Wrestling: Cartella’s breakout moment provides bright spot in an 0-2 weekend

Northwestern dropped dual meets against Purdue and No. 11 Illinois.

Sam Cartella’s upset win over No. 11 Kannon Webster at 149 lbs offered a glimpse of the future for Northwestern wrestling (2-3, 0-2 B1G) as the ‘Cats dropped dual meets to both Purdue (8-1, 1-0 B1G) and No. 11 Illinois (7-1, 2-1 B1G) over the weekend.

Cartella, a redshirt freshman, had not given up a single point in his seven previous victories going all the way back to the CLKV Invitational in early December. The ceiling is sky-high for the youngster, who will have three more full years of eligibility remaining after the 2024-25 season.

The rest of the Wildcat lineup didn’t fare nearly as well. Purdue coasted to a 31-13 victory on Friday in Northwestern’s conference opener. The meet started to get away from the ‘Cats when No. 10 Chris Cannon dropped his bout with No. 33 Greyson Clark in a hard fought 13-9 decision. Northwestern would have needed a near-perfect day to get past a formidable Purdue side, and Cannon’s loss all but sealed Wildcat fates.

Northwestern’s top two wrestlers did take care of business against the Boilermakers. No. 19 Maxx Mayfield and No. 13 Evan Bates both earned smooth victories over ranked opponents on Friday. Mayfield continued his undefeated start in dual meet action with a 17-2 win over No. 33 Stoney Buell, earning a technical fall in the third period to cap yet another display of dominance at 165 lbs.

The heavyweight Bates, wrestling at 197 lbs, dispatched with No. 30 Ben Vanadia in an 8-0 major decision.

Cartella also earned a victory in his individual match against Purdue, besting Isaac Ruble 14-0 in another uncompetitive major decision.

The second-year wrestler would have a true breakout moment two days later in Northwestern’s matchup with Illinois. Cartella earned a thrilling comeback victory over No. 11 Kannon Webster, scoring five of his six points in the third period on the way to a 6-4 decision.

Webster is also redshirt freshman, but he had a banner 2023-24 season competing in open meets while preserving his eligibility. The Illinois native went a bonkers 20-1 in his first season in Champaign complete with a signature win over No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio from Ohio State.

Dedrick Navarro was the only other Wildcat wrestler to win his individual bout against the Illinis as the Northwestern lost 33-7.

All but one wrestler in Illinois’ 10-man lineup is ranked in the top 30 at their weight class by InterMat, and head coach Mike Poeta’s squad already has wins over No. 6 Missouri, No. 23 North Carolina and No. 5 Ohio State on their resume.

Both Bates and Mayfield suffered close losses in Champaign. No. 10 Braeden Scoles narrowly edged out Mayfield in a gritty 2-1 decision at 165 lbs, and Bates fell 8-4 to No. 11 Zac Braunagel at 197 lbs.

Northwestern’s Jacob Bostelman also deserves mentioning for pushing graduate student No. 27 Jason Kraisser to the brink at 157 lbs. Bostleman, a redshirt freshman, competed with Kraisser for the full three period before falling in a 6-3 decision. Kraiser also qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2023 while at Iowa State. The kids are going to be alright.

Northwestern is back in action on Friday at Welsh-Ryan against Michigan.