Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, January 9
Evanston, Ill.
7 p.m. CT
Northwestern
27
vs
12
Maryland
Photo by: Henry Frieman/Northwestern Athletics
'Cats Take Down Terrapins in Big Ten Opener, 27-12
1/9/2026 10:27:00 PM | Wrestling
EVANSTON, Ill. - Four Wildcats collected bonus points as Northwestern wrestling (3-1, 1-0 B1G) took seven of ten weight classes and defeated the Maryland Terrapins (4-2, 0-1 B1G) by a final score of 27-12 on Friday night inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Action began at 125 lbs, where No. 28 Dedrick Navarro took on Presden Sanchez. After Navarro jumped out to the first lead with a first-period takedown, Sanchez fought back with a pair of escapes to narrow his deficit to just one point, 3-2. Despite multiple stoppages for blood time, Navarro held out, adding some cushion with a third-period escape before eventually taking the match by decision, 5-2, after the inclusion of the riding time point.
With the 'Cats in front, No. 23 Sean Spidle and No. 12 Braxton Brown battled it out at 133 lbs in the evening's only ranked matchup. The pair ended the first period scoreless, and though Spidle gained a temporary advantage with an escape in the second period, the bout was evened up again after Brown was awarded a penalty point. Another point for Brown gave him a one-point lead in the third period, but with under a minute left, Spidle notched a takedown to put himself back in front, 4-2. That's where the match would stay, as Spidle collected the upset victory by decision to double Northwestern's lead.
No. 31 Billy Dekraker was the next to add on, taking an 8-3 win by decision over Maryland's Ryan Kennedy. Dekraker built an early lead with two quick takedowns in the bout's opening period and never looked back, adding on with an escape and the riding time point to put the 'Cats up 9-0 in the team tally.
Maryland got on the board with a win at 149 lbs, but the 'Cats bounced back in a big way at the next weight class. Gunnar Myers opened action against Mekhi Neal with seven first-period points, converting a takedown into nearfall points to take a commanding 7-0 lead. He didn't let up from there, adding on with an escape and a takedown in the second period and three more nearfall points in the third to grow his lead to 14-0. With nearly five minutes of riding time at the final whistle, Myers secured his 15th point and the technical fall, putting the 'Cats up 14-3 heading into intermission.
Maryland picked up another three points out of the break, but once again, the 'Cats responded. At 174 lbs, No. 31 Eddie Enright scored his first points against Alex Uryniak just 20 seconds into his match. Uryniak put a point on the board with an escape, only to be taken down by Enright again before the first period expired. Enright kept his foot on the gas through the second period, adding four points to his tally with a takedown and a point for stalling. A speedy reversal to open the third period made it 12-2, and Enright converted from there for four nearfall points to put himself on the brink. A final takedown with 45 seconds remaining secured his victory by technical fall, 19-3.
J.D. Perez improved to 3-1 in dual matches and provided the decisive points for Northwestern at 184 lbs, clinching the match for the Wildcats with a 9-0 major decision. He collected a takedown each in the first and second periods, and with two points awarded for stalling, plus over three minutes of riding time, he earned his second straight bonus-point victory in dual action.
With the match already decided, Gabe Christenson put an exclamation point on it for the 'Cats at heavyweight with the team's fourth bonus-point victory of the evening. Christenson notched a pair of emphatic takedowns in the first period to take a lead he'd never give up. A reversal and a stalling point in the second period boosted the graduate student to a 9-1 lead, and with the riding time point added, he earned a 10-1 major decision to bring the team score to 27-12 in Northwestern's favor.
A Big Ten victory in hand, Northwestern will continue conference action next week, when they will take on a pair of foes in a weekend split. First, they will visit the Wisconsin Badgers at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, then they will return home to host the defending National Champions, Penn State, at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday.
Northwestern 27, Maryland 12
125: #28 Dedrick Navarro (NU) over Presden Sanchez (MD) (Dec 5-2)
133: #23 Sean Spidle (NU) over #12 Braxton Brown (MD) (Dec 4-2)
141: #31 Billy Dekraker (NU) over Ryan Kennedy (MD) (Dec 8-3)
149: #14 Carter Young (MD) over Sam Cartella (NU) (Dec 5-1)
157: Gunnar Myers (NU) over Mekhi Neal (MD) (TF 15-0 7:00)
165: AJ Rodrigues (MD) over Jacob Bostelman (NU) (Dec 5-0)
174: #31 Eddie Enright (NU) over Alex Uryniak (MD) (TF 19-3 6:14)
184: J.D. Perez (NU) over Seth Digby (MD) (MD 9-0)
197: #15 Branson John (MD) over Alex Smith (NU) (Fall 5:52)
285: Gabe Christenson (NU) over Oscar Williams (MD) (MD 10-1)
* All individual rankings courtesy of InterMat (January 6)
Action began at 125 lbs, where No. 28 Dedrick Navarro took on Presden Sanchez. After Navarro jumped out to the first lead with a first-period takedown, Sanchez fought back with a pair of escapes to narrow his deficit to just one point, 3-2. Despite multiple stoppages for blood time, Navarro held out, adding some cushion with a third-period escape before eventually taking the match by decision, 5-2, after the inclusion of the riding time point.
With the 'Cats in front, No. 23 Sean Spidle and No. 12 Braxton Brown battled it out at 133 lbs in the evening's only ranked matchup. The pair ended the first period scoreless, and though Spidle gained a temporary advantage with an escape in the second period, the bout was evened up again after Brown was awarded a penalty point. Another point for Brown gave him a one-point lead in the third period, but with under a minute left, Spidle notched a takedown to put himself back in front, 4-2. That's where the match would stay, as Spidle collected the upset victory by decision to double Northwestern's lead.
No. 31 Billy Dekraker was the next to add on, taking an 8-3 win by decision over Maryland's Ryan Kennedy. Dekraker built an early lead with two quick takedowns in the bout's opening period and never looked back, adding on with an escape and the riding time point to put the 'Cats up 9-0 in the team tally.
Maryland got on the board with a win at 149 lbs, but the 'Cats bounced back in a big way at the next weight class. Gunnar Myers opened action against Mekhi Neal with seven first-period points, converting a takedown into nearfall points to take a commanding 7-0 lead. He didn't let up from there, adding on with an escape and a takedown in the second period and three more nearfall points in the third to grow his lead to 14-0. With nearly five minutes of riding time at the final whistle, Myers secured his 15th point and the technical fall, putting the 'Cats up 14-3 heading into intermission.
Maryland picked up another three points out of the break, but once again, the 'Cats responded. At 174 lbs, No. 31 Eddie Enright scored his first points against Alex Uryniak just 20 seconds into his match. Uryniak put a point on the board with an escape, only to be taken down by Enright again before the first period expired. Enright kept his foot on the gas through the second period, adding four points to his tally with a takedown and a point for stalling. A speedy reversal to open the third period made it 12-2, and Enright converted from there for four nearfall points to put himself on the brink. A final takedown with 45 seconds remaining secured his victory by technical fall, 19-3.
J.D. Perez improved to 3-1 in dual matches and provided the decisive points for Northwestern at 184 lbs, clinching the match for the Wildcats with a 9-0 major decision. He collected a takedown each in the first and second periods, and with two points awarded for stalling, plus over three minutes of riding time, he earned his second straight bonus-point victory in dual action.
With the match already decided, Gabe Christenson put an exclamation point on it for the 'Cats at heavyweight with the team's fourth bonus-point victory of the evening. Christenson notched a pair of emphatic takedowns in the first period to take a lead he'd never give up. A reversal and a stalling point in the second period boosted the graduate student to a 9-1 lead, and with the riding time point added, he earned a 10-1 major decision to bring the team score to 27-12 in Northwestern's favor.
A Big Ten victory in hand, Northwestern will continue conference action next week, when they will take on a pair of foes in a weekend split. First, they will visit the Wisconsin Badgers at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, then they will return home to host the defending National Champions, Penn State, at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday.
Northwestern 27, Maryland 12
125: #28 Dedrick Navarro (NU) over Presden Sanchez (MD) (Dec 5-2)
133: #23 Sean Spidle (NU) over #12 Braxton Brown (MD) (Dec 4-2)
141: #31 Billy Dekraker (NU) over Ryan Kennedy (MD) (Dec 8-3)
149: #14 Carter Young (MD) over Sam Cartella (NU) (Dec 5-1)
157: Gunnar Myers (NU) over Mekhi Neal (MD) (TF 15-0 7:00)
165: AJ Rodrigues (MD) over Jacob Bostelman (NU) (Dec 5-0)
174: #31 Eddie Enright (NU) over Alex Uryniak (MD) (TF 19-3 6:14)
184: J.D. Perez (NU) over Seth Digby (MD) (MD 9-0)
197: #15 Branson John (MD) over Alex Smith (NU) (Fall 5:52)
285: Gabe Christenson (NU) over Oscar Williams (MD) (MD 10-1)
* All individual rankings courtesy of InterMat (January 6)
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