Following a season of records both on the purple Welsh-Ryan Arena home mats and on the road, No.13 Northwestern Wrestling is poised to hit the ground running towards more achievements this upcoming winter season.

The Cats (7-3) had a strong home start, competing in and hosting the 58th Ken Kraft Midlands Championship in December. With three wrestlers taking first place in their respective weight classes, the team took home the Team Champions’ banner after topping Penn, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and Illinois in the team leaderboard. 

The regular season ended with a 5-3 Big Ten record following Northwestern’s last conference victory against No. 9 Minnesota. Sporting their home singlets and scoring wins for six out of the nine individual matches, the successful dual-meet represented the Cats’ first home win over the Golden Gophers since 1996. With the 2021-22 season’s Big Ten record having previously represented their best conference performance, coach Matt Storniolo and the team are becoming a force to be reckoned with for the upcoming season.

Beyond their regular season schedule, 10 Cats competed in the 2023 Big Ten Championships at Ann Arbor, Michigan, seven of whom earned podium finishes. Then-redshirt senior heavyweight Lucas Davison also landed a bookend fifth-place finish at the NCAA championships, earning All-American honors while doing so. 

With the team only working their way up from high points, it’s best not to miss the takedowns and the pins at the Welsh-Ryan Arena this season. 

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Twitter: @TheMicahSandy

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