Contact: Sam Fretto, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu
Results
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Dec. 6, 2024)- In a battle of two ranked teams, the No. 9-ranked North Central College men's wrestling team (4-0, 3-0 CCIW) hosted the No. 21-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (1-3, 1-1 WIAC) inside of Gregory Arena Friday night. The Cardinals made the comeback to take down the Warhawks 27-13.
The night started off with a battle in the 133-pound class as Ethan Spacht looked to knock off No. 7-ranked Dominik Mallinder. Spacht kept the match close, wrestling defensively but ultimately fell by an 8-3 decision to give the Warhawks a 3-0 lead. Spacht falls to 12-5 and to 2-1 in duals this season.
North Central got on the board after the 141-pound weight class match that saw Josh Robison dominate Brian Whipple as Robison won via 18-1 tech fall. Robison controlled all aspects of the match, getting multiple takedowns and near falls. This moved the score to 5-3 Cardinals. Robison is now 8-5 in the 2024-25 season.
UW-Whitewater retook the lead in the dual 6-5 after the 149-pound battle that was scored as a 6-5 decision with Jalin Conner defeating Kenny Siwicki. Siwicki falls to 8-4 on the season.
An 11-1 major decision in the 157-pound bout gave the Warhawks more breathing room as Luke Swan beat Luke Christie. The victory for the Warhawks gave them a 10-5 advantage four matches into the dual. With the loss, Christie moves to 5-5 overall.
Looking to get the Cardinals back in the dual, sixth-ranked 165-pound wrestler Alex Villar faced off against Brayden Peet. Villar would get upset by Peet losing in a 4-3 decision as Villar failed to score a takedown in the waning moments of the match. UW-Whitewater opened a 13-5 gap on North Central as Villar suffered just his 13th career loss in 76 career matches.
The Cardinals began to mount their comeback in the 174-pound weight class. Javen Estrada scored a fall over Caden Kirchner in one minute and seven seconds. Estrada (7-1) has three pins this season as the victory brought the Cardinals within two, 13-11.
Casey Aikman helped North Central retake the lead with a 12-8 decision on Gavin Kohel in the 184-pound match. Aikman is now 10-4 overall as his win gave the Cardinals a 14-13 lead.
North Central's lead widened after an Elijah Brockie decision over Evan Danowski in the 197-pound weight class. The 8-2 decision gave the Cardinals a 17-13 lead, as Brockie moved to 9-4 this year.
No. 3-ranked Robby Bates squared off against Lamar Bradley in the 285-pound weight class. Bates dominated, scoring a 15-0 technical fall victory, earning multiple takedowns and near falls. Bates is now 8-1 this season and gave North Central a 22-13 lead.
Capping the night off was the 125-pound weight class as the battle of two top-five-ranked wrestlers squared off. No. 2-ranked Christian Guzman earned a 17-2 tech fall win over No. 5-ranked Jalen Dunson. Guzman dominated Dunson, grappling, taking down, and earning multiple near falls. Guzman (13-0) has five tech falls this season as he ended the night giving North Central a 27-13 victory.
The Cardinals return to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) action as they host their third dual in seven days when Wheaton College comes to town. The matches are set to begin at 7 p.m. Click HERE for the full schedule.
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