONG SHOWING AT RENO TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Michigan State placed fifth out of 28 teams and six wrestlers placed in the top six at the 17th annual Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 18. Dan Osterman (149) and David Cheza (165) both placed third individually.

Anthony Jones Jr. placed fourth and reached the semifinals at 157 pounds with three straight victories. Curran Jacobs reached the semifinals and placed fifth at 174 pounds. Nick McDiarmid wrestled at 197 pounds for the Spartans and also placed fifth. At heavyweight, Steve Andrus finished the tournament with a 4-2 record and made it to the fifth place match before having to forfeit due to injury.

BIG TEN OPENER
For the second time this season Michigan State split five of the 10 matches, but came up short in the Big Ten opener at Purdue, 22-17 on Dec. 9. Tyler Dickenson beat No. 12 A.J. Kissel at 197 pounds.

DOUBLE DIPPED
Michigan State traveled to Pennsylvania on Dec. 3 and picked up dual wins over both Lock Haven and Bucknell at their respective campuses. Michigan State finished the day with a combined score of 57-12.

Lock Haven was up first for the Spartans and Michigan State dropped only two matches en route to a 30-6 victory. After then traveling to Bucknell, Michigan State dropped two of the first three matches before stringing together seven consecutive wins to take a 27-6 win.

ANCHORS IN THE MIDDLE
Last season the Spartans were without two key contributors in the middle of the lineup, as both No. 12 Anthony Jones Jr. (157) and David Cheza (165) lost the majority of last season due to injury. This season they are a combined 29-13 and have each placed in two of the three tournaments MSU has competed in, including an individual title for Cheza at the MSU Open. These seniors have been counted on to add consistency to the Spartan lineup.

SENIOR DEPTH
Head coach Tom Minkel boasts a lineup filled with experience and senior leadership in the 2011-12 season. Michigan State has six seniors, all of which are regular starters. The seniors include: Eric Olanowski (125), No. 12 Anthony Jones Jr. (157), David Cheza (165), No. 16 Curran Jacobs (174), Ian Hinton (184) and No. 13 Tyler Dickenson (197). Currently the seniors are a combined 74-35 overall.

SPARTANS ADD TWO
Michigan State head wrestling coach Tom Minkel announced Wednesday, Nov. 16 that Nick Trimble (Sparta, Mich./Sparta High School) and Jordan Wohlfert (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns High School) have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Spartan wrestling program beginning in the 2012-13 season.

"Nick and Jordan are both very successful high school wrestlers and are really committed to Michigan State," said Minkel. "They're really excited about wrestling here. We're definitely looking forward to having them as a part of our program.

Nick Trimble won the 2011 Michigan Division 2 state title at 130 pounds with a 9-5 victory over previously unbeaten Jeff Jenkins of Tecumseh and Jordan Wohlfert won the 2011 Michigan Division 2 state title at 152 pounds with a 14-6 win over Dan Fleet of Lowell.