Coach Bono took his team on a day trip to Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., as the Wisconsin Badgers wrestling team (5-11, 1-7 Big Ten) battled the Northwestern Wildcats (4-6, 2-5) on their senior night. The teams held their positions near the bottom of the Big Ten team standings, with Wisconsin in 13th and Northwestern in 12th. With that, Wisconsin finishes the conference competition with a single win.
Beginning with the 174-pound matchup, redshirt freshman Luke Condon improved his conference record to an even 4-4, defeating redshirt junior Aiden Vandenbush. Vandenbush, the former two-time WIAA state champion from Random Lake, opened with a leg-hold takedown, but Condon responded by slowing things down and picking up two takedowns for himself. Condon ran the clock down further before grabbing a final takedown, winning by a comfortable decision, 12-6. This gave the Badgers 3 team points to start.
The Badgers had a change in their lineup at the 184-pound weight division, as redshirt freshman Dylan Russo replaced freshman Matthew Jens, who faced Michigan State Sunday. Against grad student Jon Halvorsen, Russo held his own through a grappling battle, ending regulation tied 1-1. However, the experienced Halvorsen landed a takedown 18 seconds into the sudden victory period, bringing Northwestern level on team points, 3-3.
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Coming off a comeback victory against Michigan State, freshman Wyatt Ingham met the redshirt junior Evan Bates, who is ranked 20th in the 197-pound division. After an early takedown, Bates maintained control. The Northwestern man continued to a 16-1 victory, picking up near fall points along the way. As a victory by 15 points is considered a tech fall, this win gave Northwestern 5 points and an 8-3 lead.
In the heavyweight bout, redshirt sophomore Gannon Rosenfeld opened with three quick takedowns against redshirt freshman Dirk Morley, who responded with a few takedowns to march back. As Rosenfeld went for a final leg hold near the end of the third period, Morley escaped and grabbed the equalizing takedown. As Morley held the riding time advantage, he secured the 15-14 victory. With these three additional team points, Northwestern took an 11-3 lead.
Moving to the top of the order, redshirt freshman Nicolar Rivera faced fellow redshirt freshman Dedrick Navarro in the 125-pound weight division. Rivera and Navarro are ranked 19th and 32nd nationally at this weight, respectively. Avoiding attacks and countering, Rivera was able to earn a major decision victory, 11-2, edging the Badgers closer on team points, 11-7.
Fellow nationally-ranked Badger, redshirt freshman Zan Fugitt, took on sophomore Massey Odiotti. In need of bonus points, the 19th-ranked 133-pound wrestler opened with a takedown halfway through the first period. He landed a third takedown in the final period to earn a major decision victory and equalize the Wildcats on team points, 11-11.
While these major decision victories are significant, the Badgers were relying on bonus points from these two ranked wrestlers, through the means of tech falls or pins.
Coming off of his first conference dual victory, redshirt freshman Brock Bobzien matched up against grad student Chris Cannon at the 141-pound weight class. The experienced Cannon secured an 8-2 decision, boosting Northwestern’s lead back up to 14-11.
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Making his second conference dual appearance, freshman Elliott Biba encountered redshirt freshman Sam Cartella, who is ranked 23rd in their respective 149-pound weight class. The match ended due to a tech fall in the second period, as Cartella jumped to a 17-0 lead. Lifting Northwestern’s team score to 19-11, the Evanston-based team was sitting comfortably.
Redshirt junior Luke Mechler then saw grad student and NCAA Championships participant Trevor Chumbley, who is ranked 12th at the 157-pound weight division. Winning by an 11-2 major decision, Chumbley improved his conference record to 4-1 across the season.
To close the dual, redshirt sophomore Cody Goebel weighed in at 165-pounds for the Badgers. In his second conference dual at this weight class, he saw 17th-ranked redshirt junior Maxx Mayfield. And while Goebel put up a good fight, the experienced Mayfield took the competition with a 15-5 major decision.
Taking the final four matches, Northwestern secured a well-deserved victory on Senior Night by a score of 27-11. This improves their conference record to 2-7, while Wisconsin falls to 1-7. While the conference regular season came to an underwhelming conclusion, it is worth noting that the Badgers’ eldest wrestler on the night was Luke Mechler, a redshirt junior, while Northwestern’s lineup consisted of two graduate students. It is promising to see the younger members of the squad gain valuable experience against stellar competition.
Following a home non-conference duel against Northern Iowa on Friday, Feb. 21, the Badgers will shift gears for the Big Ten Conference Championships from Mar. 8-9. They return to Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., and will send a wrestler from each weight division to compete.