MADISON, Wis. – The No. 4 ranked Wisconsin wrestling team hosted No. 3 Ohio State on Friday night at the UW Field House. Despite winning four matches, Wisconsin dropped the dual, 24-13.

Bonus points were the deciding factor on the night as the Badgers lost four matches on bonus points.

No. 1 Seth Gross was the lone Badger to come out of the night with bonus points. At 133 pounds, facing off against No. 20 Jordan Decatur, Gross scored the major decision with a final score of 15-6.

At 125 pounds, freshman Eric Barnett remains undefeated at home. He took on former NCAA Qualifier, Malik Heinselman. Barnett came out hot, scoring the first five points and won the bout by decision 8-6.

Evan Wick was once again outstanding for Wisconsin. At 165-pounds, No. 4 Wick wrestled hard against Ohio State's No. 12 Ethan Smith and took the 7-4 decision. This is Wick's fifth win over a ranked opponent this season.

At 285, No. 5 Trent Hillger closed out the night with a 6-0 decision. He took the gas out of Ohio State's Gary Traub to win his third match at home this season.
 

Straight from the mat

Head coach Chris Bono
On how the match unfolded:
"Point of emphasis was to go out and score points and be better than them. We had to find an upset somewhere, I think the match almost went identical to what it look liked on paper with a couple of more bonus points going their way. We needed an upset or two to pull it off. I don't think we had our best effort tonight so hats off to them. They went out and did a great job, coming in her and stifling us"

On where to go from here:
"We've got to find a way to win, all 10 guys need to improve. I'm excited, this is not going to get me down at all. We are going to have a short memory, I'm going to watch the film and we are going to go to work on Sunday and we are going to get better. Again, they got better after Friday night's loss, they will get better after tonight's loss."

On Evan Wick:
"Evan beat a really good kid tonight and he looked good doing it. Evan is doing a great job, I'm proud of the guy. He doesn't let a loss stay with him, he finds a way to get better, he's a wrestling junkie and he is amazing, and he wants to get better everyday and he is willing to listen. The sky is the limit and he is improving and that's what I like, he's improving."

On his message to the team:
"I want them to feel this loss, it doesn't feel real good and to know that is a team that we are trying to battle to win a trophy at the national tournament. We have to be better than that team in the long run. We have some time to work on our skills, so I'm very very happy but I want this loss to stick with them. I understand all 10 guys can have a little bit of performance in two weeks and then again let's pick it up let's keep going. The season does not end because we took a loss, the season is here, we get to compete again in two weeks and I'm excited. These guys will be excited to take the mat in Bloomington."

Freshman Eric Barnett
On wrestling in the Field House:
"I love wrestling here! The crowd gets crazy; I love wearing the W on my chest. It feels good to win in here. I just have to keep that winning up!"
 
On the team's focus going into Indiana:
"Getting better. It's all about the small stuff. We'll work on our conditioning and just get better at wrestling."
 
Redshirt sophomore Trent Hillger
On his performance tonight:
"There were a lot of parts where I did wrestle well but also a couple parts I still need to get better at. I really need to work on wrestling through positions and trusting my conditioning."
 
On wresting different body types at heavyweight:
"Heavyweight is kind of a different sport. I have a game plan but I really just focus on wrestling my match each time. I know I can beat anyone in the country, I just have to go out and execute my game plan."

Notables

• Despite the snowy weather, the Badgers had a great turnout with an attendance of 2,158
• Eric Barnett, Seth Gross, Evan Wick and Trent Hillger all remain undefeated in the Field House this season

Results

Wisconsin 13, Ohio State 24
125: Eric Barnett (WIS) over Malik Heinselman (OSU) by dec. 8-6
133: No. 1 Seth Gross (WIS) over No. 20 Jordan Decatur (OSU) by maj. dec. 15-6
141: No. 1 Luke Pletcher (OSU) over No. 4 Tristan Moran (WIS) by maj. dec. 11-3
149: No. 6 Sammy Sasso (OSU) over No. 12 Cole Martin (WIS) by maj. dec. 12-3
157: Elijah Cleary (OSU) over Drew Scharenbrock (WIS) by dec. 7-3
165: No. 4 Evan Wick (WIS) over No. 12 Ethan Smith (OSU) by dec. 7-4
174: No. 8 Kaleb Romero (OSU) over Jared Krattiger (WIS) by dec. 7-3
184: Rocky Jordan (OSU) over Tyler Dow (WIS) by tech. fall 20-2
197: No. 1 Kollin Moore (OSU) over Peter Christensen (WIS) by tech. fall 21-3
285: No. 5 Trent Hillger (WIS) over Gary Traub (OSU) by dec. 6-0
 

Up next

The Badgers have nearly two weeks to prepare for their next Big Ten doubleheader. They travel to take on Indiana on Jan. 31 before heading to No. 9 Purdue to face off against the Boilermakers on Feb. 2.