No. 25 UW closes road stretch at Ohio State and Purdue

Friday, January 30

Columbus, OH

5:00 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

Ohio State

No. 25 UW closes road stretch at Ohio State and Purdue

January 27, 2026 | Wrestling

Wisconsin continues Big Ten action in Columbus and West Lafayette

By: Aliza Manekia

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin wrestling wraps up its road dual stretch this weekend, facing No. 2 Ohio State on Friday, Jan. 30, at 5 p.m. on the Big Ten Network before taking on No. 30 Purdue on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 12 p.m. The Badgers look to bounce back following last weekend's loss at Minnesota.

1. The Last Time Out
Wisconsin wrestling dropped a 26-10 decision to Minnesota on the road. The dual opened at 197 pounds, with the Gophers grabbing the early edge before Wisconsin answered at heavyweight. Braxton Amos put the Badgers on the board with a decision over No. 10 Koy Hopke, while Zan Fugitt added a major decision at 133. Joseph Zargo followed with a decision at 149 to keep the dual within reach, but Minnesota pulled away down the stretch to close out the win.

2. Scouting the Buckeyes
Ohio State enters its matchup with Wisconsin undefeated and rolling through Big Ten competition. The No. 2 Buckeyes remained unbeaten with a 29-9 win over No. 7 Minnesota, winning seven of 10 bouts to control the dual on the road. Ohio State finished the weekend with another top-10 victory, edging No. 6 Nebraska 17-16 in a closely contested dual to improve to 14-0 on the season. In the all-time series between the programs, Wisconsin holds the edge 29-25-1, though the Buckeyes earned a 27-15 victory in the last meeting during the 2023-24 season.

3. Scouting the Boilermakers
Purdue enters the matchup having shown strength early in conference play, including a convincing 27-9 win over Michigan State in its home opener. The Boilermakers took seven of 10 matches and outscored the Spartans in bonus points to build their win. In the all-time series, Wisconsin holds the edge 50-15-2, though Purdue earned a 33-7 victory last season in Madison.

4. In the Rankings
Seven Badgers appeared in this week's rankings, while Wisconsin sits at No. 18 in the NWCA Coaches Poll.
No. 9 - Braxton Amos, 285
No. 11 - Zan Fugitt, 133
No. 16 - Nicolar Rivera, 125
No. 15 - Joseph Zargo, 149
No. 24 - Cody Goebel, 165
No. 26 - Luke Mechler, 157
No. 28 - Wyatt Ingham, 197

4. Projected Lineups

No. 25 Wisconsin	Weight	No. 2 Ohio State
No.16 Nicolar Rivera OR Tyson Waughtel	125	No. 2 Nic Bouzakis OR Vinny Kilkeary
No.11 Zan Fugitt	133	No. 2 Ben Davino
Carson Exferd OR Peter Tomazevic	141	No. 1 Jesse Mendez
No.15 Joseph Zargo	149	No. 4 Ethan Stiles OR Maddox Shaw OR Daxton Chase
No.26 Luke Mechler	157	Landon Desselle
No. 24 Cody Goebel	165	No. 18 Paddy Gallagher or e'Than Birden
Luke Condon OR Matthew Jens	174	No. 4 Carson Kharchla
Cale Anderson OR David Malin	184	No. 5 Dylan Fishback
No.25 Wyatt Ingham	197	No. 10 Luke Geog or Seth Shumate
No. 9 Braxton Amos OR Gannon Rosenfeld	HWT	No. 3 Nick Feldman

No. 25 Wisconsin	Weight	No. 30 Purdue
No.16 Nicolar Rivera OR Tyson Waughtel	125	Ashton Jackson OR Isaiah Quintero
No.11 Zan Fugitt	133	Blake Boarman OR Jacob Macatangay
Carson Exferd OR Peter Tomazevic	141	No. 33 Greyson Clark
No.15 Joseph Zargo	149	No. 31 Gavin Brown
No.26 Luke Mechler	157	No. 24 Stoney Buell / Isaac Ruble
No. 24 Cody Goebel	165	No. 4 Joey Blaze
Luke Condon OR Matthew Jens	174	No. 15 Brody Baumann OR Aidan Costello
Cale Anderson OR David Malin	184	No. 26 James Rowley
No.25 Wyatt Ingham	197	No. 24 Ben Vanadia
No. 9 Braxton Amos OR Gannon Rosenfeld	HWT	Hayden Filipovich / Dominic Burgett

5. Up Next
Wisconsin hosts Indiana on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m. for Country Night at the UW Field House, featuring cowboy boot drink holders as the giveaway.

* All individual rankings courtesy of InterMat (January 26)