Wisconsin finishes in ninth place at Big Ten Championships

Saturday, March 7

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2026 Big Ten Championships

Braxton Amos gets a pin at B1G Championships

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Wisconsin finishes in ninth place at Big Ten Championships

March 07, 2026 | Wrestling

Final Team Scores (PDF)Final Results (Brackets)(PDF)

Five Badgers earn podium finishes

By: Aliza Manekia

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Wisconsin wrestling wrapped up competition at the Big Ten Championships in State College, Pa., with several Badgers battling through the bracket to secure podium finishes and NCAA Championship qualifications.

Day One

At 125, Nicolar Rivera blasted past Dedrick Navarro to avenge his loss during the regular season against Northwestern. The 8-1 decision added the first points to the Badger team score amongst the 14 teams. In the second round, Rivera faced #2 seed Nic Bouzakis. The Buckeye bested the Badger and grabbed a tech fall to push Rivera into the consolation bracket. Nicolar was not able to overcome #9 Diego Sotelo and was pushed out of the competition. He will continue tomorrow competing for 9th place.

In the 133 weight class, Zan Fugitt grabbed his second in-season win over Michigan's #13 Gauge Botero. His 8-1 decision advanced Fugitt into the quarterfinals, where he faced #5, Drake Ayala. Despite a tough battle, Fugitt fell to Ayala in a decision and moved into the consolations. He remains in the consolation bracket and will compete for third place.

Carson Exferd at 141 was bested early in both the main and consolation brackets by #4 Bailey (IOWA) and #12 Pucino (ILL), respectively.

#3 seed Joe Zargo has put on a show for fans at Bryce Jordan Center after earning a close 9-7 decision over Northwestern's Hibler. In the quarterfinals, Zargo battled hard against #6 Lambere (NEB), earning a handful of takedowns to advance him into the semi-finals and punch his ticket to the NCAA Championship in Cleveland. Despite a challenge by Head Coach Chris Bono, Zargo came up short against #2 Ethan Stiles (OSU) in a 4-3 decision. He will now compete in the consolation semifinals for third place.

At 157, Luke Mechler grabbed a major win over #9 Buell (PUR) to advance him to the quarterfinals, where he faced #1 seed Taylor from Nebraska. Despite a hard-fought battle and earning an escape point, he was bested by Taylor. Despite ultimately falling in the consolation bracket, Mechler still punched his ticket to the NCAA Championship.

Cody Goebel at 165 battled hard in a competitive bout against Rutgers' #7 Barbosa in a 2-1 decision. Luke Condon (174) and Cale Anderson (184) faced similar challenges in their main draw matches. While Cale Anderson was not able to overcome his opponents in the consolation matches, Luke Condon remains in the competition for 11th place.

At 197, Wyatt Ingham outshone his own wrestling from the season and pushed back two massive opponents back to back. After grabbing postseason revenge over Minnesota's Gavin Nelson, Ingham earned a massive upset over #3 Cotton (RUT) in a major decision, 15-2. With this win, he punched his ticket to the NCAA Championship. In the semifinals, Ingham was not able to overcome #2 McDanel. He will also compete in the consolation semifinals for third place.

In the heavyweight battle, Braxton Amos earned his first tech fall of the postseason over Maryland's #12 Schneck. In a head-to-head with Penn State's #4 Mirasola, Amos fell in a hard-fought decision, 4-2. Amos found back-to-back wins in the consolation bracket and will push forward to compete for third place.

Day Two

Nicolar Rivera started the day in the ninth-place bracket, facing #12 Corday of Michigan State. Rivera earned a bonus point win with a major decision to advance to the finals of the bracket. He ultimately came up short against #3 Spencer Moore of Illinois, finishing tenth in his weight class.

Zan Fugitt followed with a commanding win over #10 Boarman of Purdue to advance to the third-place match. Fugitt then faced a familiar foe Drake Ayala of Iowa. After falling to Ayala earlier in the tournament, Fugitt dropped the match in a close 4-2 decision to finished in fourth.

Despite falling in the consolation semifinals to Northwestern's Young, Joseph Zargo battled back to defeat #9 Gioffre and secure a fifth-place podium finish. At 157, Luke Mechler picked up a seventh-place finish after receiving a forfeit from Minnesota.

At 165, Cody Goebel faced a familiar opponent in Indiana's Tyler Lillard in the ninth-place bracket. By securing nearfall points and an escape, Goebel punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships. Similarly, Luke Condon claimed an eleventh-place finish at 174 and will also be heading to Cleveland for the NCAA tournament.

Despite a tough loss to Indiana's #8 Sollars in the consolation semifinals, Wyatt Ingham finished his Big Ten run strong with a pin and an upset victory over Rutgers' #3 Cotton to earn fifth place. Finally, Braxton Amos dropped a close decision in the consolation semifinals to his Buckeye opponent. After medically forfeiting the fifth-place match, he finished the tournament in sixth place.

Wisconsin Results, 9th place with 55 points
125 - Nicolar Rivera - 10th place
Champ. Round 1 - Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) won by decision over Dedrick Navarro (Northwestern) (Dec 8-1)
Quarterfinal - Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) won by tech fall over Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) (TF 7:00 (17-2))
Cons. Round 2 - Diego Sotelo (Michigan) won by major decision over Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) (MD 11-1)
Quarterfinal - Nicolar Rivera received a bye (Bye)
Semi Final - Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) won by major decision over Nick Corday (Michigan State) (MD 12-1)
9th Place Match - Spencer Moore (Illinois) won by decision over Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) (MD 16-5)

133 - Zan Fugitt - 4th place - 13.5 points - NCAA Qualifier
Champ. Round 1 - Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) won by decision over Gauge Botero (Michigan) (Dec. 8-1)
Quarterfinal - Drake Ayala (Iowa) won by decision over Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) (Dec. 10-3)
Cons. Round 2 - Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) won by decision in overtime over Jager Eisch (Minnesota) (Dec. SV 5-2)
Cons. Round 3 - Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) won by major decision over Sean Spidle (Northwestern) (Major Dec. 14-2)
Cons. Semifinal - Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) won by major decision over Blake Boarman (Purdue) (Major Dec. 11-1)
3rd Place Match - Drake Ayala (Iowa) won by decision over Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) (Dec. 4-2)

141 - Carson Exferd - Did Not Place
Champ. Round 1 - Nasir Bailey (Iowa) won by decision over Carson Exferd (Wisconsin) (Dec. 8-4)
Cons. Round 2 - Danny Pucino (Illinois) won by decision over Carson Exferd (Wisconsin) (Dec 10-7)

149 - Joseph Zargo - 5th place - 9.0 points - NCAA Qualifier
Champ. Round 1 - Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) won by decision over August Hibler (Northwestern) (Dec. 9-7)
Quarterfinal - Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) won by decision over Chance Lamer (Nebraska) (Dec. 9-6)
Semifinal - Ethan Stiles (Ohio State) won by decision over Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) (Dec. 4-3)
Cons. Semifinal - Carter Young (Maryland) won by major decision over Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) (Major Dec. 11-3)
5th Place Match - Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) won by decision over Michael Gioffre (Illinois) (Dec. 9-3)

157 - Luke Mechler -7th place - 7.5 points - NCAA Qualifier
Champ. Round 1 - Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) won by decision over Stoney Buell (Purdue) (Dec. 7-2)
Quarterfinal - Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) won by decision over Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) (Dec. 8-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) won by decision over Victor Voinovich (Iowa) (Dec. 8-3)
Cons. Round 3 - Bryce Lowery (Indiana) won by major decision over Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) (Major Dec. 9-1)
7th place Match - Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) won by medical forfeit over Charlie Millard (Minnesota) (MFFL)

165 - Cody Goebel - 9th place - NCAA Qualifier
Champ. Round 1 - Andrew Barbosa (Rutgers) won by decision over Cody Goebel (Wisconsin) (Dec. 2-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) won by major decision over Cody Goebel (Wisconsin) (Major Dec. 13-4)
Quarterfinal - Cody Goebel received a bye (Bye)
Semi Final - Cody Goebel (Wisconsin) won by decision over Justin Gates (Michigan) (Dec. 4-2)
9th Place Match - Cody Goebel (Wisconsin) won by decision over Tyler Lillard (Indiana) (Dec. 5-2)

174 - Luke Condon - 11th place - NCAA Qualifier
Champ. Round 1 - Beau Mantanona (Michigan) won by major decision over Luke Condon (Wisconsin) (MD 14-5)
Cons. Round 2 - Luke Condon (Wisconsin) won by decision over Connor O'Neill (Michigan State) (Dec 8-6)
Cons. Round 3 - Lenny Pinto (Rutgers) won by decision over Luke Condon (Wisconsin) (Dec 9-4)
Quarterfinal - Luke Condon (Wisconsin) won by decision over Connor O'Neill (Michigan State) (Dec SV-1 4-1)
Semifinal - Luke Condon (Wisconsin) won by decision over Ethan Riddle (Minnesota) (Dec 4-2)
11th Place Match - Luke Condon (Wisconsin) won by medical forfeit Derek Gilcher (Indiana) (MFFL)

184 - Cale Anderson - Did Not Place
Champ. Round 1 - Silas Allred (Nebraska) won by tech fall over Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) (TF 6:44 (20-2))
Cons. Round 2 - J.D. Perez (Northwestern) won by decision over Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) (Dec. 12-8)

197 - Wyatt Ingham - 5th place - 12.0 points - NCAA Qualifier
Champ. Round 1 - Wyatt Ingham (Wisconsin) won by decision over Gavin Nelson (Minnesota) (Dec. 5-1)
Quarterfinal - Wyatt Ingham (Wisconsin) won by major decision over Remy Cotton (Rutgers) (Major Dec. 10-2)
Semifinal - Camden McDanel (Nebraska) won by decision over Wyatt Ingham (Wisconsin) (Dec. 10-3)
Cons. Semifinal - Gabe Sollars (Indiana) won by decision over Wyatt Ingham (Wisconsin) (Dec. 8-1)
5th Place Match - Wyatt Ingham (Wisconsin) won by fall over Remy Cotton (Rutgers) (Fall 4:11)

285 - Braxton Amos - 6th place - 11.5 points - NCAA Qualifier
Champ. Round 1 - Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) won by tech fall over Joey Schneck (Maryland) (TF 6:21 (19-3))
Quarterfinal - Cole Mirasola (Penn State) won by decision over Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) (Dec. 4-2)
Cons. Round 2 - Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) won by fall over Caleb Marzolin (Indiana) (Fall 2:46)
Cons. Round 3 - Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) won by decision over Koy Hopke (Minnesota) (Dec 8-3)
Cons. Semifinal - Nic Feldman (Ohio State) won by decision over Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) (Dec. 4-1)
3rd Place Match - Cole Mirasola (Penn State) won by medical forfeit over Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) (MFFL)

Up Next: Fugitt, Zargo, Mechler, Goebel, Condon, Ingham and Amos will all represent Wisconsin at the NCAA Championships at Rocket Arena in Cleveland from March 19-21.