Junior World silver medalist Ryan Deakin returns to high school gym and helps lead Northwestern to dual victory

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Northwestern picked up a 24-20 win over Northern Colorado on Sunday afternoon in a neutral-site dual at Legacy High School in Bromfield, Colo.

With the teams splitting the dual 5-5, bonus points made the difference for the NU Wildcats, who picked up two falls, a technical fall and a major decision on the day.

“I think it was a great performance,” Northwestern coach Matt Storniolo said. “It wasn’t the prettiest, but you’ve got to win the ugly ones, too. We were able to dig our way out of a hole that we put ourselves into early in the dual. Bonus points are big, especially in a match like this where not everything is going your way. You have to take advantage of those opportunities you have.”

The highlight of the dual came at 149 pounds, where 2017 Junior World silver medalist Ryan Deakin, a native of Broomfield, returned to his old high school mat.

“I used to wrestle in this gym, and it’s really cool to be able to come back to a home crowd and see a lot of people I haven’t seen in a while. It’s kind of surreal,” Deakin said.

Deakin, ranked No. 9 in Trackwrestling’s national rankings, took on UNC’s Jimmy Fate. Deakin snagged takedowns in every period, producing multiple takedowns in the first and second periods. A third-period four-point nearfall helped him to a 16-3 major decision.

“Every time I step on the mat, I’m trying to put my best foot forward and wrestle my best match,” Deakin said. “It’s all about going out there, having fun and wrestling the whole time.”

With the dual starting at 184 pounds, the UNC Bears won the first two bouts for a 6-0 lead with wins coming from No. 25 Dylan Gabel and No. 19 Jacob Seeley, but NU responded with a pin from No. 19 Conan Jennings at the first-period buzzer over Robert Winters to tie it up.

The Wildcats pulled away after a technical fall performance from No. 12 Sebastian Rivera at 125 pounds. He defeated Michael Johnson in five minutes, 18-3.

In addition to Deakin’s major decision, Northwestern tallied two other wins at the middle weights with a fall in 5:38 at 141 pounds from Alec McKenna and an 8-4 decision from Shayne Oster at 157 pounds.

“It was good to get the pin,” McKenna said. “We needed a lot of bonus points today because we knew Northern Colorado was going to wrestle us tough. It was good to turn the match around after giving up the first takedown. It was their first dual meet, so they were going to get tired quick and I knew I would be able to score a lot of points late.”

Northern Colorado’s three other wins came from Rico Montoya at 133 pounds, who earned a 7-3 decision, No. 23 Keilan Torres at 165 pounds, who pinned his opponent in 4:46, and Seth Bogulski at 174 pounds, who scored a 21-6 technical fall.

Up next for Northwestern is a double-header with Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 15 in San Luis Obispo, Calif., while Northern Colorado will host No. 3 Oklahoma State on Dec. 18 in Greeley, Colo.

NORTHWESTERN 24, NORTHERN COLORADO 20

at Legacy High School (Broomfield, Colo.), Dec. 10, 2017

*Dual started at 184 pounds
184: #25 Dylan Gabel (UNC) dec. #16 Mitch Sliga (NU), 5-0 | UNC 3, NU 0
197: #19 Jacob Seely (UNC) dec. Zack Chakonis (NU), 4-3 | UNC 6, NU 0
285: #19 Conan Jennings (NU) fall Robert Winters (UNC), 3:00 | NU 6, UNC 6
125: #12 Sebastian Rivera (NU) TF Michael Johnson (UNC), 18-3 (5:00) | NU 11, UNC 6
133: Rico Montoya (UNC) dec. Colin Valdiviez (NU), 7-3 | NU 11, UNC 9
141: Alec McKenna (NU) fall Benjamin Polkowske (UNC), 5:38 | NU 17, UNC 9
149: #9 Ryan Deakin (NU) MD Jimmy Fate (UNC), 16-3 | NU 21, UNC 9
157: Shayne Oster (NU) dec. Tyler Kinn (UNC), 8-4 | NU 24, UNC 9
165: #23 Keilan Torres (UNC) fall Michael Sepke (NU), 4:46 | NU 24, UNC 15
174: Seth Bogulski (UNC) TF Braxton Cody (NU), 21-6 (6:41) | NU 24, UNC 20