“Big win for Pierce Harger; he needs matches like that,†Northwestern head coach Drew Pariano said. “He's a very, very capable wrestler, same with John Schoen, and winning those tight matches are so important when you prepare for Big Ten's and NCAA's. We had some big wins there and a lot of other guys on the team took care of business by getting some falls. Overall, I'm happy with the effort of all of the guys.â€
A tape-delayed broadcast of today's match will air at 8 p.m. Sunday on the Big Ten Network.
Northwestern got out to a quick 14-0 lead with bonus points at 125, 133 and 141. No. 7 Levi Mele continued his winning ways at 125 lbs. with a 14-1 major decision over Wisconsin's Austin Hietpas. Mele did most of his damage in the second period, scoring eight points and racked up 4:56 of riding time for his team-leading 19th win of the season.
Jameson Oster then put six more points on the board for the Wildcats after pinning UW's Shane McQuade in 6:27 at 133 lbs. After a 0-0 first period, Oster scored six points in the second and added two more nearfall points in the third before the fall.
At 141 lbs., Colin Shober met UW's Thomas Glenn and added four more to the scoreboard for NU with a 10-1 major decision. Neither wrestler scored in the first period and Glenn was close to escaping for the first point of the match but Shober took Glenn back to the mat and recorded three nearfall points. Shober then added three more backpoints, taking the 6-1 lead into the third period. The Wildcat added an escape, a takedown and 1:49 of riding time for the major decision.
Kaleb Friedley was back in the lineup for Northwestern at 149 lbs. and took on No. 13 Cole Schmitt. Friedley jumped out to a 5-0 lead with a takedown and three nearfall points in the first, but Schmitt scored 11 unanswered for the 11-5 decision.
Third-ranked Jason Welch then recorded the second fall of the afternoon for Northwestern, pinning Shawn Perry in 3:41. Welch had the 2-0 lead, with more than two minutes of riding time heading into the second. He began the third period down, reversed Perry and recorded the fall in 3:41 to stay a perfect 12-0 on the season.
Pierce Harger scored the biggest win of the day for the 'Cats with his 4-2 upset of No. 8 Ben Jordan at 165 lbs. Harger had the first points of the match with a reversal in the second. Jordan escaped and tied everything up at 2-2 with another escape to begin the third period, but Harger scored the match-winning takedown with 14 seconds left to pull off the upset.
No. 8 Lee Munster added another major decision victory for Northwestern, shutting out Frank Cousins 14-0 with 2:59 of riding time. Wisconsin won its final bout of the afternoon at 184 lbs. as Timmy McCall pinned Marcus Shrewsbury in 4:06.
No. 20 John Schoen faced Jackson Hein at 197 lbs. and gave Northwestern the 30-9 lead with his 3-2 decision. Both wrestlers traded escapes before Schoen scored a third-period takedown for the 3-1 lead. Hein added one more escape but neither wrestler scored in the closing seconds as Schoen hung on for the win.
No. 19 Mike McMullan closed out the match on a high note for Northwestern, defeating Cole Tobin 7-3. McMullan got out to a 4-1 lead in the first with two takedowns, added a reversal in the second and a point for 2:02 of riding time in the win.
Northwestern has another challenging weekend on the horizon facing two of the top teams in the country in a matter of 48 hours. No. 1 Penn State heads into Welsh-Ryan Arena at 7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 13 and then the Wildcats visit Iowa City to wrestle second-ranked Iowa at 1 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 15.
Results:
125: No. 7 Levi Mele (NU) maj dec Austin Hietpas (UW), 14-1 (4-0 NU)
133: Jameson Oster (NU) pins Shane McQuade (UW), 6:27 (10-0 NU)
141: Colin Shober (NU) maj dec Thomas Glenn (UW), 10-1 (14-0 NU)
149: No. 13 Cole Schmitt (UW) dec Kaleb Friedley (NU), 11-5 (14-3 NU)
157: No 3 Jason Welch (NU) pins Shawn Perry (UW), 3:41 (20-3 NU)
165: Pierce Harger (NU) dec No. 8 Ben Jordan (UW), 4-2 (23-3 NU)
174: No. 8 Lee Munster (NU) maj dec Frank Cousins (UW), 14-0 (27-3 NU)
184: Timmy McCall (UW) pins Marcus Shrewsbury (NU), 4:06 (27-9 NU)
197: No. 20 John Schoen (NU) dec Jackson Hein (UW), 3-2 (30-9 NU)
Hwt: No. 19 Mike McMullan (NU) dec. Cole Tobin (UW), 7-3 (33-9 NU)
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