Three Wisconsin wrestlers earned individual championships at the North Carolina State Wolfpack Open on Sunday.
Andrew Crone (149 pounds), Isaac Jordan (165) and Ryan Christensen (174) each finished on top of their respective weight classes.
Five of Crone’s six victories came via decision, including a 7-5 triumph over No.15 Sam Speno (North Carolina State) in the semifinals.
Crone went on to blank Gerald McGinty of Air Force in the finals by a score of 5-0.
Jordan breezed through his bracket with a 6-0 record, racking up five bonus-point wins, three by fall. He topped Tyler Marinelli (Gardner-Webb) by major decision, 14-5 in the championship bout.
Meanwhile, Christensen picked up five wins en route to his title. He topped Connor Bass (Duke) 1-0 in a tiebreaker to claim the title.
Ricky Robertson posted a 3-1 mark on the day, finishing as runner-up at 197 pounds.
Robertson recorded wins by pin, decision and tech fall, respectively before falling to Peter Renda (NC State – Unattached) 3-2 in the first-place match.
Jens Lantz (125) and Cole Martin (141) placed third, while Hunter Ritter (184) took fifth. Michael Cullen (125) and Eric Peissig (197) each finished eighth.
Overall, UW wrestlers went 53-25 over the course of the tournament.
The Badgers return to action Dec.2 at the two-day Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas.
Badgers top Duke for first dual win
UW picked up a victory in its first dual of the season on Friday, downing host Duke 25-17 in a non-conference match.
The Badgers found themselves in a 6-0 hole after the first bout of the evening, but second-ranked Isaac Jordan knotted the score with a pin in the 165-pound match.
Ryan Christensen put Wisconsin ahead with a win by decision at 174, topping Duke’s Connor Bass by a count of 12-7.
That lead was short-lived, however. Alec Schenk (184) pulled the match even at nine apiece with a 6-3 decision over Hunter Ritter.
Ricky Robertson got UW back on top for good with a win by major decision at 197.
Then came the true turning point of the dual. Redshirt freshman heavyweight Ben Stone pinned No.16 Jacob Kasper in the heavyweight bout, winning by fall in 1:18.
Duke took three of the next four matches to cut its deficit to 22-17 heading into the clash at 149 pounds, the final match of the night.
Wisconsin’s Andrew Crone found himself trailing 8-3 heading into the final period. He exploded for eight points in the final two minutes to grab an 11-9 win and secure the dual meet win for the Badgers.
No.18 Wisconsin 25, Duke 17
157: Joey Abbate (D) p. Izaec Quintanilla, 5:46
165: No.2 Isaac Jordan (WIS) p. Michael Wright, 2:40
174: Ryan Christensen (WIS) dec. Connor Bass, 12-7
184: Alec Schenk (D) dec. Hunter Ritter, 6-3
197: Ricky Robertson (WIS) maj. dec. Alex Belaia Martiniouk, 18-6
HWT: Ben Stone (WIS) p. No.16 Jacob Kasper, 1:18
125: Thayer Atkins (D) dec. Jens Lantz, 5-2
133: Eli Stickley (WIS) dec. Cole Baumgartner, 7-2
141: Zach Finesilver (D) tf. Luke Rowh, 17-0
149: Andrew Crone (WIS) dec. Xavier Ramos, 11-9
Photo Credit: David Stluka
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