QUICK HITS

• Big Ten foe Michigan State topped Cleveland State, 25-9
• A trio of Vikings registered wins in the regular-season finale
• Evan Cheek posted his team-leading 33rd victory of the season
• Logan Heil and Ben Smith both came from behind to notch wins
• DeAndre Nassar lost by one point to a top-10 ranked opponent at 184 pounds
• CSU honored its seven seniors prior to the dual

MATCH RECAP

The Cleveland State University wrestling team came up short to a Big Ten foe in its regular-season finale as visiting Michigan State claimed a 25-9 victory over the Vikings Sunday afternoon inside Woodling Gymnasium.

A trio of Vikings claimed victories in their final home competition of the season, as CSU faced an opponent that was fresh off a win over No. 4 Wisconsin.

Redshirt senior Evan Cheek, true freshman Logan Heil and sophomore Ben Smith each tallied a win for Cleveland State.

Heil trailed in the opening bout of the dual, 4-2, after two periods, but he furiously rallied back. He posted a takedown to even the match before securing four near-fall points. After adding single points for opponent stalling and riding time, he came away with a 10-4 win.

In a bout that did not feature a single takedown, Michigan State claimed a victory at 133 pounds by two points.

Cheek came out aggressive in his bout at 141 pounds as he notched a trio of takedowns in the opening frame and held a 6-2 lead after three minutes. He would add a pair of escapes over the final two frames and claimed an 8-5 win.

The Spartans then took control as they won each of the next five bouts to effectively clinch the team victory.

The crowd nearly witnessed a major upset at 184 pounds as true freshman DeAndre Nassar gave his opponent, who is ranked among the top 10 nationally, everything he could handle. Nassar repeatedly fought off his opponent's attacks, getting from precarious positions back to neutral before a takedown could be awarded. The bout was tied, 4-4, as the third period wore on, but the Spartans would claim a takedown and held on for a 6-5 victory.

Sophomore Ben Smith would come out as the winner in a back-and-forth affair at 197 pounds, but it was far from easy. The bout was tied, 4-4, early in the third period. Smith then netted a takedown to pull ahead, but his opponent escaped and then secured a takedown of his own with fewer than 15 seconds remaining. After a restart with seven seconds left, Smith tied the bout after a technical violation on his opponent and then escaped with just a tick or two left to grab the winning point.

Michigan State would claim a win at heavyweight via decision to finish off the dual.

Cheek won for the team-leading 33rd time this season and ended the season with a team-best 12 dual wins. Heil and Smith both posted their 10th dual win of the season to tie for second.

Cleveland State will now take time off as it rests up before heading to the Mid-American Conference Championships, hosted by Northern Illinois, March 7-8.

Michigan State 25, Cleveland State 9
125: Logan Heil (CSU) over Logan Griffin (MSU) - 10-4 dec. | CSU leads, 3-0
133: Garrett Pepple (MSU) over Justin Patrick (CSU) - 2-0 dec. | Tied, 3-3
141: Evan Cheek (CSU) over Matt Santos (MSU) - 8-5 dec. | CSU leads, 6-3
149: Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU) over Sam Matzek (CSU) - 12-4 MD | MSU leads, 7-6
157: Jake Tucker (MSU) over Nico O'Dor (CSU) - 8-3 dec. | MSU leads, 10-6
165: Drew Hughes (MSU) over Riley Smucker (CSU) - 3-1 dec. | MSU leads, 13-6
174: Layne Malczewski (MSU) over Ryan Ford (CSU) - Fall 4:32 | MSU leads, 19-6
184: Cameron Caffey (MSU) over DeAndre Nassar (CSU) - 6-5 dec. | MSU leads, 22-6
197: Ben Smith (CSU) over Nick May (MSU) - 8-7 dec. | MSU leads, 22-9
285: Christian Rebottaro (MSU) over Collin Kelly (CSU) - 9-2 dec. | MSU wins, 25-9