Director of the Midlands Championships Tim Cysewski ended the last home dual meet of his 44th and final season with Northwestern where he was always meant to be: in the middle of the huddle celebrating a win.
The Wildcats (4-6, 2-5 Big Ten) sent off the winningest head coach in NU wrestling history with a 27-11 victory over Wisconsin Friday night and a one-word huddle break: “Family.”
“Tim’s like a dad to me personally,” current NU coach Matt Storniolo said. “I love that man, and to the team, he’s an uplifting spirit. I know he’s not going to disappear from Northwestern wrestling, but we’re going to miss him on a daily basis.”
After eight years as an assistant in Evanston, Cysewski took over the head coaching job in 1990, producing four individual NCAA champions and winning 155 duals over a 20-year tenure. He left the post after the 2009 season, briefly switching roles with then-associate head coach Drew Pariano before becoming the director of NU’s Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, of which he is a five-time champion. Storniolo joined the ’Cats as an assistant in the 2009 offseason before becoming head coach in 2016.
With Cysewski watching on, the ’Cats won seven of ten bouts for the second straight dual. Wisconsin’s Luke Condon put the Badgers on the board first with a 12-6 decision over redshirt junior 174-pounder Aiden Vandenbush, but the hosts won all of the other heavyweights.
Graduate student 184-pounder Jon Halvorsen pulled out his third overtime win of the season with a sudden-death takedown of Wisconsin’s Dylan Russo. Described by Storniolo as the most athletic wrestler on the team, Halvorsen credited his teammates for pushing him in practice daily.
“Every single person is just putting all their effort into something like this and coming out with the win,” Halvorsen said. “Timmy — (about) 70 years old — is still putting his shoes on and getting on the mat … It was awesome to get the win for guys like that.”
On a Senior Night commemorating the ’Cats’ longtime veterans, redshirt freshman 285-pounder Dirk Morley secured a comeback 15-14 win over Wisconsin’s Gannon Rosenfeld. A developing wrestler who has lost half of his bouts this season by technical fall or pin, Morley refused to be pushed around Friday night.
Morley dug himself into a 9-3 hole but clawed his way back, scoring takedowns in all three periods to keep the match close. A last-minute takedown tied the score with just enough time for him to secure the extra riding time point, and he kept his composure to win at the buzzer.
“It’s been a tough season, so just going out there and wrestling the full seven minutes, right?” Morley said. “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
Wins by Wisconsin’s ranked wrestlers in the 125-pound and 133-pound bouts tied the team score, but the heart of the NU order took control. Graduate student 141-pounder Chris Cannon won his second bout of the calendar year before three ranked NU wrestlers each secured extra-point victories to cement the result.
The ’Cats will travel westward to face No. 3 Iowa this Sunday at 1 p.m. The Hawkeyes averaged the highest attendance in the nation over each of the last 17 years, presenting a hostile environment that Storniolo said would prepare the team for hosting the Big Ten tournament.
“It’s going to be in our arena, but I promise you we’re not going to be the loudest group of fans here,” he said. “It’s good for guys to get that last match in a tough environment with a lot of black and gold, because you’re going to see that at the Big Ten tournament.”
Email: siddarthsivaraman2028@u.northwestern.edu
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