Chris Van Der Brink pinned Maxwell Diaz in the final match to lead Northwestern to a dramatic 30-27, come-from-behind win over William Penn in a non-conference dual held tonight at the Bultman Center.
The Raiders are now 1-2 in duals; William Penn is 0-1.
Down 27-24 heading into the final bout, Van Der Brink, competing for the first time this season, pinned Diaz at the 2:17 mark to pick up the six points needed to defeat the Statesmen.
Northwestern wrestlers earned wins in five matches, four pins and one by forfeit. Trey Schuck improved his record to 5-1 as the freshman pinned McGwire Bottorff at 141. Jakob Francksen-Small also improved to 5-1 with a win by fall against Steven Skewes at 165. Matthew Dahl pinned Cody Gunn (5:55) to win his match at 174, improving to 4-1 this season. Luke Jenness won by forfeit at 184.
Said Head Coach Rik Dahl, “This was a big win for the Raiders. Our young guys pulled through for us…we had four pins, three by freshmen. Schuck, Francksen-Small and Van Der Brink carried us tonight. William Penn came out looking for the big move all night long which made some of our older wrestlers uncomfortable. When we controlled the ties and tempo, we did well. When we gave up position, we found ourselves trying to catch up and we broke down physically. It was great to get the win…now we heal up and work to improve over the coming weeks.”
Complete Results:
125 – Open
133 – Open
141 – Trey Schuck (5-1) def. McGwire Bottorff by fall, 1:43
149 – Breckin Sperling (4-1) loses to #2 Joe Eads by fall, 2:41
157 – Blake Pomajzl (2-5) loses to Cameron Hargrove by fall, 5:59
165 – Jakob Francksen-Small (5-1) def. Steven Skewes by fall, 3:43
174 – Matthew Dahl (4-1) def. Cody Gunn by fall, 5:55
184 – Luke Jenness (6-0) wins by forfeit
197 – Bennett Sikkink (1-2) loses to Ray Lugo, 4-3
285 – Chris Van Der Brink (1-0) def. Maxwell Diaz by fall, 2:17
