By Siddarth Sivaraman -Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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EVANSTON— Heading into their Friday night dual against Northern Illinois, the Northwestern Wildcats grapplers had the appearance of beaten team before anyone set foot on the mat. Injuries had taken their toll thus creating a disadvantage the Wildcats would find to overcome.
The Wildcats’ (3-9, 1-7 Big Ten) injury list has reached a new high at the worst possible time. By the end of the night, the Wildcats were down to three fully-healthy regular starters — and with coach Matt Storniolo forfeiting two matches and sending out backups for another three matches; a dual meet the Wildcats won 29-8 last season became a 28-9 loss on February 13 at Welsh-Ryan arena on the Northwestern campus.
Three of the hosts’ four ranked wrestlers watched Friday night’s proceedings fro the bench against the Huskies (9-6, 4-1) from the Mid-American Conference. Redshirt sophomore 149-pounder Sam Cartella, a 2025 national qualifier who was expected to start going into the season, hobbled to the bench on crutches.
Storniolo confirmed that the knee injury he sustained in a Jan. 9 dual against Maryland required season-ending surgery.
“I’m not really sure how we avoid those things, other than just getting to a point where we’re so much better than the other guys, that we can keep them off our legs and be in more dominating positions,” he said. “It’s hard to win duals when you’re missing your three highest-ranked guys.”
Redshirt freshman Ty Wilson’s Northwestern debut at 157 pounds was one of the few positives the hosts could take from the night. Wilson said he tore his ACL in April 2025, and he expected to miss the entire season. But with redshirt freshman 157-pounder Gunnar Myers out and no one else on the roster who could wrestle at that weight, Wilson was cleared to wrestle in the week before the dual.
Sporting a thick brace around his right leg, Wilson scored an early takedown to go up 3-0 against Northern Illinois’ Landen Johnson. Johnson rode Wilson through the entire second period. After Johnson notched two escapes to tie the bout, it looked like he would hold the momentum over a worn-down Wilson, heading into the sudden-victory period.
But with just eight seconds left in regulation, Wilson shot for a blast double, driving Johnson’s legs down to the mat for the all-important takedown in a 6-3 win.
“I was absolutely ready to go out there and put my heart on the line,” said Wilson. “Especially with these guys out there fighting all season, I was ready to come back and join arms with them.”
Wilson celebrated his victory by pointing to the “N” on his singlet, a gesture he shared with fellow bout winner and graduate student 184-pounder J.D. Perez. The Life University transfer’s low single-leg shot in the sudden-victory period secured an 8-5 win over the Huskies’ Ian Smith.
After winning an NAIA championship at Life University, Perez made the jump to competing in the toughest conference in college wrestling, the Big Ten. He thanked his Northwestern coaches and teammates for taking him in and said Friday’s Senior Night was an opportunity to showcase his talents for a “last hurrah” in an NU singlet.
“When I do rep the N on my chest, and I do point to it, it does mean something bigger than myself,” Perez said.
Freshman 197-pounder Alex Smith rounded out the wins for the Wildcats on a night that was mostly defined by who was not on the mat. No. 21 redshirt senior 133-pounder Sean Spidle missed his Senior Night bout, his third straight dual on the sidelines since a Jan. 30 injury against Michigan.
Storniolo forfeited the 125-pound and 174-pound bouts after No. 28 redshirt sophomore 125-pounder Dedrick Navarro and No. 29 redshirt freshman 174-pounder Eddie Enright both suffered injuries in Northwestern’s 47-0 loss to No. 5 Nebraska last week. All three are expected to return by the Big Ten Championships, Storniolo said.
“We’re thin on the roster this year,” he added. “Looking forward to next year, we’ve got a bigger recruiting class coming in … and we’ll have a lot more depth in terms of bodies, but also the quality of competitors as well.”
Redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Jacob Bostelman briefly returned from a recurring knee injury that has forced NU to forfeit the 165-pound bout on five separate occasions this season. Northern Illinois’ Brett Smith seized on that right knee for an early takedown, and a clearly shaken Bostelman limped back to the locker room at the end of a 10-3 loss.
To make matters worse, No. 31-ranked freshman, 141-pounder Billy Dekraker picked up a injury in a 7-5 upset loss to the Huskies’ Curtis Charles. He did not feature in Northwestern’s 44-3 loss to No. 11 Illinois on Sunday, leaving just Perez, Smith and graduate student heavyweight Gabe Christenson as the only healthy Wildcat starters.
With the dual season now over, Northwestern will set its sights on the Big Ten Championships at Penn State March 7 and 8.
“Right now, it’s all about getting as healthy as we can get before the Big Ten tournament,” Storniolo said. “Whether you’re having a great season or a less-than-stellar season, it’s 0-0 once you get to March.”
