Northwestern University Athletics
Four Wildcats Named NWCA All-Americans
4/17/2020 12:44:00 PM | Wrestling
EVANSTON, Ill. – Four Northwestern wrestlers were named All-Americans by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), the organization announced on Friday. Leading the way on with first team selections were Michael DeAugustino, Sebastian Rivera and Ryan Deakin, while Lucas Davison earned an honorable mention selection.
Both Rivera and Deakin were named All-Americans after winning Big Ten Championships and earning No. 1 seeds in their respective weight classes heading into the NCAA Championships; meanwhile in their first seasons wrestling for Northwestern, DeAugustino and Davison quickly burst onto the national scene as some of the top first-year wrestlers in the country.
All four wrestlers were among the six NCAA qualifiers for Northwestern, the program's most since 2015, before the season was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Northwestern finished the season ranked No. 4 in the nation by FloWrestling, the best team tournament ranking in program history.
Moving up a weight class this season to 133 lbs, Rivera left no doubt in the Big Ten Championships as to who was the top wrestler in his new weight class, capturing his second-consecutive Big Ten championship after defeating the No. 1 ranked wrestler (Seth Gross, Wisconsin) in the semifinals and the No. 2 ranked wrestler (Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State) in the finals. Rivera's efforts earned him the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Big Ten Championships, as voted on by the conference's coaches.
Putting together one of the most dominant campaigns in Northwestern history, Deakin finished the season undefeated with a perfect 21-0 record. In March, he was named a finalist for college wrestling's most prestigious honor, the Hodge Trophy, and ultimately placed third–the highest finish for the award by a Wildcat since 2009. The redshirt-junior from Broomfield, Colo. picked up bonus points in 13 of his 21 victories this season, while 15 of those wins came against wrestlers who qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Most recently, Deakin captured a Big Ten championship after stringing together three decisive victories in Piscataway en rotue to his first-ever conference title.
Starting the season unranked at 125 lbs, DeAugustino quickly surged into the mix with impressive finishes at the two most prominent non-conference tournaments in college wrestling. He placed third at the CKLV Invitational, going 5-1 over the weekend with two wins over top-10 seeds, and then earned a runner-up finish at the Midlands Championships with a 4-1 effort. While competing in his first-ever Big Ten Championships, DeAugustino put together another strong showing en route to a third place finish and ultimately eanred a No. 8 seed at the NCAA Championships.
In a highly-competitive 197 lb weight class, Davison won his first nine dual matches and opened the conference season with six-straight wins over Big Ten opponents. In the Wildcats' dual against Purdue on Jan. 10, he defeated No. 2 ranked Christian Brunner in a dramatic sudden victory decision and then, two days later at Penn State, followed that up with a 7-5 victory over All-American Shakur Rasheed. Davison earned a fifth place finish at the Big Ten Championships and was ranked No. 7 in the nation by FloWrestling at the conclusion of the season.
All four Wildcats will return next season as head coach Matt Storniolo's squad looks to build upon its stellar finish in 2020.
••••••
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!
Both Rivera and Deakin were named All-Americans after winning Big Ten Championships and earning No. 1 seeds in their respective weight classes heading into the NCAA Championships; meanwhile in their first seasons wrestling for Northwestern, DeAugustino and Davison quickly burst onto the national scene as some of the top first-year wrestlers in the country.
All four wrestlers were among the six NCAA qualifiers for Northwestern, the program's most since 2015, before the season was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Northwestern finished the season ranked No. 4 in the nation by FloWrestling, the best team tournament ranking in program history.
Moving up a weight class this season to 133 lbs, Rivera left no doubt in the Big Ten Championships as to who was the top wrestler in his new weight class, capturing his second-consecutive Big Ten championship after defeating the No. 1 ranked wrestler (Seth Gross, Wisconsin) in the semifinals and the No. 2 ranked wrestler (Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State) in the finals. Rivera's efforts earned him the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Big Ten Championships, as voted on by the conference's coaches.
Putting together one of the most dominant campaigns in Northwestern history, Deakin finished the season undefeated with a perfect 21-0 record. In March, he was named a finalist for college wrestling's most prestigious honor, the Hodge Trophy, and ultimately placed third–the highest finish for the award by a Wildcat since 2009. The redshirt-junior from Broomfield, Colo. picked up bonus points in 13 of his 21 victories this season, while 15 of those wins came against wrestlers who qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Most recently, Deakin captured a Big Ten championship after stringing together three decisive victories in Piscataway en rotue to his first-ever conference title.
Starting the season unranked at 125 lbs, DeAugustino quickly surged into the mix with impressive finishes at the two most prominent non-conference tournaments in college wrestling. He placed third at the CKLV Invitational, going 5-1 over the weekend with two wins over top-10 seeds, and then earned a runner-up finish at the Midlands Championships with a 4-1 effort. While competing in his first-ever Big Ten Championships, DeAugustino put together another strong showing en route to a third place finish and ultimately eanred a No. 8 seed at the NCAA Championships.
In a highly-competitive 197 lb weight class, Davison won his first nine dual matches and opened the conference season with six-straight wins over Big Ten opponents. In the Wildcats' dual against Purdue on Jan. 10, he defeated No. 2 ranked Christian Brunner in a dramatic sudden victory decision and then, two days later at Penn State, followed that up with a 7-5 victory over All-American Shakur Rasheed. Davison earned a fifth place finish at the Big Ten Championships and was ranked No. 7 in the nation by FloWrestling at the conclusion of the season.
All four Wildcats will return next season as head coach Matt Storniolo's squad looks to build upon its stellar finish in 2020.
••••••
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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