Northwestern’s dual-season slump continued to the very end with a 28-9 loss to Northern Illinois on Friday and a 44-3 loss to No. 11 Illinois on Sunday.
The Wildcats’ (3-9, 1-7 Big Ten) injury list has reached a new high at the worst possible time. By the end of the weekend, the ’Cats were down to three fully healthy regular starters. As coach Matt Storniolo forfeited two matches Friday night and sent out backups for another three, a dual meet that NU won 29-8 last season became a 28-9 loss this time around.
Three of the hosts’ four ranked wrestlers watched Friday night’s proceedings against the Huskies (9-6, 4-1 Mid-American Conference) from the bench, and all four sat out Sunday afternoon against the Fighting Illini (12-5, 5-3 Big Ten).
Redshirt sophomore 149-pounder Sam Cartella, a 2025 national qualifier who was expected to start going into the season, hobbled around Welsh-Ryan Arena on crutches. Storniolo confirmed that the knee injury he sustained in a Jan. 9 dual against Maryland required season-ending surgery.
“I’m not really sure how we avoid those things, other than just getting to a point where we’re so much better than the other guys that we can keep them off our legs and be in more dominating positions,” he said. “It’s hard to win duals when you’re missing your three highest-ranked guys.”
Redshirt freshman Ty Wilson’s debut at 157 pounds was one of the few positives the hosts could take from Friday night. He said he tore his ACL in April, and he expected to miss the entire season. But with redshirt freshman 157-pounder Gunnar Myers out and no one else on the roster who could wrestle in that division, Wilson was cleared to wrestle in the week before the dual.
Sporting a thick brace around his right leg, Wilson scored an early takedown to go up 3-0 against Northern Illinois’ Landen Johnson. Johnson rode Wilson through the entire second period, though, and after Johnson notched two escapes to tie the bout, it looked like he would hold the momentum over a worn-down Wilson going into the sudden-victory period.
But with just eight seconds left in regulation, Wilson shot for a blast double, driving Johnson’s legs to the mat for the all-important takedown in a 6-3 win.
“I was absolutely ready to go out there and put my heart on the line,” he said. “Especially with these guys out there fighting all season, I was ready to come back and join arms with them.”
Graduate student 184-pounder J.D. Perez and freshman 197-pounder Alex Smith rounded out the wins for the ’Cats on a night that was mostly defined by who was not on the mat. No. 21 redshirt senior 133-pounder Sean Spidle missed his Senior Night bout, his third straight dual on the sidelines since a Jan. 30 injury against Michigan’s Gauge Botero.
Storniolo forfeited the 125-pound and 174-pound bouts Friday night after No. 28 redshirt sophomore 125-pounder Dedrick Navarro and No. 29 redshirt freshman 174-pounder Eddie Enright suffered injuries in NU’s 47-0 loss to No. 5 Nebraska last week. All three are expected to return by the Big Ten Championships in March, Storniolo said.
Storniolo added that he knew the roster was thin going into the season as key starters left for other programs — No. 12 197-pounder Evan Bates and 165-pounder Max Mayfield went to Missouri, and 133-pounder Chris Cannon headed to Minnesota — and backups sustained major career-ending injuries. But he didn’t have enough time to fill those gaps, he said.
“Looking forward to next year, we’ve got a bigger recruiting class coming in,” he said. “There are a lot of highly-ranked guys in that class, and we’ll have a lot more depth in terms of bodies, but also the quality of competitors as well.”
Redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Jacob Bostelman briefly returned from a recurring knee injury that has forced NU to forfeit the 165-pound bout on five separate occasions this season. Northern Illinois’ Brett Smith seized on that right knee for an early takedown, and a visibly shaken Bostelman limped back to the locker room at the end of a 10-3 loss.
To make matters worse, No. 32 freshman 141-pounder Billy Dekraker picked up a knock in a 7-5 upset loss to the Huskies’ Charles Curtis. He did not feature on Sunday, leaving just Perez, Smith and graduate student heavyweight Gabe Christenson as the only healthy ’Cats regulars.
Redshirt freshman 141-pounder Giosue Hickman snagged a win in Dekraker’s stead with a 3-2 victory over Illinois’ Will Baysingar. After getting the flu two weeks ago and pneumonia last week, Hickman found out Friday that he would have to make weight by Sunday, Storniolo said.
It was an uphill battle, but Hickman said support from his downed teammates gave him the motivation to step up. He converted a single-leg shot into a takedown to clinch a cagey match at the death.
“I could hear my team behind me, and when (the referee) called three, I could hear them cheering,” Hickman said of the final seconds. “Moments like that are what make being out there really special.”
It was his first career win at Welsh-Ryan Arena. As the Fighting Illini lined up a squad containing eight nationally-ranked wrestlers against an NU lineup devoid of them, he was also the only win of the afternoon.
With the team’s momentum headed south following eight straight dual losses, Storniolo will look to right the ship before the Big Ten Championships at Penn State, March 7 and 8.
“Right now, it’s all about getting as healthy as we can get before the Big Ten tournament,” he said. “Whether you’re having a great season or a less-than-stellar season, it’s 0-0 once you get to March.”
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