It’s been an up and down campaign for the Wisconsin wrestling team so far this season.
Make no mistake, no one was expecting this team to compete for a Big Ten title or anything like that. But with the tournament schedule in the books and the meat of the conference slate quickly approaching, the Badgers still seem to be lacking some momentum.
UW began the season ranked No.13 in the nation by FloWrestling and with a trio of ranked wrestlers in Ryan Taylor, Isaac Jordan and Ricky Robertson. While, admittedly, that’s not enough fire power to make the Badgers world beaters, it probably could have been enough to have Wisconsin in a better position than it currently sits.
Wisconsin is not included in Flo’s dual team rankings following losses to unranked Pittsburgh and No.1 Penn State. UW’s lone dual win of the season came against NCAA Division III UW-Whitewater back in early November.
The tournament trail was a mixed bag for the Badgers, who have fallen to No.18 in the tournament team rankings.
Sans Jordan and Taylor, Wisconsin had a solid showing at the Michigan State Open. Johnny Jimenez placed second at 125 and Rylan Lubeck (149), TJ Ruschell (157) and Ryan Christensen (184) each finished fourth in their respective weight classes.
The Badgers seemed to be hitting their stride at the Navy Classic in mid-November.
Jordan made his triumphant return to the lineup with an individual championship. Brock Horwath followed suit by grabbing the crown at 285. He allowed just two points the entire tournament.
Jimenez recorded his second consecutive runner-up finish as Wisconsin also boasted a fourth place finisher to go along with three fifths and two sixths.
At the Cliff Keen Invitational in early December, the Badgers filled just seven of 10 weight classes but were still able to produce three place winners.
Jordan took top honors at 165 while Robertson finished fifth and Christensen took eighth.
Though it most certainly would have been a different story with a healthy Taylor in the mix, Wisconsin finished tied for 16th at the 40-team event, the lowest among the five Big Ten schools competing and the lowest amongst ranked teams at the event.
Then came the Midlands Championships, an event that left a bit of a sour taste. The Badgers chose to leave the big three behind in favor of more training. Once again, UW filled seven of 10 weights.
Unlike the Cliff Keen Invite, however, the Badgers were unable to salvage much of anything without star power in their lineup. UW finished 26th at the 41-team tournament and failed to advance a single wrestler to the event’s second day. It was the only tournament of the
That brings us to today.
Could things be worse? Definitely. Could they be a bit better? Well, there’s always room for improvement.
The main issue seems to be that the Badgers have only had the luxury of having their big three in the same lineup for just one competition this year, the 25-9 loss to Pitt where Jordan was the only one of the three to record a victory.
Jordan has been a bright spot for UW. The redshirt junior began the season ranked second in the land at 165 pounds and is currently No.3 following a perfect 13-0 start. His is currently ranked 16th in Flo’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Taylor, who started the season ranked second at 133 but has since fallen to eighth, has been dealing with an injury. Frankly, you can’t blame him for that.
He dropped his lone match of the season but, if healthy, will be a major contributor and still figures to have a solid chance at being an All-American for the second time in his career.
Robertson has been a bit of a mystery this season. After beginning the year ranked tenth at 174, he has fallen to No.12 and holds a pedestrian record of 9-6. To put that into perspective, Robertson had only 10 losses all of last season, two of them came at the Big Ten Championships and two more came at the NCAAs.
Robertson, a 2015 NCAA qualifier, has faced four opponents that were ranked by InterMat and has lost to all four of them.
At times, it seems like Robertson can beat nearly anyone. Other times, it feels as though he can be tripped up by just about anyone. The redshirt sophomore is definitely capable of getting back on track, but only time will tell if he can put it together consistently.
The Badgers’ five January duals feature four ranked opponents. Wisconsin hosts No.9 Nebraska on Friday before entertaining No.2 Iowa at the Kohl Center on Jan.15.
The following week, Wisconsin hits the road for duals at No.8 Rutgers and unranked Maryland.
Wisconsin closes out the month with a home dual against No.13 Illinois.
This is where the rubber meets the road for the Badgers. This crucial stretch of conference duals will speak volumes about the team and its ability to compete.
It is imperative the Badgers put their best lineup forward, something they have, arguably, only done once this season.
While Taylor, Jordan and Robertson are a large part of the equation, there is another, equally important, trio that will be a component of the Badgers’ results in January and beyond: Lubeck, Christensen and Horwath.
While the big three will be the ones making the bus move, the latter trio will be the ones steering. As Lubeck, Christensen and Horwath go, so will the Badgers.
Lubeck was a NCAA qualifier in 2014 and was 10-12 as a starter a season ago and is 9-8 this year.
Christensen, a redshirt freshman, has shown some real grit this season, posting a 12-10 record. He is responsible for three of Wisconsin’s six wins against wrestlers ranked by InterMat.
Horwath is 11-7 in his first year as a starter. The redshirt senior has spent several years training with All-American Connor Medbery who is taking an Olympic redshirt this season.
All three of these athletes have records that are hovering around .500. And all three have the potential to make a few more of those matches go their way moving forward.
The big three will score their points consistently, if Lubeck, Christensen and Horwath are able to do the same, the Badgers have a great chance at being successful.
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