Northwestern handled business with a 29-8 victory over Northern Illinois.
It was smooth sailing for Northwestern wrestling in its dual season opener.
The Wildcats seized momentum early against Northern Illinois on Saturday, securing a comfortable 29-8 victory. NU was led by No. 20 Sam Cartella and No. 25 Evan Bates, both of whom earned victories by technical fall in their respective matches. The ‘Cats won eight out of ten bouts in all, and redshirt freshman Dedrick Navarro snatched a key opening advantage with a come-from-behind upset win over No. 27 Blake West.
Navarro eked out a 7-6 decision win, securing a 3-0 edge for the ‘Cats in the 125-pound match. NIU briefly took the 4-3 lead after a major decision win, as the Huskies’ Markel Baker handled business over Northwestern’s Massey Odiotti by a score of 14-3. Odiotti competed at 133 pounds for the second straight meet after wrestling at 125 pounds throughout his freshman year. However, the sophomore was unable to replicate his strong performance from the Michigan State Open, losing 14-3.
From there, the ‘Cats were on fire, ripping off a seven-bout winning streak and coasting to victory. Chris Cannon started off the carnage for Northwestern with a 9-3 win over Charles Curtis. After that, Cartella took care of business against Collin Arch, a fellow redshirt freshman (TF 15-0 7:00). In doing so, Cartella extended his perfect record in dual meets, improving to 3-0 in his career. Trevor Chumbley, an experienced graduate student from St. Charles, Illinois, continued NU’s momentum with a 8-2 decision win over Landen Johnson in the 157-pound battle. Redshirt senior Maxx Mayfield was next, and he picked up three more points for the ‘Cats, beating Brett Smith 11-4.
At that point, momentum was completely flipped in favor of the Wildcats. With Northwestern holding a 17-4 lead, the stage was set for Joseph Martin, a redshirt sophomore who was previously 0-3 at dual meets in his career. On Saturday, the California native broke through, picking up a 4-0 win over redshirt junior Jake Evans. With victory imminent at that point, Jon Halvorsen stifled Spencer Steiner in a 12-2 major decision win. Bates then dominated in the 197-pound weight class, clinching a 19-4 win by technical fall over Spencer Mooberry. The win put Bates’ dual meet record at 6-5 overall dating back to the beginning of the 2023-24 season.
The ‘Cats held a whopping 29-4 lead at that point, but Jacob Christensen — a 285-pound redshirt junior — provided some semblance of solace for the Huskies, closing the meet with a 12-2 win over Wildcat redshirt freshman Dirk Morley. Still, the ‘Cats made a statement at Welsh-Ryan Arena, winning by a final score of 29-8.
Following the 1-0 start, the Wildcats will be back in action on Sunday against Little Rock. That matchup will take place at home at 2 PM CT. Northwestern will look to remain undefeated in dual season before going on the road for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which begins on Dec. 6.