Northwestern opened its 2025 with a whimper this weekend, starting with a sour 31-13 loss at Purdue Friday before falling at No. 11 Illinois 33-7 Sunday.
The Wildcats (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) entered the weekend on a high after five wrestlers finished in the top eight of their respective weight classes at the Midlands Championships, hosted on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30.
NU surpassed last season’s 1-9 record by the new year with non-conference wins over Northern Illinois and Cal Poly. No. 10 graduate student 141-pounder Chris Cannon and No. 11 graduate student 157-pounder Trevor Chumbley also returned to NU’s list of probable starters entering the weekend after upper body injuries had kept them out since Nov. 24 and Dec. 7 respectively.
NU’s top wrestlers impressed, but their rivals’ deep rosters proved too powerful. While three nationally-ranked ’Cats wrestled this weekend, the team faced six ranked Boilermakers and nine ranked Illini.
After dropping a David-versus-Goliath-esque matchup by technical fall against No. 1 125-pounder Matt Ramos, redshirt freshman Dedrick Navarro rebounded in Champaign. Three takedowns and control for the vast majority of the bout helped him to an 11-1 major decision win over the Illini’s only unranked starter, Caelan Riley.
Sophomore 133-pounder Massey Odiotti fell into a 10-0 hole against Purdue’s Dustin Norris but rallied back in the third period, scoring seven points and limiting the Boilermakers to three team points. The road did not relent for Odiotti on Sunday, as he faced No. 2 Lucas Byrd and lost by a major decision.
Cannon had a shaky return to the mat, losing his Friday matchup by a 9-13 decision against Purdue’s No. 33 141-pounder Greyson Clark. A top-15 bout between Cannon and Illinois’s No. 13 Danny Pucino was locked in a 2-3 stalemate midway through the second period when Cannon’s left shoulder seemed to dislocate in a scramble, forcing him to medically forfeit.
Redshirt freshman 149-pounder Sam Cartella had the best weekend of any NU wrestler, winning both of his bouts. A dominant 14-0 major decision win over Purdue’s Isaac Ruble was Cartella’s seventh straight shutout. Illinois’s No. 11 Kannon Webster broke that streak, but Cartella still emerged with a 6-4 upset win.
With NU coach Matt Storniolo deciding not to risk Chumbley, sophomore 157-pounder Jacob Bostelman wrestled in his place. Facing two ranked wrestlers in Purdue’s No. 7 Joey Blaze and Illinois’s No. 27 Jason Kraisser, Bostelman lost his Friday matchup by major decision but kept a 3-2 lead well into the third period of his Sunday bout. However, a double-leg takedown by Kraisser swept Bostelman off his feet, giving the Illini a 6-3 decision win of their own.
No. 19 redshirt senior 165-pounder Maxx Mayfield dominated his Friday bout against Purdue’s No. 33 Stoney Buell with a 17-2 win by technical fall. His second ranked matchup of the weekend against No. 10 Braeden Scoles was more of a chess match than a wrestling bout, and Mayfield came out on the losing end of a cagey 2-1 decision.
Redshirt junior 174-pounder Aiden Vandenbush lost his first matchup by technical fall against No. 26 Brody Baumann and his second by major decision to No. 21 Danny Braunagel. Freshman 184-pounder Matthew Kubas got two starts over usual graduate student starter Jon Halvorsen but lost both by technical fall. Kubas is still expected to redshirt his freshman year, as freshmen are allowed to appear in five meets without using up a season of eligibility.
No. 13 redshirt junior 197-pounder Evan Bates won the Wildcats’ second of three ranked matchups in the Purdue meet, securing an 8-0 major decision victory over No. 30 Ben Vanadia. In Champaign, Bates conceded a takedown late in each of the first two periods from No. 11 Zac Braunagel and rarely got on the attack before the third period, leading to an 8-4 decision loss.
Boilermaker 285-pounder Hayden Filipovich hammered the nail in the Wildcats’ coffin with a pin over NU redshirt freshman Dirk Morley. Morley also lost the last bout of Sunday night by technical fall to Illinois’s No. 11 Luke Luffman.
The ’Cats will return to Evanston to face No. 10 Michigan this Friday at 7 p.m.
Email: siddarthsivaraman2028@u.northwestern.edu
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