Wisconsin Wrestling concluded an impressive season at the Big Ten Championships March 7 and 8, where they finished ninth. Eight Badgers qualified for the NCAA Championships at this meet, which will take place next week.
How we got here:
Wisconsin kicked off the season with a dominant win at home against North Dakota State. Next, they headed to the first invitational of the season at Iowa State. The Badgers finished second overall, behind first place finishes by redshirt junior Nicolar Rivera at 125 pounds and redshirt sophomore Zan Fugitt at 133 pounds.
Throughout the fall non-conference schedule, the Badgers did not lose, picking up wins against Ohio, Bucknell, Army, Hofstra, Lock Haven, Utah Valley and Arizona State. Most were won with significant margins, including a complete sweep of Hofstra, the team’s first since 2015-2016.
The dual against Bucknell was hosted by Stoughton High School, the alma mater of two Badgers, Rivera and redshirt senior Luke Mechler, both of whom picked up wins in their home gym. The match was tight, but the Badgers prevailed with a big win from redshirt junior Braxton Amos at 285 pounds.
The 8-0 start heading into the holiday break was the team’s best start since the 2006-2007 season, almost 20 years ago.
The Iowa Hawkeyes handed the Badgers their first dual loss of the season in the Big Ten opener, despite ranked upset wins from Fugitt and redshirt senior Joe Zargo. But they bounced back with a win against Maryland followed by another against Northwestern.
Next, the team headed to Minnesota to take on the rival Gophers in the 2026 edition of the border battle — however, they came up short for their second loss of the season. They added another loss against Ohio State later that week.
They bounced back with a win against Purdue, but they quickly found themselves struggling again, losing at home to Indiana.
The recent struggles seem to have lit a fire in the Badgers, because they upset the then-ranked No. 10 Michigan Wolverines on Senior Day, winning a tight one, 19-17. The emotions of the shocking win added to the emotions of the five seniors honored at the meet — Zargo, Mechler, redshirt senior Cale Anderson, redshirt junior Gannon Rosenfeld and redshirt junior Dylan Coy, who medically retired due to injury in November.
Wisconsin dropped a close one against Northern Iowa to close out the regular season, finishing 12-5 overall, their best record since the 2021-2022 season. The Badgers peaked at No. 15 on the InterMat rankings and constantly remained in the top 25, with their final ranking being 19th.
Post-season:
Ten Badgers traveled to State College, Pennsylvania to compete in the Big Ten Championships: Amos (285), Anderson (184), Fugitt (133), Mechler (157), Rivera (125), Zargo (149), redshirt sophomore Luke Condon (174), redshirt freshman Carson Exferd (141), redshirt junior Cody Goebel (165) and redshirt freshman Wyatt Ingham (197). The lineup showcases the team’s depth, with a competitor in all ten weight classes.
Last season, the Badgers finished 13th overall at the Big Ten Championships, behind a fourth place finish from Rivera. Rivera along with Fugitt and Goebel qualified for the 2025 National Championships.
Four Badgers dropped their first match to fall to the consolation bracket, No. 13 Exferd to No. 4 Nasir Bailey (Iowa), No. 12 Condon to No. 5 Beau Mantanona (Michigan), No. 10 Goebel to No. 7 Andrew Barbosa (Rutgers) and N0. 14 Anderson to No. 3 Silas Allred (Nebraska). Ultimately, Exferd did not place in the 141-pound weight class, Condon finished 11th in the 174-pound weight class, Goebel finished ninth in the 165-pound weight class and Anderson did not place in the 184-pound weight class.
No. 7 Rivera started the Championships for the Badgers with a win against No. 10 Dedrick Navarro (Northwestern), however he was beat by No. 2 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) and then lost in the consolations to No. 9 Diego Sotelo (Michigan). Rivera ultimately finished 10th overall in the 125-pound weight class.
No. 4 Fugitt also began with a win against No. 13 Gauge Botero (Michigan). Fugitt then took on No. 5 Drake Ayala (Iowa), who beat him by decision, 10-3. He beat No. 14 Jager Eisch (Minnesota) in overtime in consolations and No. 7 Sean Spidle (Northwestern) to advance to the consolation semi finals, where he beat No. 10 Blake Boarman (Purdue). Fugitt then lost to No. 5 Drake Ayala to finish fourth overall in the 133-pound weight class.
Next, No. 3 Zargo moved on with wins over No. 14 August Hibler (Northwestern) and No. 6 Chance Lamer (Nebraska) to reach the final four. There, he lost to No. 2 Ethan Stiles (Ohio State), and again to No. 5 Carter Young (Maryland). Zargo finished the meet with a win against No. 9 Michael Gioffre (Illinois) to finish fifth overall in the 149-pound weight class.
No. 8 Mechler beat No. 9 Stoney Buell (Purdue) but was then beaten by No. 1 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska). He beat No. 10 Victor Voinovich (Iowa) in the consolation rounds. But he lost to No. 11 Bryce Lowery (Indiana) to finish seventh overall in the 157-pound weight class.
In the upper weights, No. 6 Ingham won against No. 11 Gavin Nelson (Minnesota) and No. 3 Remy Cotton (Rutgers) to reach the final four. He then lost to No. 2 Camden McDanel (Nebraska) and No. 8 Gabe Sollars (Indiana). But Ingham pinned No. 3 Remy Cotton to finish fifth overall in the 197-pound weight class.
Lastly, No. 5 Amos notched a win against No. 12 Joey Schneck (Maryland) to move on, but he was then beat by No. 4 Cole Mirasola (Penn State). He pinned No. 14 Caleb Marzolino (Indiana) in the consolation rounds and beat No. 7 Koy Hopke (Minnesota) to reach the consolation semi finals. He then lost to No. 3 Nick Feldman (Ohio State) and finished sixth overall in the 285-pound weight class.
Eight Badgers punched their ticket to the NCAA Championships — Amos, Condon, Fugitt, Goebel, Ingham, Mechler, Rivera and Zargo.
The team will head to Cleveland on March 19 through March 21 for the NCAA National Championship meet, looking to cap off a successful season on the mat. With seven qualifiers, this will be the largest presence at the championships in recent memory.
