EAST LANSING - Between chasing a Pitbull and climbing a Hill, the Michigan State wrestling team was unable to overcome the Wolverines, losing last night's match at home, 28-15.
Michigan, which has been struggling at the lower weight classes lately, shuffled its lineup a little bit, moving 118-pounder Chris "Pitbull" Viola to 126 pounds and junior Greg DeLeon to 118 pounds.
And it turned out to be a good decision.
Viola earned a major decision, while 142-pound wrestler Teya Hill pinned Michigan State freshman Sam Hakim, giving the Wolverines a 13-6 lead, from which they never looked back.
"Right now I feel great, because I wanted to come in and just be strong," Hill said. "I was hurt earlier in the week, but I'm glad I won it for the team."
Viola came out against Michigan State's Jasson Nusbaum, fighting like the dog he's nicknamed after. His command over his opponent was not a big surprise to the Wolverines. They were aware that he surpassed Nusbaum's ability, but it doesn't make his performance any less spectacular.
The Wolverines were looking to Hill to come up with a major decision. No one could have predicted just how much he would deliver in the clutch.
"We knew Teya could destroy that guy," Richardson said. "We were hoping for a major, but he pinned him. That took a little pressure off of me. I knew that because we had that pin early, that would take a little pressure off of me."
According to NCAA rules, Viola will return to 118 because a wrestler can only be moved up once during the season.
"I thought it was a good move for us to put Greg DeLeon at 118 and Chris at 126," Michigan coach Dale Bahr said. "(DeLeon's opponent David) Morgan's outstanding. I recognize that. He has beaten Chris before. Chris has wrestled him close at times, but I thought with Matt Warner being a true freshman, if we could bump DeLeon in there and have Chris kind of offset whatever happens at 118, then we could come out of there with one of those four deciding matches."
They did better than that.
Along with Viola and Hill's wins, sophomore Corey Grant won his match, giving the Wolverines wins in three of their first four matches.
All week, the 12th-ranked Wolverines have been aware of how well they needed to wrestle in order to upset the sixth-ranked Spartans.
Lacure, Catrabone and Richardson recorded major decisions, accompanying Viola and Hill's performances.
"We talked about it during the week, that Jeff, Airron and I and some of the other guys who could had to get bonus, had to win with majors, tech falls or pins," Lacure said.
Although injuries have hurt the Wolverines, any recent lapses they have experienced have not been due to lack of preparation, but more to lack of mental confidence.
"We knew all year that we trained hard enough to wrestle this well," Richardson said.
"It's finally starting to come through for us. We kept saying that the most important thing was to keep a positive attitude, because we knew we were putting in the hard work. We knew the effort was there."
As well as he wrestled, Catrabone feels that he still has a few things on which to work.
"I felt good. My shape felt good. The takedowns were there," Catrabone said. "I wish I got some turns on top. I got reversed. I tried something and made a little mistake, which I've been making lately, which I'm correcting and need to correct to do better."
Last night's win can be a turning point for Michigan's season.
The Wolverines hope that the confidence gained in this match can carry them through the rest of the season.
"Michigan State's a good team," Lacure said. "They've beat some of the top-ranked teams in the country, and it's always a big match for us. This is not a make or break season thing, but it's kind of like pushing us over that little hump that we've had trouble getting over.
"Hopefully, we can carry this momentum into the rest of the season. There's not much left, but if we can just carry this through, it's going to be a hell of a team."
JEANNIE SERVAAS/Daily
The Michigan wrestling team defeated Michigan State last night, 28-15.