Rivera's Championship Leads NU to Second-Place Finish in Philadelphia

11/19/2017 8:51:00 PM | Wrestling

PHILADELPHIA — Led by #12 Sebastian Rivera's first-place performance, Northwestern wrestling finished second among 12 teams at the Keystone Classic at the historic Palestra on Sunday.

Rivera, who improved his season record to an unblemished 6-0 after the competition, easily dispatched his competition in the event, starting with a pin, a tech fall, and a major decision. He finished the day off with a 7-2 decision over Rider's Gerald Wert.

In all, nine Wildcats placed in the event. #9 Ryan Deakin and #16 Mitch Sliga both took home second-place finishes, going undefeated until the final bout. They both were felled by the top-ranked wrestler in the nation in their weight class.

Sliga picked up a ranked win in the semifinals, a commanding 16-1 tech fall over Rider's Michael Fagg-Davies.

Sophomore Shayne Oster utilized a major decision and a fall over the course of the day to finish in third place. He wrapped his day up with a major decision over Jon Errico (Penn), 11-2, in the third-place bout.

Graduate student Michael Sepke accumulated three wins on the day and finished in sixth place. His largest victory came against Dylan Gumaer (F&M), a 11-3 major decision.

Northwestern has started the season strong, placing five at the Michigan State Open (Nov. 5) and sweeping last weekend's double-dual action against Gardner-Webb and Old Dominion.

The Wildcats look to build on their season-beginning performance on Dec. 2, when the #B1GCats host Maryland at historic Patten Gymnasium.

1st Place
125: #12 Sebastian Rivera (NU) dec. Gerald Wert (RIDER), 7-2
149: #1 Zain Retherford (PSU) maj. dec. #9 Ryan Deakin, 10-2
184: #1 Bo Nickal (PSU) Fall #16 Mitch Sliga (NU), 0:48

3rd Place
133: Joshua Finesilver (DUKE) dec. Colin Valdiviez (NU), 5-4
141: A.J. Jaffe (HARV) maj. dec. Alec McKenna (NU), 9-1
157: Shayne Oster (NU) maj. dec. Jon Errico (PENN), 11-2
174: Forrest Przybysz (APPST) dec. Johnny Sebastian (NU), 5-2
285: Gage Hutchison (EMU) Fall #16 Conan Jennings (NU), 0:27

5th Place
165: Thomas Flitz (APPST) maj. dec. Michael Sepke (NU), 18-4

Semifinals
125: #12 Sebastian Rivera (NU) maj. dec. Thayer Atkins (DUKE), 16-6
141: Tyson Dippery (RIDER) dec. Alec McKenna (NU), 7-0
149: #9 Ryan Deakin (NU) maj. dec. Hunter Ladnier (HARV), 12-2
157: #1 Jason Nolf (PSU) Fall Shayne Oster (NU), 2:44
174: #2 Mark Hall (PSU) Tech. Fall Johnny Sebastian (NU), 19-4 (7:00)
184: #16 Mitch Sliga (NU) Tech. Fall #20 Michael Fagg-Daves (RIDER), 16-1 (7:00)
285: #6 Jacob Kasper (DUKE) dec. #16 Conan Jennings (NU), 7-1

Quarterfinals
125: #12 Sebastian Rivera (NU) Tech. Fall Dan Planta (PENN), 20-5 (4:59)
133: Austin DeSanto (DREX) Tech. Fall Anthony Rubinetti (NU), 22-5 (3:15)
141: Alec McKenna (NU) dec. Irvin Enriquez (APPST), 9-8
141: Jered Cortez (PSU) Fall Jason Ipsarides (NU), 3:29
149: Ryan Deakin (NU) Tech. Fall Luke Gardner (PSU), 27-8 (7:00)
157: Shayne Oster (NU) dec. Brock Wilson (HARV), 4-2
174: Johnny Sebastian (NU) dec. Austin Rose (DREX), 6-2
184: #16 Mitch Sliga (NU) dec. Alan Clother (APPST), 4-2
197: #4 Matt McCutcheon (PSU) dec. Zack Chakonis, 4-2
285: #16 Conan Jennings (NU) Fall Antonio Pelusi (F&M), 8:52

Round of 16
125: #12 Sebastian Rivera (NU) Fall Tomas Gutierrez (EMU), 2:00
125: Nolan Hellickson (HARV) maj. dec. Dylan Utterback (NU), 13-0
133: Anthony Rubinetti (NU) Fall Dan Martoccio (F&M), 4:08
133: Anthony Cefolo (RIDER) dec. Colin Valdiviez (NU), 9-8
141: Alec McKenna (NU) dec. Chandler Olson (DREX), 7-5
141: Jason Ipsarides (NU) dec. Julian Flores (DREX), 4-2
149: #9 Ryan Deakin (NU) Fall Carl Antrassian (PENN), 1:45
157: Shayne Oster (NU) Fall Robert Dupont (VMI), 1:17
157: #7 B.J. Clagon (RIDER) Tech. Fall Anthony Petrone (NU), 16-0 (4:09)
165: Michael Elliott (APPST) dec. Michael Sepke (NU), 10-6
174: Johnny Sebastian (NU) Tech. Fall Jimmy Stillerman (F&M), 19-4 (7:00)
184: #16 Mitch Sliga (NU) Fall Steven Mercadante (F&M), 1:35
197: Zack Chakonis (NU) maj. dec. Taylor Thomas (VMI), 12-0
285: #16 Conan Jennings (NU) Fall Alex Nicholas (PSU), 6:29

Round of 32
141: Alec McKenna (NU) dec. Sa'derian Perry (EMU), 4-0
141: Jason Ipsarides (NU) dec. Matt McCormick (RIDER), 10-3
149: #9 Ryan Deakin (NU) Tech. Fall Cole Aaron (F&M), 21-6
197: Rico Stormer (HARV) Fall Regis Durbin (NU), 6:39

Consolation Round of 16
133: Colin Valdiviez (NU) dec. Armando Torres (EMU), 6-0
157: Steve Midkiff (VMI) dec. Anthony Petrone (NU), 8-1
197: Taylor Thomas (VMI) dec. Regis Durbin (NU), 11-7

Consolation Round of 8
125: Ryan Burns (SHU) dec. Dylan Utterback (NU), 7-5
133: Ryan Friedman (HARV) dec. Anthony Rubinetti (NU), 5-2
133: Colin Valdiviez (NU) maj. dec. Hunter Starner (VMI), 13-3
141: Chandler Olson (DREX) dec. Jason Ipsarides (NU), 12-5
165: Michael Sepke (NU) maj. dec. Dylan Gumaer (F&M), 11-3
165: Michael Sepke (NU) dec. Blake Hohman (VMI), 3-2
197: Zack Chakonis (NU) Fall Phil Robliotto (F&M), 1:59

Consolation Round of 4
133: Colin Valdiviez (NU) dec. Ryan Friedman (HARV), 2-0
141: Alec McKenna (NU) dec. Bradley Irwin (APPST), 9-3
157: Shayne Oster (NU) dec. Laken Cook (APPST), 12-9
165: Michael Sepke (NU) dec. Joe Accousti (APPST), 5-2
165: Zac Carson (EMU) dec. Michael Sepke (NU), 8-3
174: Johnny Sebastian (NU) Fall Wayne Stinson (RIDER), 2:14
197: Ethan Laird (RIDER) dec. Zack Chakonis (NU), 5-2
285: #16 Conan Jennings dec. Cary Miller (APPST), 4-0