Wisconsin Badgers
2024 Big Ten Championships
Hamiti leads Badgers placewinners at Big Ten Championships
March 09, 2024 | Wrestling
Five UW wrestlers punch tickets to NCAA Championships
College Park, Md. — Dean Hamiti advanced to the 165-pound final of the Big Ten Championships for a second consecutive year on Sunday and joined four of his Badgers teammates — Eric Barnett (125 pounds), Joseph Zargo (149), Max Maylor (174) and Shane Liegel (184) — in earning spots on the placewinners' podium and qualifying for the upcoming NCAA Championships.
Hamiti finished second, while teammates Barnett and Maylor finished seventh. Zargo and Liegel finished eighth in their respective weight classes
The Badgers finished eighth overall with 46.5 points in the team standings following the end of competition at the XFINITY Center on the campus of the University of Maryland. Penn State led all teams with 170.5 points, followed by Michigan (123.5) and Nebraska (118.0).
This will be two-time All-American Barnett's fourth trip to the national tournament, while Hamiti and Zargo both will make their third trips. Hamiti is a two-time NCAA All-American and will join Barnett in looking for a third honor. Zargo will be looking for his first trip to the NCAA podium, while Maylor and Liegel will both be making their first-ever trips to the NCAA Championships (Liegel previously won a NCAA title in Division III, but this will be his first in Division I).
Sessions I & II - Saturday, March 9
Seeded first at 165 pounds, Hamiti earned a bye in the opening round of the tournament and then made quick work of his Indiana opponent, Tyler Lillard, collecting a 17-2 tech fall victory in 5:48 to advance. Hamiti scored five takedowns against Lillard during the bout.
Hamiti then needed just over a minute in the semifinal to pin Nebraska's Antrell Taylor in 1:04. The victory improves the fourth-ranked UW junior to a 26-1 overall record, including 21 bonus-point victories (nine pins, seven tech falls and five major decisions). He advanced to the tournament final to wrestle No. 2 seed and fifth-ranked Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) on Sunday afternoon for the crown.
Barnett, Zargo and Maylor advanced into Saturday's quarterfinals, but all suffered losses to drop into the consolation brackets to fight their way back into placing matches and earn their NCAA qualifications. Teammate Luke Mechler also remained competitive at 157 pounds in the wrestlebacks, advancing into the extra ninth-place bracket for possible NCAA qualification on Sunday.
Sessions III & IV - Sunday, March 10
In one of the tournament's most exciting matches, Hamiti took a 9-2 lead in the second period against Penn State's Mesenbrink with three takedowns. The Nittany Lion came back with an escape and a takedown to end the period at 9-6, but then took control of the match late in the third period with an escape, a takedown and a three-point nearfall in the closing minute as time ran out for Hamiti. Mesenbrink won the 165-pound title with a narrow 13-11 decision victory.
Placing seventh at 125, Barnett ended his run at the conference tournament with a 17-2 tech fall win over Nebraska's Caleb Smith, scoring three takedowns, a reversal and a four-point nearfall.
Maylor also placed seventh in his first appearance at the Big Ten Championships as a Badger. After two scoreless periods, Maylor secured a 5-0 decision over Purdue's Brody Baumann with an escape, takedown and riding time in the final period.
Both Zargo and Liegel suffered losses to close their tournaments and finish eighth.
Tied up 4-4 in the second period against Indiana's Caleb Rooks, the Hoosier scored an escape to close the period and then rode out the entire third period to secure the 5-4 decision win over the UW junior.
Down 7-2 against Michigan State's Layne Malczewski following the second period, Liegel made a hard charge back into the bout closing the scoring gap to 7-5 thanks to a takedown against the Spartan. Time ran out on the Badger however and Malczewski earning riding time for the 8-5 decision.
With a chance of earning an NCAA qualification if he finished ninth in his weight class, Mechler fought his way into the wrestlebacks and the extra placing bracket. After winning a dominant 15-0 tech fall over Illinois' Logan Swaw on Saturday evening to advance, Mechler lost a tough 8-5 decision on Sunday morning to Ohio State's Isaac Wilcox and ended his first season as a Badger.
Full results for Wisconsin at the Big Ten Championships are below. Looking ahead, Wisconsin now prepares for the NCAA Championships on March 21-23 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Seedings will be announced by the NCAA on Wednesday, March 13.
FINAL RESULTS
#5 Eric Barnett - 3rd Seed - 125 pounds - 3-2 - 7th Place
NCAA Automatic Qualifier
Champ. Round 1: #5 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over Blaine Frazier (Indiana), Fall 1:31
Quarterfinal: #9 Braeden Davis (Penn State) over #5 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), Dec. 8-7 (SV-1)
Cons. Round 2: #5 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over Massey Odiotti (Northwestern), Tech Fall 15-0 7:00
Cons. Round 3: #2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) over #5 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), Dec. 8-1
7th Place Match: #5 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over #8 Caleb Smith (Nebraska), Tech Fall 17-2 5:18
Nicolar Rivera - 9th Seed - 133 pounds - 0-2
Champ. Round 1: #18 Tyler Wells (Minnesota) over Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin), Dec. 8-4
Cons. Round 1: Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) Bye
Cons. Round 2: #17 Braxton Brown (Maryland) over Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin), Dec. 7-4 (SV-1)
Felix Lettini - 14th Seed - 141 pounds - 0-3
Champ. Round 1: #2 Real Woods (Iowa) over Felix Lettini (Wisconsin), Tech Fall 16-0 6:16
Cons. Round 1: #27 Kal Miller (Maryland) over Felix Lettini (Wisconsin), Major Dec. 11-1
9th-Place Bracket Quarterfinal: #27 Kal Miller (Maryland) over Felix Lettini (Wisconsin), Dec. 8-1
#16 Joseph Zargo - 7th Seed - 149 pounds - 2-3 - 8th Place
NCAA Automatic Qualifier
Champ. Round 1: #16 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) over #24 Michael Cetta (Rutgers), Major Dec. 15-6
Quarterfinal: #4 Austin Gomez (Michigan) over #16 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin), Tech Fall 22-6 6:15
Cons. Round 2: #16 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) over #19 Drew Roberts (Minnesota), Dec. 6-4
Cons. Round 3: #8 Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) over #16 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin), Dec. 7-2
7th Place Match: #13 Graham Rooks (Indiana) over #16 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin), Dec. 5-4
Luke Mechler - 13th Seed - 157 pounds - 1-3
Champ. Round 1: #5 Jared Franek (Iowa) over Luke Mechler (Wisconsin), Dec. 5-3
Cons. Round 1: Michael North (Maryland) over Luke Mechler (Wisconsin), Dec. 5-4
9th-Place Bracket Quarterfinal: Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) over Logan Swaw (Illinois), Tech Fall 15-0 3:53
9th-Place Bracket Semifinal: #29 Isaac Wilcox (Ohio State) over Luke Mechler (Wisconsin), Dec. 8-3
#4 Dean Hamiti - 1st Seed - 165 pounds - 2-1 - 2nd Place
NCAA Automatic Qualifier
Champ. Round 1: #4 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) Bye
Quarterfinal: #4 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) over #19 Tyler Lillard (Indiana), Tech Fall 17-2 5:48
Semifinal: #4 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) over #12 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), Fall 1:04
1st Place Match: #5 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) over #4 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) • Dec 13-11
#15 Max Maylor - 7th Seed - 174 pounds - 3-2 - 7th Place
NCAA Automatic Qualifier
Champ. Round 1: #15 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) over #32 Brody Baumann (Purdue), Major Dec. 18-5
Quarterfinal: #3 Shane Griffith (Michigan) over #15 Max Maylor (Wisconsin), Dec. 6-1
Cons. Round 2: #15 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) over #25 Donnell Washington (Indiana), Major Dec. 8-0
Cons. Round 3: #12 Jackson Turley (Rutgers) over #15 Max Maylor (Wisconsin), Fall 3:16
7th Place Match: #15 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) over #32 Brody Baumann (Purdue), Dec. 5-0
#18 Shane Liegel - 1st Seed - 165 pounds - 1-3 - 8th Place
NCAA Automatic Qualifier
Champ. Round 1: Roman Rogotzke (Indiana) over #18 Shane Liegel (Wisconsin), Dec. 2-0
Cons. Round 1: #18 Shane Liegel (Wisconsin), Bye
Cons. Round 2: #18 Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) over #31 Troy Fisher (Northwestern), Dec. 8-5 (SV-1)
Cons. Round 3: #16 Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State) over #18 Shane Liegel (Wisconsin), Fall 2:23
7th Place Match: #17 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) over #18 Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) • Dec 8-5
Josh Otto - 14th Seed - 197 pounds - 0-2
Champ. Round 1: #11 Zach Glazier (Iowa) over Josh Otto (Wisconsin), Major Dec. 14-3
Cons. Round 1: #30 Kael Wisler (Michigan State) over Josh Otto (Wisconsin), Major Dec. 19-5
Gannon Rosenfeld - 13th Seed - 285 pounds - 1-2
Champ. Round 1: #24 Seth Nevills (Maryland) over Gannon Rosenfeld (Wisconsin), Dec. 4-1
Cons. Round 1: Gannon Rosenfeld (Wisconsin) over Peter Marinopoulos (Illinois), Dec. 9-3
Cons. Round 2: Nick Willham (Indiana) over Gannon Rosenfeld (Wisconsin), Dec. 11-4
All rankings are Intermat for Feb. 27, 2024
Players Mentioned
