Redshirt senior Marty Larkin and redshirt freshman Max Vanadia from Michigan State University both secured seventh place finishes at the 60th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. The tournament took place in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, where the team earned a total of 32.5 points, ranking them 13th out of 25 participating teams.
Marty Larkin achieved his seventh-place finish with an 11-9 decision over Stanford’s Collin Guffey. Both Larkin and Vanadia ended the tournament with a record of four wins and two losses. Vanadia demonstrated resilience by winning four matches after an initial defeat to Stanford’s Peter Ming.
Larkin advanced to the quarterfinals on the winner’s side but was later placed in consolation rounds where he secured two more victories. Vanadia managed to reach at least a Top 8 position following a significant victory over Central Michigan’s Bryan Caves.
In addition to their achievements, redshirt senior Tristan Lujan reached the quarterfinals in the 133-pound category but lost consecutive matches thereafter. Freshman Cory Thomas also showed promise by winning three matches in the consolation bracket, though he fell just short of reaching the podium.
Michigan State Wrestling will continue its season on January 10 against Penn State, which is currently ranked number one. The match will be broadcast on Big Ten Network starting at 8 p.m.
