No. 9 Badgers top No. 5 Cornhuskers at home

Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics

MADISON, Wis. – In their return home, the Wisconsin wrestling team put on a show at the UW Field House. The Badgers beat the No. 5 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers with a final team score of 25-18, highlighted by big wins from Tristan Moran and Cole Martin.

At 141 pounds, Tristan Moran, coming off of a huge upset over No. 2 Mitch McKee from Minnesota, defeated No. 6 Chad Red by a 9-4 decision. Moran fell behind with an early take down but bounced back in the second period and held on for the decision.

No. 12 Cole Martin wrestled angry today at 149 pounds. Martin lost a heartbreaking 6-4 decision on Friday against No. 4 Brayton Lee of Minnesota but bounced back in a huge way today. Martin took down No. 16 Collin Purinton early in the first period and recorded the pin in just 1:44.

Evan Wick, Wisconsin’s All-American 165-pounder, recorded his 100^th collegiate victory against No. 3 Isaiah White. Wick is currently ranked sixth by FloWrestling and made a huge statement today getting the 6-3 decision.

Eric Barnett started the dual off at 125-pounds with a big victory. Barnett, the true freshman out of Hortonville, Wis., pinned Nebraska’s Alex Thomsen in 5:45. Barnett has appeared in two duals at the UW Field House and each has resulted in a pin.

No. 1 Seth Gross and No. 5 Trent Hillger both tacked on ranked victories today. At 133-pounds, Seth Gross got the 13-5 major decision over No. 13 Ridge Lovett. Wrapping up the night at 285-pounds, Hillger beat Nebraska’s No. 16 Christian Lance 4-1.

Straight from the mat

“It was an outstanding team win. I’m very happy with the guys, not just for the win but we had a lot of upset guys on Friday night after Minnesota. I’m very happy with the way that they responded. They took the message to heart and they went out and wrestled hard and scored a lot of bonus points. That is something we have been emphasizing and up and down the lineup I am very proud of how they responded.”
Head coach, Chris Bono

“Honestly I think it’s better for me. I love big time matches, I love big time crowds. The higher the rank, the better they are so I just go out there and have fun. I don’t think there is anyone in the 141-pound weight class that can beat me. I mean that’s what Coach Bono preaches to me all day and that’s what I truly believe. When I’m on, I don’t think there are many people that can beat me. “
Redshirt senior, Tristan Moran

"You can't allow the wins and losses to determine how you're going to wrestle. You have to execute your game plan every single time. That's something that's big for me, just staying calm and staying relaxed. If you have short term memory that helps you stay calm and relaxed, so that's really good that coach is preaching that. I think our guys are really good at doing that now."
Redshirt junior, Evan Wick

Notables
- Evan Wick got his 100^th career victory against No. 3 Chad Red
- 1,891 fans attended Military Appreciation Day
- Tristan Moran got his second upset of the weekend against No. 6 Chad Red

Attendance: 1,891

No. 9 Wisconsin 25, No. 5 Nebraska 18
125 – Eric Barnett (UW) over Alex Thomsen (NEB) by fall, 5:45
133 – No. 1 Seth Gross (UW) over No. 13 Ridge Lovett (NEB) by major dec. 13-5
141 – No. 9 Tristan Moran (UW) over No. 6 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) by dec. 9-4
149 – No. 12 Cole Martin (UW) over No. 16 Collin Purinton (NEB) by fall, 1:44
157 – No. 11 Peyton Robb (NEB) over Drew Scharenbrock (UW) by tech. fall 19-2
165 – No. 6 Evan Wick (UW) over No. 3 Isaiah White (NEB) by dec. 10-6
174 – No. 6 Mikey Labriola (NEB) over Jared Krattiger (UW) by dec. 9-3
184 – No. 5 Taylor Venz (NEB) over Tyler Dow (UW) by tech. fall 17-1
197 – No. 14 Eric Schultz (NEB) over Taylor Watkins (UW) by tech. fall 24-8
285 – No. 5 Trent Hillger (UW) over No. 16 Christian Lance (NEB) 4-1