Over the weekend, the University of Wisconsin wrestling team traveled to the state of Indiana on their final dual road trip of the year, winning against Indiana and Purdue.

Wrestling: Badgers upset No. 5 Nebraska, fall to Minnesota, Ohio State

The Badgers first traveled to Bloomington to take on the Hoosiers Friday night.

The first match of the night, featuring the only match of the night with two ranked wrestlers, was at 149. Wisconsin’s No. 12 Cole Martin took on No. 22 Graham Rooks. Martin majored Rooks 12–3 at the Midlands Championship in December, but Rooks proved stiffer competition this time. Rooks took Martin down with 16 seconds left in the bout and held on to win 4–3.

Drew Scharenbrock dropped the next match for the Badgers at 157, losing by a 5–3 decision. No. 3 Evan Wick quickly got the Badgers back on track with a pin, to tie the duel 6–6 heading into the 4th match.

Jared Krattiger kept the ball rolling at 174, also securing a pin, to give the Badgers a 12–6 lead. Not wanting to be outdone by his teammates, No. 11 Johnny Sebastian secured a 20–4 tech-fall. Sebastian returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 10 and toted a rather large brace on his right shoulder. Hopefully, Sebastian can remain healthy from here on, as he’s going to be a crucial part of the Badgers push for team accolades come postseason tournament time.

Taylor Watkins got the nod this time for the Badgers at 197 and produced his first dual win with a 6–1 decision. No. 5 Trent Hillger secured an 8–3 decision to give the Badgers a comfortable 23–6 lead. Eric Barnett dropped a close 7–4 decision in the 125 bout. 

No. 1 Seth Gross continued his dominance, winning a 12–4 major decision. Dominic Dentino saw some action with the dual win already being secured. He, unfortunately, lost 10–4, to give the Badgers a 27–12 win against the Hoosiers.

Wrestling: Catching up with Wisconsin as they begin conference play

In their final stop of the weekend, the Badger squad traveled to West Lafayette Sunday to take on the Purdue Boilermakers. The Boilermakers were ranked No. 7, making this a very competitive dual on paper for the No. 4 Badgers.

Barnett opened up the dual against No. 6 Devin Schroder. Barnett showed how dangerous he can be as he led 8–1 after the first period where he secured two takedowns and a nearside cradle for near fall, all from Schroder’s shots. Schroder, however, showed why he is No. 6 in the nation, and stormed back for a 9–8 victory.

No. 1 Gross wasted no time in pinning his opponent, winning in just 1:12. No. 4 Tristan Moran gutted out a close 6–2 decision to push the Badgers’ lead to 9–3.

In the only bout of the afternoon featuring two ranked wrestlers, No. 12 Martin took on No. 15 Griffin Parriott. Martin responded to a disappointing Friday showing, with an impressive ranked win with a 4–2 decision.

Scharenbrock faced a tough test at 157 against No. 8 Kendall Coleman. Coleman recorded a 26–11 tech-fall against Scharenbrock. The Badgers lead 12–8 heading into the second half of the dual.

Wrestling: Wisconsin primed for strong season after new additions via recruitment, transfer portal

No. 3 Wick continued his dominance when he recorded his second pin of the weekend. Wick spent a total of 6:02 on the mat last weekend.

Krattiger faced a tough test against Purdue’s No. 4 Dylan Lydy at 174. Krattiger was very competitive as he was tied with Lydy 1–1 until the final 30 seconds. Lydy recorded two takedowns in the final moments to win 5–2.

No. 11 Sebastian won a close 4–3 decision against Purdue’s Max Lyon. Watkins wrestled a tough overtime match in the penultimate bout of the evening but ended up losing 3–1 in sudden victory. The Badgers won the final bout of the afternoon via injury disqualification. The No. 4 Badgers took down the No. 7 Boilermakers 27–14.

Friday, the Wisconsin wrestling team faces one of the best teams in the nation at the UW Field House when they take on the No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions. 

Last year in State College, PA the No. 19 Badgers scared the then-No. 1 Nittany Lions, as the underdog Badgers led 13–9 through six of the 10 bouts before ultimately losing 24–13. Friday, the Badgers look to upset their second highest-ranked opponent at home (Nebraska being the highest).

The Badgers are underdogs but poised to upset one of the best teams in the nation. Friday night should be a good one and you won’t want to miss it. The action gets started at 8 p.m. in the UW Field House, and it will be broadcast on BTN.