Michigan
Northwestern
Freshmen Headline Senior Night Rout of Northwestern
1/30/2026 11:07:00 PM | Wrestling
» No. 10 Michigan claimed nine matches, including six with bonus points, to earn a 38-4 home win against Northwestern; U-M improved to 4-0 in Big Ten duals.
» Brock Mantanona (184 pounds) and Hayden Walters (197) earned back-to-back first-period pins, while Taye Ghadiali (Hwt) posted his team-best seventh technical fall of the season.
» Cooper Hilton (149) claimed an 11-5 decision in his collegiate dual debut; he was one of six freshmen in the Wolverine lineup against Northwestern.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team picked up its sixth straight dual win, earning nine match wins and six with bonus points in a dominant 38-4 victory over Northwestern on Friday night (Jan. 30) in front of 2,806 fans at Crisler Center. The Wolverines improved to 4-0 in Big Ten Conference dual action.
On a night when U-M honored its 11-member senior class, it was the freshmen who largely stole the show. The Wolverines had a season-high six freshmen in the starting lineup against Northwestern and earned five wins, including back-to-back first-period falls from redshirt freshmen Brock Mantanona and Hayden Walters at 184 and 197 pounds, respectively. It was the first pin this season for both.
Mantanona, ranked ninth nationally by InterMat, pinned J.D. Perez at the 1:39 mark after spending 60 seconds in a lengthy scramble, putting Perez on his back for the takedown and four swipes before finishing the sequence with a side headlock for the fall. Walters, ranked 18th, needed even less time to cradle up and pin Alex Smith at the 1:27 mark in the next bout. Like Mantanona, Walters came out on top of an early scramble, working out of it, then running behind a Smith single leg to lock up the cradle.
Wolverine rookies also won three consecutive bouts at the middleweights. Freshman Cooper Hilton was victorious in his collegiate dual debut at 149 pounds with an 11-5 decision over August Hibler. Hilton converted on a pair of takedowns -- in the first and third periods -- and rode out the second to accumulate 3:29 in advantage time.
Redshirt freshman Cameron Catrabone, ranked 14th at 157 pounds, earned his fifth bonus win in his last six bouts with a 12-2 major decision over Northwestern's Gunnar Myers. Catrabone appeared to have Myers pinned early in the first period when the Wildcat wrestler tried to roll to avoid a takedown, but the official was not in position. He tilted Myers for four points, then added two reversals in the second period en route to 1:55 in riding-time advantage.
Redshirt freshman Justin Gates kept Michigan rolling out of the intermission break with a 6-0 decision against Jacob Bostelman at 165 pounds. After a scoreless first period and a Gates rideout in the second, the Wolverine had a takedown all but secured midway through the third when Bostelman yelled out and the official waved off the points. Gates earned a quick escape after the injury time, then finished on a single leg and rode out the match for 1:58 in advantage time.
All three Wolverine seniors in the lineup also earned wins in their penultimate appearance at Crisler Center. Graduate student Dylan Ragusin evened the team score after an NU win in the opening bout with an 11-3 major decision against Billy Dekraker. Ragusin, ranked 25th at 141 pounds, took an early lead with a pair of single-leg takedowns in the first, added a go-behind takedown midway through the third and rode bout for 1:34 of advantage time and the bonus point. He improved to 4-0 in Big Ten duals since returning to the Wolverine lineup.
Graduate student Taye Ghadiali, ranked seventh at heavyweight, scored five takedowns and three back points en route to a 21-5 technical fall against Gabe Christenson. He closed out the bout with a go-behind at 3:48 for his team-best seventh tech fall of the season. Ghadiali improved to 15-2 with 11 bonus wins. Graduate student Diego Sotelo, ranked 24th at 125 pounds, wrapped up the dual with a 2-0 decision against 23rd-ranked Dedrick Navarro, finishing with 2:00 of riding time after a second-period rideout and picking up an immediate escape in the third.
Redshirt sophomore Beau Mantanona, ranked 11th at 174 pounds and the only non-freshman or grad student in the lineup, rounded out Michigan's match winners with a 13-3 major decision against 30th-ranked Eddie Enright. Mantanona scored on a single leg just :05 into the first period, added another late in the first and an edge takedown apiece in the second and third periods to control the bout from start to finish. It was Mantanona's third straight win over a ranked opponent.
The Wolverines (8-2, 4-0 Big Ten) will travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday (Feb. 1). The dual is slated for a noon start at the Covelli Center and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
No. 10 Michigan 38, Northwestern 4
Individual rankings by InterMat
133 -- #24 Sean Spidle (NU) major dec. Gauge Botero, 7-0 -- NU, 4-0
141 -- #25 Dylan Ragusin (U-M) major dec. Billy Dekraker, 11-3 -- Tied, 4-4
149 -- Cooper Hilton (U-M) dec. August Hibler, 11-5 -- U-M, 7-4
157 -- #14 Cameron Catrabone (U-M) major dec. Gunnar Myers, 12-2 -- U-M, 11-4
165 -- Justin Gates (U-M) dec. Jacob Bostelman, 6-0 -- U-M, 14-4
174 -- #13 Beau Mantanona (U-M) major dec. #30 Eddie Enright, 13-3 -- U-M, 18-4
184 -- #9 Brock Mantanona (U-M) pinned J.D. Perez, 1:39 -- U-M, 24-4
197 -- #18 Hayden Walters (U-M) pinned Alex Smith, 1:27 -- U-M, 30-4
Hwt -- #7 Taye Ghadiali (U-M) tech. fall Gabe Christenson, 21-5 (3:48) -- U-M, 35-4
125 -- #24 Diego Sotelo (U-M) dec. #23 Dedrick Navarro, 1-0 -- U-M, 38-4
Players Mentioned
