Michigan State’s wrestling team achieved a third-place finish at the 2024 Black Knight Invitational, hosted by the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. The Spartans accumulated 83 team points and placed nine wrestlers on the podium. Only Penn State and Army outperformed Michigan State in the competition, which featured nine teams.
“Proud of our guys for battling through a tough field today,” stated Michigan State head coach Roger Chandler. “I’m excited to get back in the room and build on this weekend with some time off before our next dual.”
Key performances included redshirt senior Tristan Lujan securing third place via medical forfeit at 133 pounds and redshirt junior Luke Daly also achieving third place through tiebreakers at 184 pounds. Six Spartan wrestlers advanced to the semifinals during the event.
In fourth place were No. 27-ranked redshirt freshman Remy Cotton at 197 pounds, redshirt freshman Max Vanadia at heavyweight, redshirt senior DJ Shannon at 165 pounds, and redshirt freshman Caleb Weiand at 125 pounds. Notably, Vanadia upset No. 20-ranked Lucas Stoddard of Army in the quarterfinals with a score of 4-3.
Redshirt sophomore Ceasar Garza finished fifth at 174 pounds, while redshirt sophomore Kael Wisler placed sixth at 197 pounds and true freshman Cory Thomas ended in sixth place at 184 pounds.
The Spartans are set to compete next against CSU Bakersfield on December 15 before participating in the Midlands Championships from December 29-30.
