Michigan's Chase Saldate entered Saturday's home dual against Ohio State seeking a momentum-regaining win after enduring a difficult stretch of matches during the previous two months. 

The 157-pounder, a four-time NCAA qualifier for Michigan State before transferring 65 miles down the road last spring to Ann Arbor, began the season 6-1 before winning just one of his next six matches.

Against Nebraska, Saldate was pinned for just the third time in his 135-match career when Antrell Taylor stopped him in 5:33. 

While Saldate, #16 in the current rankings, hates to lose like that, he was defeated by only top-quality opponents during the rough patch, including twice by #4 Taylor, a 2024 All-American. He also fell to #6 Ethen Miller (Maryland), #12 Caleb Fish (Oklahoma State), his good friend from their time in East Lansing, and #13 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern).

Still, Saldate had beaten Taylor and Chumbley in the past and some self-doubt began creeping in.

"One of the biggest transitions to wrestling for Michigan has been getting used to wrestling such high-level competition every week and it started messing with my head a little," he said. "I actually started thinking that maybe I'm not as good as I once was, but, fortunately, the coaches put an end to those thoughts, telling me they all felt I still have not fully peaked yet this season."

After snapping a four-match losing streak with a Jan. 26 win against Indiana’s Ryan Garvick, Saldate followed that up with an 8-0 shutout against Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso that boosted the Michigan 157-pounder’s record to 9-6 on the season.  

"Wins like the one over Sasso do help my confidence, but, overall, I am in a good head space now because I'm solely focused on really peaking in March," said Saldate, who has also beaten #18 Cobe Siebrecht (South Dakota State) this season. "In the past, I've probably peaked too early and focused a little too much on beating this guy or that guy in duals."

Perhaps that's why Saldate's celebration was a bit subdued after blanking Sasso as he clinched a fist with one hand while holding his headgear with the other before being congratulated by elated head coach Sean Bormet and his staff. 

Saldate is playing the long game, intent on concluding his collegiate career with a bang after falling short of his goals in previous Marches. 

While he came within a win of All-American status in 2023, Saldate went 0-6 in his other three appearances at the NCAA Championships. He’s a four-time Big Ten placewinner whose best finish at the conference tournament came as a freshman when he placed fourth. 

Saldate, who filled the void left at 157 by two-time All-American and five-time NCAA qualifier Will Lewan, announced he was entering the transfer portal on March 27 after going 85-33 as a Spartan with more than 60 percent of his victories coming via pin (28), major decision (21) or technical fall (two). 

After two days in the transfer portal, Saldate announced he was heading to Michigan. He also considered Oklahoma State, where his coach at Gillroy (California) High School, UFC legend Daniel Cormier, was an NCAA finalist. 

"I entered the portal with a do-not-contact designation since I knew it was going to be Michigan or Oklahoma State, but Michigan became the clearer choice because my fiancee (two-time All-Big Ten gymnast Delanie Harkness) still attends Michigan State and it was just an overall easier move," Saldate said. "I have a ton of respect for the coaching staff, especially Kevin Jackson because he was also coach Cormier's freestyle coach."

Saldate spent the remainder of the offseason completing his degree in advertising management and becoming acquainted with his new campus, coaches and teammates.

"For me, the offseason was about building that connection with the Michigan program and getting used to a new system of doing things," he said. "I spent a good amount of time working with coach Jackson after getting here and learned about some things I didn't even realize I could improve on like making my sprawl bigger and more effective."

Saldate raves about other things that have impressed him during his time with the Wolverines.

"First of all, Ann Arbor is an amazing town, especially for a foodie guy like me and I've loved finding smaller mom-and-pop restaurants to try," he said. "Michigan's fan base is incredibly passionate and I appreciate how they always fill the arena. It was rocking against Ohio State and everything is just done so professionally at Michigan."

Saldate's massive, revenue-generating social media footprint, which he has been growing since high school, includes 410,000 Tiktok and 131,000 Instagram followers. 

Saldate and younger brother Logan, a wide receiver who recently completed his true freshman season with the Notre Dame football program, started the Saldate Brothers YouTube channel last summer, which now has more than 1,500 subscribers.

"I've been making a strong effort to build my social media for years now and the timing worked out well with NIL coming to college athletics soon after I started college," he said. "I have able to work out deals with my fair share of brands like American Eagle Outfitters and ESPN, promoting their (mixed martial arts) programming. We started the YouTube channel to offer an inside look at Division I college athletics and other content."

Sibling rivalry is also part of the channel, including a recent contest to find out which brother could complete 200 pushups in the shortest amount of time. 

For the record, Chase won handily in a time of just under nine minutes, despite having to dash into the kitchen to overturn chicken in his air fryer, while Logan required more than 22 minutes. 

Saldate, whose father Jimmy was a high school wrestler, started his own wrestling journey in elementary school and actually began working with Cormier in seventh grade after they became neighbors in Gilroy.

He and Saldate's father soon became friends and they began discussing Chase's wrestling career.

"So, DC offered to work with me at AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) in San Jose," Saldate said. "The thing is, I actually didn't know who he was at first because I was not really into UFC or MMA, but he also has a great wrestling background and became a great coach for me, really building confidence. If he believes I have what it takes to beat somebody, that means everything. I get the same feeling from coach Jackson now."

Saldate became fully aware of who his neighbor was after being invited to watch Cormier battle fierce rival Jon Jones at UFC 214 in 2017, a bout Jones won, but was later declared no-contest when he tested positive for a banned substance.

Cormier was not the only UFC great Saldate tangled with at AKA. He also took to the mat with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, two of the greatest lightweights in the genre's history.

"They made me realize just how important being disciplined and dedicated to all aspects of training really is," Saldate said. "Sometimes, that's hard as a kid, but seeing those guys training hard all the time, working so hard to improve while really enjoying the entire process had a big influence on me. It was an awesome experience to be around them."

Saldate went 149-14 at Gilroy, including 53-0 as a senior when he captured a state title. Saldate was also a Super 32 champion and Fargo All-American prior to his senior year before committing to Michigan State.

Saldate keeps in touch with his famous former training partners, especially Cormier, who retired from competition in 2020 but remains a coach and UFC commentator.

"Coach Cormier actually sent me a video after the Sasso match, pointing out some things I can improve on," he said.

While in Las Vegas for Cliff Keen, Saldate and teammate Jacob Cardenas attended UFC 310 with Cormier. 

What will likely be Saldate's toughest test of the season so far comes Friday against top-ranked Tyler Kasak, third at last year's NCAA Championships, when the Wolverines visit Penn State.

"I'm looking forward to taking on Kasak, but, again, the main focus is on having a more successful March," said Saldate, who is pursuing a graduate certificate in real estate development. "I'm working with the coaches to be sure I'm wrestling at a high level when it counts the most and doing all the little things to hopefully finish higher than I ever have at Big Tens and become an All-American."

At the same time, Saldate is maintaining a healthy perspective as his NCAA career winds down. 

He plans a move to South Bend, Indiana with his fiancee later this year to work more closely with his brother creating YouTube content while also continuing his other social media endeavors.

"If those goals don't happen in March, I'm still going to be thankful for the career I've had," he said. "At the end of the day, there are plenty of exciting things going on in my life and my fiancee and four cats will still love me."

Tons Of Techs

With three duals, the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Championships still remaining, Michigan has already amassed 40 technical falls as a team, just seven fewer than all of last season when the Wolverines recorded their most technical falls in a single season this century.

Individually, heavyweight Josh Heindselman and 197-pounder Jacob Cardenas are among the top nine nationally in the category.

Heindselman is tied for fifth with eight techs which is already the most the senior has recorded in a single season. He had 10 total in four seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Michigan. 

Overall, he has racked up a team-leading 17 wins against just a single loss, including 11 bonus-point wins. 

Heindselman jumped from 11th to seventh in the latest rankings after clipping then-#7 Nick Feldman (Ohio State), 4-2, to cap Saturday's dual in Ann Arbor. Feldman, a 2024 All-American, was up 2-1 before Heindselman scrambled to notch a go-ahead takedown midway through the third period. 

Heindselman, now the third-highest ranked Big Ten heavyweight, avenged an 8-5 sudden victory loss to Feldman during the blood round of last season's NCAA Championships. Heindselman will likely square off against second-ranked Greg Kerkvliet, a four-time All-American and the defending NCAA champion, for the first time when Penn State hosts the Wolverines on Friday. 

Cardenas is tied for ninth the country with seven technical falls, the most the two-time All-American has ever recorded in a season. He had 12 total technical falls in three seasons at Cornell before transferring to Michigan. 

Cardenas, ranked #2 for most of the season, is 14-0 with 11 bonus-point wins. He will likely face #4 Josh Barr for the first time on Friday.