#25 Northwestern Upsets #16 Wisconsin, 18-14

Mike Bare January 12, 2018, 9:07 pm 7.8k Views 175 Votes

By Northwestern Athletics

EVANSTON, Ill. — #25 Northwestern (7-1, 2-1 Big Ten) knocked off #16 Wisconsin, 18-14, in commanding fashion on Friday night at historic Patten Gym. For the ‘Cats, it was their first ranked win since topping #23 Indiana on Jan. 4, 2014.

Chicago’s Big Ten Team started the dual with three-straight wins to open up a 12-point lead.

Redshirt junior Conan Jennings (285) started the Wildcats’ evening on a high note, taking a start-to-finish, 3-1 decision over Wisconsin’s heavyweight Ben Stone.

Redshirt first-year Sebastian Rivera (125) followed up that performance with a quick, 3:57 tech fall of Johnny Jimenez. Rivera topped the Badger 16-0, which marked the second time that he has beaten Jimenez since Dec. 29.

After Rivera’s bout, Wisconsin was docked two team points for unsportsmanlike penalties. Northwestern also lost a team point.

Fresh off entering the Intermat poll for the first time, first-year Colin Valdiviez showed that he belongs. He commanded his bout against UW’s Jens Lantz, finishing with a 13-4 major decision over the redshirt junior.

Before the intermission, redshirt first-year Ryan Deakin (149) went on a point-scoring frenzy against Wisconsin’s Cole Martin, topping him with a 19-7 major decision. That pushed NU’s team score lead to 13 before the break.

Tasked with putting the team back on track following two straight set-backs, redshirt junior Johnny Sebastian was faced with a grind-it-out bout against Ryan Christensen — a Badger that he had twice beaten this season. Tied 1-1 with less than 30 seconds left in the third period, Christensen was issued his second stalling warning, giving Sebastian the decisive, 2-1 lead.

It was NU’s first win over Wisconsin since topping the Badgers, 33-9, on Jan. 8, 2012.

Northwestern wrestles at home again on Jan. 19 against Nebraska. The match is set for 7 p.m. CT at Patten Gym.

#25 Northwestern 18, #16 Wisconsin 14
285: Conan Jennings (NU) dec. Ben Stone (WIS), 3-1 | NU 3, WIS 0
125: #10 Sebastian Rivera (NU) Tech. Fall Johnny Jimenez (WIS), 16-0 (3:57) | NU 8, WIS 0
One point unsportsmanlike penalties assessed to both teams after the 125 bout
One point Wisconsin deduction on head Coach Barry Davis
133: #18 Colin Valdiviez (NU) maj. dec. Jens Lantz (WIS), 13-4 | NU 11, WIS -2
141: Eli Stickley (WIS) dec. Alec McKenna (NU), 6-0 | NU 11, WIS 1
149: #4 Ryan Deakin (NU) maj. dec. Cole Martin (WIS), 19-7 | NU 15, WIS 1
157: Andrew Crone (WIS) dec. Shayne Oster (NU), 7-5 | NU 15, WIS 4
165: #6 Evan Wick (WIS) maj. dec. Michael Sepke (NU), 12-3 | NU 15, WIS 8
174: #18 Johnny Sebastian (NU) dec. Ryan Christensen (WIS), 2-1 | NU 18, WIS 8
184: #9 Ricky Robertson (WIS) dec. Mitch Sliga (NU), 3-1 | NU 18, WIS 11
197: Hunter Ritter (WIS) dec. Regis Durbin (NU), 3-1 | NU 18, WIS 14