Northwestern University Athletics
Saturday, March 7
Piscataway, N.J.
All Day
Northwestern
vs
2020 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Rivera and Deakin Win Big Ten Championships
3/8/2020 8:36:00 PM | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Sebastian Rivera and Ryan Deakin gave Northwestern wrestling two Big Ten champions Sunday afternoon with convincing victories in the title bouts of their respective weight classes.
The pair gave NU its 43rd and 44th conference championships all-time, as well as the program's first year with two champions since 2015.
In addition to Rivera and Deakin, three more Wildcat wrestlers placed in the top five of their brackets in the final session. Michael DeAugustino took third at 125 pounds, while Shayne Oster (165) and Lucas Davison (197) each took fifth.
With those five leading the way, Northwestern notched its best finish in the team score in eight years, finishing sixth out of 14 in the nation's most competitive conference.
Rivera, seeded No. 5 at 133 pounds and coming off a win over No. 1 Seth Gross in yesterday's evening session, was matched up with No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State in the finals. In similar fashion to the match against Gross, Rivera trailed after the first period before staging a comeback victory. An escape early in the second and a takedown later in the period gave Rivera a two-point advantage heading into the third. With the score reading 4-2, Rivera was simply dominant on top in the final period, riding Bravo-Young for the entire two minutes. A late turn for two nearfall points put on exclamation point on the performance, and with riding time, Rivera won by a final score of 7-2.
Following the final session, the New Jersey native--wrestling less than an hour from his hometown--was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships, as voted on by the coaches of all competing teams. Rivera is the first NU wrestler to take home the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award since Jake Herbert in 2007. The title was also Rivera's second-straight at Big Tens, after defeating Iowa's Spencer Lee in the finals at 125 pounds a year ago.
At 157 pounds, Deakin was looking to cap off a perfect regular season with a conference title. Seeded No. 1 in his bracket, the junior's performance throughout the weekend further solidified his status as the top grappler in the weight class. Taking on Purdue's Kendall Coleman for the trophy, Deakin wasted no time in showing why he was the favorite. An early takedown gave him the lead, and he tacked on an escape and another takedown in the second, amassing a 5-0 lead with just one period to go. With four full minutes of riding time, Deakin secured a 7-2 victory over the Boilermaker to give the 'Cats their second champion.
Deakin's dominance in the tournament not only earned him his first Big Ten title, but also continued his perfect season and sealed his position as the top overall seed at 157 pounds for the upcoming NCAA tournament.
DeAugustino also put on a show in his first-ever appearance at Big Tens. The redshirt first-year advanced to the third-place bout in this afternoon's session to face Jack Medley of Michigan. In a close and hard-fought contest, multiple overtime sessions were required to decide a victor. Finally, in a round of tiebreakers, DeAugustino was able to escape to take the lead before holding Medley down for the full time to seal the win.
At 165 pounds, Oster won an exciting match against Danny Braunagel of Illinois. Wrestling in his final Big Ten Championships, the senior trailed by a point in the third before putting Braunagel on his back and scoring four nearfall points to take the victory.
Davison finished out the weekend for the 'Cats with a fifth-place finish at 197. The redshirt first-year, who like DeAugustino was competing at the conference tournament for the first time, had an impressive run that was highlighted by a 7-3 victory over No. 4 seed Christian Brunner of Purdue.
All five Wildcats that placed top-five in their brackets earned automatic trips to the NCAA Championships, while others have the chance to be selected for at-large bids. NU will close out the 2019-20 season at the national competition, which will take place March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
The pair gave NU its 43rd and 44th conference championships all-time, as well as the program's first year with two champions since 2015.
In addition to Rivera and Deakin, three more Wildcat wrestlers placed in the top five of their brackets in the final session. Michael DeAugustino took third at 125 pounds, while Shayne Oster (165) and Lucas Davison (197) each took fifth.
With those five leading the way, Northwestern notched its best finish in the team score in eight years, finishing sixth out of 14 in the nation's most competitive conference.
Rivera, seeded No. 5 at 133 pounds and coming off a win over No. 1 Seth Gross in yesterday's evening session, was matched up with No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State in the finals. In similar fashion to the match against Gross, Rivera trailed after the first period before staging a comeback victory. An escape early in the second and a takedown later in the period gave Rivera a two-point advantage heading into the third. With the score reading 4-2, Rivera was simply dominant on top in the final period, riding Bravo-Young for the entire two minutes. A late turn for two nearfall points put on exclamation point on the performance, and with riding time, Rivera won by a final score of 7-2.
Following the final session, the New Jersey native--wrestling less than an hour from his hometown--was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships, as voted on by the coaches of all competing teams. Rivera is the first NU wrestler to take home the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award since Jake Herbert in 2007. The title was also Rivera's second-straight at Big Tens, after defeating Iowa's Spencer Lee in the finals at 125 pounds a year ago.
At 157 pounds, Deakin was looking to cap off a perfect regular season with a conference title. Seeded No. 1 in his bracket, the junior's performance throughout the weekend further solidified his status as the top grappler in the weight class. Taking on Purdue's Kendall Coleman for the trophy, Deakin wasted no time in showing why he was the favorite. An early takedown gave him the lead, and he tacked on an escape and another takedown in the second, amassing a 5-0 lead with just one period to go. With four full minutes of riding time, Deakin secured a 7-2 victory over the Boilermaker to give the 'Cats their second champion.
Deakin's dominance in the tournament not only earned him his first Big Ten title, but also continued his perfect season and sealed his position as the top overall seed at 157 pounds for the upcoming NCAA tournament.
DeAugustino also put on a show in his first-ever appearance at Big Tens. The redshirt first-year advanced to the third-place bout in this afternoon's session to face Jack Medley of Michigan. In a close and hard-fought contest, multiple overtime sessions were required to decide a victor. Finally, in a round of tiebreakers, DeAugustino was able to escape to take the lead before holding Medley down for the full time to seal the win.
At 165 pounds, Oster won an exciting match against Danny Braunagel of Illinois. Wrestling in his final Big Ten Championships, the senior trailed by a point in the third before putting Braunagel on his back and scoring four nearfall points to take the victory.
Davison finished out the weekend for the 'Cats with a fifth-place finish at 197. The redshirt first-year, who like DeAugustino was competing at the conference tournament for the first time, had an impressive run that was highlighted by a 7-3 victory over No. 4 seed Christian Brunner of Purdue.
All five Wildcats that placed top-five in their brackets earned automatic trips to the NCAA Championships, while others have the chance to be selected for at-large bids. NU will close out the 2019-20 season at the national competition, which will take place March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
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