Northwestern Drops Dual to SIUE, 20-13

Saturday, November 15

Edwardsville, Ill.

5 p.m. CT

Northwestern

SIUE

Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics

Northwestern Drops Dual to SIUE, 20-13

11/15/2025 8:05:00 PM | Wrestling

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Northwestern wrestling (0-1) came up short in its first dual match of the season on Saturday at SIUE, falling 20-13 to the Cougars (1-0). The Wildcats picked up victories in four of ten weight classes in the defeat.

The match started at 125 lbs, where Dedrick Navarro took on SIUE's Drew Davis. After a scoreless first period, Navarro rode out Davis for most of the second. Though Davis notched an escape late to take a 1-0 lead, Navarro evened things up with an escape of his own in the third period. With the riding time point secured, Navarro defeated Davis by 2-1 decision.

No. 14 Sean Spidle, making his Northwestern debut, also wrestled a tight match at 133 lbs. Neither Spidle nor opponent Marcel Lopez was able to make a move through the first two periods, and the bout remained a scoreless tie heading into the third. From there, Spidle put one on the board with an escape and added the riding time point for another decision in favor of the 'Cats, 2-0.

SIUE picked up victories at both 141 lbs and 149 lbs before the 'Cats got back in the win column at 157. Gunnar Myers wasted no time, picking up his first takedown of Hayden Whidden less than a minute into the bout. Though Whidden made it a tight match with a pair of escapes, Myers closed it out with an escape of his own in the third period. A stalling penalty on Whidden made it a 5-2 victory by decision for Myers.

Northwestern's final victory of the evening came at 184 lbs, where graduate transfer J.D. Perez made his dual season debut for the Wildcats. He came out hot against SIUE's Nico Ronchetti, racking up three takedowns to take a 9-2 lead by the end of the first period. Ronchetti fought back with a takedown in the second, but Perez picked up an immediate reversal to limit the damage. He then managed another takedown of his own before the period expired, bringing the score to 15-6 in his favor. With one more takedown in the third and the riding time point for good measure, Perez secured a 19-8 major decision.

The 'Cats will look to bounce back next weekend as they continue their non-conference schedule with another road dual, this one at Princeton. First whistle between the Tigers and the 'Cats is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT.

SIUE 20, Northwestern 13
125: Dedrick Navarro (NU) over Drew Davis (SIUE) (Dec 2-1)
133: #14 Sean Spidle (NU) over Marcel Lopez (SIUE) (Dec 2-0)
141: Alec Peralta (SIUE) over Giosue Hickman (NU) (Dec 5-1)
149: #21 Caleb Tyus (SIUE) over #27 Sam Cartella (NU) (Fall 3:30)
157: Gunnar Myers (NU) over Hayden Whidden (SIUE) (Dec 5-2)
165: Brock Woodcock (SIUE) over Jacob Bostelman (NU) (Dec 7-0)
174: Dominic Lopez (SIUE) over Eddie Enright (NU) (SV-1 8-7)
184: J.D. Perez (NU) over Nico Ronchetti (SIUE) (MD 19-8)
197: Nick Nosler (SIUE) over Alex Smith (NU) (Dec 6-4)
285: Bryson Buhk (SIUE) over Dirk Morley (NU) (Dec 8-2)
Point deducted for SIUE for control of mat

* All individual rankings courtesy of InterMat (November 11)