Wrestling Update: ‘Cats stumble on the mats

After starting the season 2-0 in head-to-head matchups, finishing first at the Prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships and hitting No. 11 in the NWCA Coaches Poll, Northwestern lost two straight matchups over the weekend to No. 2 Iowa and No. 16 Nebraska.

The Wildcats headed to Iowa City for their dual with the Hawkeyes in a top-15 matchup that would decide where NU stood in the conference hierarchy. Chris Cannon got the night started for Northwestern, taking down No. 17 Cullan Schriever 4-1 in the 133 pound bout. Wildcat senior standout Yahya Thomas, who came into his 149 pound matchup ranked fifth in the nation, followed up on Cannon’s trend, beating No. 4 Max Murin in a 3-2 decision for his 10th straight win and 13th of the season.

The final Northwestern victory of the night came from graduate student Andrew Davison when he took down Iowa’s Zach Glazer in a heated 7-6 decision at 197 pounds. The rest of the matchups did not go the ‘Cats’ way though. No. 3 Michael DeAugustino fell to top-ranked Spencer Lee at 125, while No. 4 Lucas Davison lost via decision to No. 3 Tony Cassioppi in the heavyweight division. The Hawkeyes ended up winning the dual 27-9, but the ‘Cats couldn’t mope too much over the Friday night loss. The Nebraska Cornhuskers were up next on Sunday.

Northwestern must’ve been weary from looking at all the corn on the way from Iowa to Nebraska, because the Wildcats dropped their second dual in a row, 22-15, to the Cornhuskers. Individually, Cannon and Thomas continued their unbeaten starts to Big Ten competition. Lucas Davison also redeemed himself, pinning Cale Davidson in 43 seconds. The only other win for the ‘Cats came from Maxx Mayfield in the 165 pound bout, as he took down Bubba Wilson 7-2. Unfortunately for Northwestern, No. 4 ranked Michael DeAugustino is in the midst of a losing streak, as he fell 11-2, and No. 9 ranked Trevor Chumbley lost as well, 2-0.

Next up for the ‘Cats is a meet against in-state rival Illinois at home in Welsh-Ryan Arena. The bouts will be streaming on B1G+ starting at 7 p.m. CT.