PISCATAWAY, N.J. – On the first day of action at the Big Ten Conference Championships, the Wisconsin wrestling team advanced five wrestlers to compete at nationals. Seth Gross, Tristan Moran, Cole Martin, Johnny Sebastian and Trent Hillger all punched their tickets to the national tournament in Minneapolis starting on March 19. After day one, as a team Wisconsin sits in 10th place with 48 points.
 
Gross, the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, received a bye in the first round and wrestled against Michigan's Jake Silva. Gross scored the 10-7 decision over Silva to advance to the semifinals. In the semi-final round, Gross ran into Northwestern's Sebastian Rivera. It was a close battle, just like a repeat at Midlands, but this time Rivera came out on top in a 7-6 decision. Gross will face off against Iowa's Austin DeSanto tomorrow for third place.
 
Heavyweight, Trent Hillger is also going for third place tomorrow. Getting back to his high scoring offense, Hillger got a technical fall against Jack Heyob from Northwestern, winning 15-0, in the first round. Hillger then had a tough battle against Nebraska's David Jensen. It was close for a majority of the match until Hillger turned Jensen for back points. In the semi-finals, Hillger took on Mason Parris. Parris, who is undefeated on the season, outscored Hillger 4-0. Wisconsin's heavyweight will face Iowa's Tony Cassioppi tomorrow for third place. 
 
At 141, Tristan Moran outscored his opponents 37-6 in four matches. The redshirt senior started his day with a 12-0 major decision over Michigan State's Matt Santos. Moran then faced Chad Red Jr. from Nebraska in the quarterfinals but lost in a 10-4 decision. Coming through on the back half of the bracket, Moran turned on the jets to get a 10-0 victory over JoJo Aragona from Rutgers. Moran will compete tomorrow after closing out the day with a 5-2 decision over Purdue's Parker Filius.
 
Wisconsin's 149 pounder, Cole Martin became the 13^th Badger to qualify for NCAAs four times in their collegiate career. Despite dropping a decision early in the day, Martin battled back with two straight pins. He got Maryland's Ryan Garlitz to the ground in just 2:41 and got revenge on Indiana's Graham Rooks, pinning him in 3:41. The redshirt senior is still competing for seventh place tomorrow.
 
Garrett Model was fun to watch in his return to the Big Ten tournament. The 157-pounder out of Stoughton battled back in the consolation rounds after losing a 12-6 decision to Minnesota's Ryan Thomas. Model recorded his second technical fall of the season, this one coming against Penn State's Bo Pipher, winning 18-1. Model then got the upset against Ohio State's Elijah Cleary, getting the major decision over the Buckeye. Model is still competing for seventh place.
   

Straight from the mat

"Well...it was an up and down day. A ton of positives.  We have to keep progressing, the second day is important! Proud of Cole (Martin) or being the 13th four-time NCAA qualifier in school history.  We have to go get some wins tomorrow."
    -    Head coach, Chris Bono 

Notables

• Evan Wick medically forfeited from the Big Ten tournament
• The Badgers still have eight athletes competing tomorrow with Eric Barnett, Seth Gross, Tristan Moran, Cole Martin, Garrett Model, Jared Krattiger, Johnny Sebastian and Trent Hillger
• Five Badgers have punched their tickets to the NCAA Championship: Seth Gross, Tristan Moran, Cole Martin, Johnny Sebastian and Trent Hillger

Results

125
#8 Nic Aguilar (RU) over #9 Eric Barnett (UW) by dec, 6-0
#10 Alex Thomsen (NEB) over #9 Eric Barnett (UW) by maj. dec. 11-3
#9 Eric Barnett (UW) over #13 Brandon Cray (MARY) by fall, 1:15
 
133
#1 Seth Gross (UW) over #8 Jake Silva (MICH) by dec. 10-7
#5 Sebastian Rivera (NU) #1 Seth Gross (UW) by dec. 7-6
 
141
#5 Tristan Moran over #12 Matt Santos (MSU) by maj. dec. 12-0
#4 Chad Red (NEB) over #5 Tristan Moran (UW) by dec. 10-4
#5 Tristan Moran (UW) over #11 JoJo Aragona (RU) by maj. dec. 10-0
#5 Tristan Moran (UW) over #8 Parker Filius (PUR) by dec. 5-2
 
149
#11 Gerard Angelo (RU) over #6 Cole Martin (UW) by dec. 15-11
#6 Cole Martin (UW) over #14 Ryan Garlitz (MARY) by fall, 2:41
#6 Cole Martin (UW) over #5 Graham Rooks (IU) by fall, 3:41
Griffin Parriott (PUR) over #6 Cole Martin (UW) by SV-1 7-5
 
157
#5 Ryan Thomas (MINN) over #12 Garrett Model (UW) by dec. 12-6
#12 Garrett Model (UW) over #13 Bo Pipher (PSU) by tech. fall 18-1
#12 Garrett Model (UW) over #8 Elijah Cleary (OSU) by maj. dec. 10-2
#7 Eric Barone (ILL) over #12 Garrett Model (UW) by dec. 6-3
 
165
#3 Evan Wick medically forfeits to #14 Diego Lemley (IND)
 
174
#7 Joey Gunther (ILL) over #11 Jared Krattiger by TB2 2-1
#8 Layne Malczewski (MSU) over #11 Jared Krattiger by dec. 9-3
 
184
#8 Owen Webster (MINN) over. #9 Johnny Sebastian (UW) by dec. 9-3
#9 Johnny Sebastian (UW) over #7 Zac Braunagel (ILL) by dec. 8-4
Rocky Jordan (OSU) over #9 Johnny Sebastian (UW) by dec. 4-0
 
197
#4 Christian Brunner (PUR) over #13 Taylor Watkins (UW) by dec. 7-6
#12 Nick May (MSU) over #13 Taylor Watkins (UW) by dec. 3-1
 
285
#4 Trent Hillger over #13 Jack Heyob (NU) by tech. fall 15-0
#4 Trent Hillger (UW) over #5 David Jensen (NEB) by dec. 7-2
#1 Mason Parris (UM) over #4 Trent Hillger (UW) by dec. 4-0