Looking Ahead to B1G Conference Dual Meet Schedule

We’ve the halfway point of the season where we cross into the new year and things get a bit more intense as conference dual meets start. To bring everything full circle, let’s say goodbye 2024 and hello to conference competition in 2025. We take a look at how each team looked in the first half of the year and what their biggest dual meets are in the first month of the new year.

Penn State
Either they had a pretty easy start to the season, or they are more powerful than ever before – I’m going with latter. They blasted through the 2024 portion of this season with three shutout dual meet wins of the six they collected to go with the three other wins in which they only lost one match in each of them. They have defeated their opponents by a collective score of 268-9 across their six dual meets with only two starters – Braeden Davis and Levi Haines – not being undefeated. They finished the year with a 41-3 win over Missouri. Now, on to 2025 where they have the potential to keep their nearly flawless streak going as they face Michigan State to start their Big Ten dual meet slate this weekend. 

Biggest upcoming dual for PSU in January: Nebraska (Jan. 17); Iowa (Jan. 31)

Nebraska
The Huskers had a very good start to the season where they claimed a team title at the Navy Classic and a second-place finish at Cliff Keen Las Vegas to go along with an undefeated dual meet record of 5-0. However, 2025 has so far not been kind to Nebraska or maybe I should say, UNI wasn’t very kind as they served up a 24-9 loss to the now No. 6 ranked dual meet team in the country. The non-conference loss was their first of the season and a big difference from how they started things off in 2024. And things aren’t looking any easier as they kick off their Big Ten dual meet season against a loaded Minnesota lineup this Saturday followed by Penn State the following Friday. 

Biggest upcoming duals for Nebraska in January: Minnesota (Jan. 11); Penn State (Jan. 17): Michigan (Jan. 24)

Iowa
The Hawkeyes just continue to do their thing. It’s wild to look back on some of the moves they made over the summer, which caused some guys to transfer to other schools, and for them to still have as much depth as they have. Between 174 and 184 they have four guys who look to be All-American caliber competitors. Their incoming transfers are panning out with Kyle Parco looking excellent at 149 for them, along with a healthy Stephen Buchanan looking great as well. The injury to Jacori Teemer is tough but hoping for a recovery for him to finish out the season as they get into the meat of their B1G schedule. Even at some of their weights where they have some questions, they have no shortage of talent to compete. After they finished up with another first-place finish at the Soldier Salute, they look to keep the momentum going as they start their conference schedule this Sunday at Wisconsin. 

Biggest upcoming dual for Iowa in January: Illinois (Jan. 17); Ohio State (Jan. 25); Penn State (Jan. 31) 

Ohio State
The Buckeyes have had a lot of lineup adjustments and rotations, but they continue to look great as they enter 2025 undefeated (8-0) and ready to attack the B1G. They had a nice win on the road against Pittsburgh, beat Iowa State in Nashville, and most recently put it on Oregon State at home. Illinois, which remains undefeated as well, is their next dual coming up this Friday in Champaign. This should include some awesome matches at 133 including Lucas Byrd vs Nic Bouzakis and Kannon Webster vs Dylan D’Emilio at 149. 184 will have a dramatic contrast of styles between Edmond Ruth and Ryder Rogotzke, and heavyweight will have Nick Feldman against Luke Luffman. Lots to look forward to in what could end up being a close dual.

Biggest upcoming dual for Ohio State in January: Illinois (Jan. 10); Iowa (Jan. 25)

Minnesota
All the buzz in Minnesota has been about the return of Gable Steveson. And while he is certainly an incredible re-addition to the Gopher lineup, the rest of the squad has been very dominant so far this year as they take an undefeated 4-0 record into the new year. To finish off the year they had eight guys make the podium at the Soldier Salute with Vance VomBaur (141), Andrew Sparks (165) and Bennett Tabor (285) all placing second. Tommy Askey and Blaine Brenner were both third as well. Notably, young standouts Tyler Wells (133) and Max McEnelly (184) did not compete, but both have certainly been shining stars for them so far this year. To get things started in the new year they have a big-time matchup with Nebraska on Saturday where every single weight class features a ranked vs ranked matchup. 

Biggest upcoming dual for Minnesota in January: Nebraska (Jan. 11); Michigan (Jan. 19)

Indiana
Indiana started off the year with an unblemished road trip to California where they got things rolling with a pair of dual meet wins over Cal Baptist and Cal Poly. They also crowned a few champs at early season opening tournaments – 1 champ at Michigan State Open and Cleveland State Open, and 2 champs at Navy Classic. The Hoosiers also participated in the only Big Ten dual we’ve seen this season when they took on Illinois at the Big Ten football fan fest. Indiana took the loss that day, 34-3. Before the ball dropped, they crowned one more champ at Midlands. Now they turn their focus to Rutgers to get their conference competition rolling this Friday.

Biggest upcoming duals for Indiana in January: Rutgers (Jan. 10); Michigan (Jan. 26)

Illinois
As mentioned above in the Indiana summary, Illinois is the lone team in the Big Ten that already has a conference win with their 34-3 defeat over the Hoosiers. The Illini also recorded very good wins over UNC, Missouri and ASU to go along with a few titles at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic as well. All-in-all, Illinois has looked very tough this season and will get things going with a tough matchup against 4th-ranked Ohio State on Friday. A top 10 matchup between #2 Lucas Byrd and #9 Nic Bouzakis is set to be a true highlight when the teams meet this week. Additionally, the #11 vs #12 match between Kannon Webster and Dylan D’Emilio is also a very highly anticipated bout at 149. 

Biggest upcoming dual for Illinois in January: Ohio State (Jan. 10); Iowa (Jan. 17)

Rutgers
Rutgers is one of the most active teams of the first half of the season as they go into 2025 with an 8-2 dual meet record. However, their biggest competition so far came in losses to ACC powers NC State and Virginia Tech. The Scarlet Knights had a heavy dual meet start but finished off 2024 at Midlands where they placed second as a team and placed four guys in the finals. Just Dean Peterson came away with a title at 125 as Dylan Shawver (133), Joey Olivieri (141) and Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) all placed 2nd. Mimicking the start of the season, Rutgers will have a busy Big Ten weekend as they face Indiana on Friday and Ohio State on Sunday. 

Biggest upcoming dual for Rutgers in January: Ohio State (Jan. 12); Penn State (Jan. 24); Illinois (Jan. 26)

Northwestern
While they do have a 2-1 dual meet record, it hasn’t all been the best outings for Northwestern so far this year. However, a highlight for the Wildcats has been Evan Bates at 197 who placed second at the Michigan State Open. Along with Bates, Maxx Mayfield placed third in the Open Division of the same tournament as well. Bates is currently 12-4 on the year and Mayfield is 13-4 as Bates is holding down the #13 spot in the rankings. Unfortunately, we have only seen Chris Cannon, who returned to Northwestern this year, in two matches before being sidelined at 141. Hopefully we see him return to the lineup as Northwestern is set to face Purdue and Illinois this weekend.

Biggest upcoming dual for Northwestern in January: Illinois (Jan. 12); Michigan (Jan. 17); Minnesota (Jan. 26)

Wisconsin
There have been some growing pains for the new look Badgers this season as they take their 4-4 dual meet record into 2025. After a loss to Ohio to start the season, they’ve gone on to take a few more lumps but also pick up wins over Campbell and NDSU to cap off 2024 at the Knockout Christmas Classic. Despite a tough dual meet season to start the year, they did have some very favorable results at the Michigan State Open as Nicolar Rivera took the title at 125. Zan Fugitt and Luke Condon were also second and third respectively. Now they will have a very busy first month of the year with five dual meets starting with hosting Iowa this weekend. 

Biggest upcoming dual for Wisconsin in January: Iowa (Jan. 12); Rutgers (Jan. 19); Minnesota (Jan. 24); Nebraska (Jan. 31)

Michigan
The Wolverines had an interesting 2024. While they remain undefeated in their dual schedule, they have yet to have a full lineup for what they had expected in the preseason. Derek Gilcher was dealing with an injury to begin the year which had them shuffling some other options in at 149, along with the injury to Beau Mantanona which had them making some other adjustments at 165. Additionally, they have Josh Heinselman transferring in to take over at heavyweight, but in the meantime, they had largely gone with Dzhabrail Khurshidov at the top of their lineup. Heinselman looked great taking home the Midlands championship recently and should be positioned to have some success as the B1G season begins. They did have a chance to see some of their young guys with Brock Mantanona getting some opportunities at 165 along with Cam Catrabone having some success at 149. Additionally, transfer Jacob Cardenas has looked great so far this season and has shown to be a true title contender. I expect them to iron out their lineup questions at 149 and 165 in the second half of the season, while 125 seems to continue to be a question mark for them. Additionally, they have some other decisions to make with Dylan Ragusin being out at 133 this season. Up next, they’ll take on Maryland this Friday in Ann Arbor as they begin their B1G schedule. 

Biggest upcoming dual for Michigan in January: Minnesota (Jan. 19); Nebraska (Jan. 24)

Michigan State
We expected the Spartans to have a young team this year but now some of their leaders and veterans are settling in, and their young guys are trying to get some success as well. They had two wrestlers place 7th at Midlands in Marty Larkin at 174, and Max Vanadia at heavyweight, but other than that it was a tough showing. Coming off a dual loss to Cal State Bakersfield, their schedule isn’t getting any easier as they begin their B1G schedule this Friday on the road at Penn State. 

Biggest upcoming dual for Michigan State in January: Penn State (Jan. 10); Indiana (Jan. 24); Nebraska (Jan. 26)

Maryland
Maryland has gotten after it to begin this season. They currently sit at 5-5, along with some battles against some tough competition. They have some solid wins against Bucknell and Lock Haven paired with some close losses to Rider and Pittsburgh. Last weekend was a rough one for the Terrapins dropping duals to Binghamton and Columbia, but these are the sorts of losses that can help guys to reset their approach as they head into the B1G schedule. Some highlights so far include Ethen Miller and Seth Nevills winning the Tiger Style Invite, along with Braxton Brown recently getting a win over Anthony Noto of Lock Haven. Jaxon Smith has had some mixed results dropping to 184, but he could be a dangerous guy for anyone in the conference.

Biggest upcoming dual for Maryland in January: Michigan (Jan. 10); Illinois (Jan. 24) 

Purdue 
The Boilermakers have had a great start to their season so far, sitting at 6-1 on the season, with their only loss coming to Army on criteria. Paired with a second-place finish at the Tiger Style Invite, along with some success in Las Vegas as Matt Ramos won the CKLV title, they’re poised with some great energy headed into 2025. In fact, they are already 1-0 in 2025 as they recently beat Kent State on the road last Friday. They’ve had some solid results from Ramos, but Joey Blaze has had a strong season as well along with Brody Baumann who looks to deliver on my prediction of him being their breakout wrestler of the season. Purdue has some injuries to work through, with James Rowley getting banged up at CKLV, but they have a good amount of experience in the lineup to make up for it. Up first this weekend, they host Northwestern before traveling to take on Northern Illinois. 

Biggest upcoming dual for Purdue in January: Indiana (Jan. 17); Ohio State (Jan. 19)