Trent Hillger pinned Randy Gonzalez of Fresno State (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The No. 5 Wisconsin wrestling team began its 2019-20 campaign at America's Favorite City Dual, taking on Fresno State and Army Friday afternoon. Winning both duals, Wisconsin now boasts a perfect 2-0 record heading into the Battle on the Midway.
Wisconsin defeated Fresno State with ease 31-8 to start the season. Army proved to be a tougher battle for the Badgers as UW edged the Black Knights in the final bout of the dual, 16-15.
Seth Gross began his Wisconsin career in a way that only he could. The 2018 NCAA champion at 133 pounds pinned Gary Joint of Fresno State in 4 minutes, 9 seconds, claiming his first victory in a Wisconsin singlet. In his next bout, Gross took a major decision from Army's Lane Peters.
Heavyweight Trent Hillger was explosive in his redshirt sophomore season debut, earning a pin and the team victory as the Army dual came down to his match. Hillger recorded his first pin of the season against Fresno State's Randy Gonzalez, ending the rmatch in 4:44.
Hillger was also the deciding factor in Wisconsin's team victory over Army. Down by two going into the heavyweight match, Hillger took charge immediately and recorded a takedown over Army's Ben Sullivan. Hillger continued playing hero and scored seven points in his victory.
Evan Wick started his junior season off undefeated. Wick scored a technical fall against Fresno State's Adam Kemp at 165 pounts, tallying 16 points. Wick also recorded a defeat against Army's Cael McCormick with a 9-2 victory. Wick fell behind early after a quick takedown but went on to score nine unanswered points.
Redshirt senior Cole Martin started his day by winning a thriller against Fresno State. Martin fell behind early after two takedowns by Greg Gaxiola. As regulation expired, Martin recorded a takedown to tie it up. The match continued scoreless until triple overtime, when Martin got the bout winning takedown, claiming the match 6-4.
At 141 pounds, Tristan Moran's senior campaign started out with two victories. He claimed a close 5-3 win over Fresno State's Durben Lloren before shining in his second match of the day with a 7-1 victory against Cole Shie of Army. Redshirt senior Michael Cullen also won both of his matches on the day, defeating Robert Garcia of Fresno State by major decision, 14-2, at 125 pounds and Army's Trey Chalifoux, 3-1.
From the mat
"I'm very happy with our effort in both duals. We don't look our best, but it is very early. We need a better performance tonight to finish this thing up the right way!"
- Head Coach Chris Bono
"It felt great. There are always things to get better and improve on. I'm excited to wrestle three matches in one day. Just looking forward to the next one. "(A pin is) always my mindset, I want to find a way to put a guy on their back and finish it. Just going out there and letting it fly. It's bound to happen if I keep going out there and letting it fly and get to my stuff."
- Redshirt senior Seth Gross
"I just treated it like every other match. I've wrestled that kid before and had a really close match with him. Team score really doesn't bother me because I'm always the last weight class and the score is always going to be close in college. I always treat it like I'm the first match and it is a 0-0 team score. I just go out there and wrestle my best and hope I end up on top.
- Redshirt sophomore Trent Hillger
Results Wisconsin 31, Fresno State 8
125 - Michael Cullen (UW) over Robert Garcia (FS) by maj. dec. 14-2
133 - Seth Gross (UW) over Gary Joint (FS) by fall 4:09
141 - Tristan Moran (UW) over Durbin Lloren (FS) by dec. 5-3
149 - Cole Martin (UW) over Greg Gaxiola (FS) by dec. 6-4
157 - Jacob Wright (FS) over Garrett Model (UW) by dec. 9-6
165 - Evan Wick (UW) over Adam Kemp by tech. fall 16-0
174 - Jackson Hemauer (FS) over Jared Krattiger (UW) by dec. 6-5
184 - Johnny Sebastian (UW) over hunter Cruz (FS) by maj. dec. 13-5
197 - Ryan Reyes (FS) over Taylor Watkins (UW) by dec. 6-3
HWT - Trent Hillger (UW) over Randy Gonzalez by fall 4:44
Wisconsin 16, Army 15
125 - Michael Cullen (UW) over Trey Chalifoux (ARMY) by dec. 3-1
133 - Seth Gross (UW) over Lane Peters (ARMY) by maj. dec. 12-0
141 - Tristan Moran (UW) over Corey Shie (ARMY) by dec. 7-1
149 - PJ Ogunsanya (ARMY) over Cole Martin (UW) by dec. 6-3
157 - Luke Weiland (ARMY) over Garrett Model (UW) by dec. 5-2
165 - Evan Wick (UW) over Cael McCormick (ARMY) by dec. 9-2
174 - Ben Harvey (ARMY) over Tyler Dow (UW) by dec. 4-2
184 - Noah Stewart (ARMY) over Johnny Sebastian (UW) by dec. 3-1
197 - J.T. Brown (ARMY) over Taylor Watkins (UW) by dec. 8-2
HWT - Trent Hillger (UW) over Ben Sullivan (ARMY) by dec. 7-0
Up Next
Wisconsin faces Navy in the Battle on the Midway Friday night at approximately 10 p.m. CT. The Badgers' match vs. the Midshipmen follows the Fresno State vs. Army dual, which begins at 8 p.m. on the deck of the USS Midway. Watch the matches live on FloWrestling.
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