MADISON, Wis. – In two of their hardest tests of the year, senior captains Isaac Jordan and Connor Medbery passed with flying colors, both securing top-five wins over two of their most challenging opponents to date for the Wisconsin wrestling team on Friday night against Penn State.

It all came down to the last 10 seconds where third-ranked 165-pounder Jordan trailed Penn State's No. 4 Vincenzo Joseph 4-2.

But just when it seemed like hope was lost, Jordan came through like he always does and used a last-second reversal to force the match into sudden victory. Just 30 seconds into the sudden victory period, Jordan blindsided Joseph and took him down to clinch the final 6-4 decision and send the UW Fieldhouse into hysterics.

But the hysteria in the UW Fieldhouse was far from over in the Badgers' (3-4 overall, 1-4 Big Ten) 33-11 loss to No. 2 Penn State (9-0, 5-0).

In one of the most anticipated matchups of the night, second-ranked Medbery (HWT) did what he does best to pull off the victory against No. 4 Nick Nevills and record his 100th career win as a Badger. All tied up after the second period, an escape by Nevills gave him the lead with just 1:35 to go. In true Medbery fashion, however, he roared back to record a takedown with 43 seconds on the clock and held off Nevills to earn the 4-3 decision.

"I think there's a lot to take away from this," Medbery said. "They have 9 of 10 guys ranked and they are all ranked pretty high so you definitely learn something about yourself when you have that high quality of an opponent."

In the Badgers' only bonus-point win of the night, freshman Eli Stickley made a statement by earning the 17-2 tech fall over Triston Law at 133 pounds. After an even first period, four nearfall points late in the second served as Stickley's spark as he went on to dominate the third period. Back-to-back nearfall points put Stickley up 15-2, and a penalty point combined with riding time sealed his first-ever Big Ten dual victory.

In yet another top-ranked matchup, 12th-ranked Ricky Robertson dropped a tight 2-0 decision to No. 10 Matt McCutcheon at 197 pounds.

In the 125-pound bout, Jens Lantz recorded four escapes but dropped to No. 3 Nick Suriano with a 14-5 major decision. No. 15 Cole Martin (141) also lost via major decision to 12th-ranked Jimmy Gulibon while No. 7 Mark Hall bested Ryan Christensen 18-4 at 174 pounds.

To kick off the dual, Jared Scharenbrock faced top-ranked Jason Nolf at 157 pounds and managed to record a reversal before being pinned in 3:47. At 149 pounds, Andrew Crone faced a similar fate to Scharenbrock as he was pinned by No. 1 Zain Retherford.

184-pounder Hunter Ritter was pinned by No. 2 Bo Nickal in 2:35.

Up next, the Badgers hit the road to Iowa for both a tournament and dual. Select Badgers will take part in the Duhawk Open in Dubuque on Jan. 28 before Wisconsin takes on Iowa in a Big Ten dual set for Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.

"There's stuff to build on and stuff to work on and we have a long weekend so we will be able to train and get ready for another tough opponent in Iowa," Medbery said. "Hopefully we will improve on some things and go from there."
 
 
125:  Nick Suriano (PSU) wins by major decision over Jens Lantz, 14-5
133:  Eli Stickley (WIS) wins by tech fall over Triston Law, 17-2
141:  Jimmy Gulibon (PSU) wins by major decision over Cole Martin, 15-3
149:  Zain Retherford (PSU) wins by fall over Andrew Crone, 4:30
157:  Jason Nolf (PSU) wins by fall over Jared Scharenbrock, 3:47
165:  Isaac Jordan (WIS) wins by SV-1 decision over Vincenzo Joseph, 6-4
174:  Mark Hall (PSU) wins by major decision over Ryan Christensen, 18-4
184:  Bo Nickal (PSU) wins by fall over Hunter Ritter, 2:35
197:  Matt McCutcheon (PSU) wins by decision over Robertson, 2-0
Hwt: Connor Medbery (WIS) wins by decision over Nick Nevills, 4-3