Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Princeton
'Cats Take Down Tigers, 21-19
11/23/2025 3:13:00 PM | Wrestling
PRINCETON, N.J. - Six Northwestern wrestlers picked up victories on Sunday in Princeton as the Wildcats (1-1) edged the Princeton Tigers (1-3) on the road, 21-19.
After Princeton scored the match's first points with a technical fall at 125 pounds, Sean Spidle got the Wildcats on the board with a 4-0 decision at 133 pounds. Spidle, ranked No. 15 by InterMat in his weight class, faced off against Ethan Rivera. The pair wrestled to a scoreless first period before Spidle used an escape in the second to take the first advantage, then a takedown in the third to seal his victory, 4-0. It was the second straight shutout victory for the CMU transfer in dual action.
Making his Northwestern debut, first-year Billy Dekraker got the nod at 141 pounds, where he defeated Princeton's Jacob Mann in come-from-behind fashion. Mann had the upper hand through the majority of the match after notching an early takedown in the first period. Though Dekraker narrowed the lead with a pair of escapes, Mann also managed an escape to maintain a two-point lead, 4-2. Finally, in the third period, Dekraker secured a takedown of his own to take a 5-4 lead, which he converted to a victory by decision in the first match of his collegiate career.
The 'Cats' next victory came up at 157 pounds. Gunnar Myers, who won his dual match debut last weekend at SIUE, again came away victorious. He used two first-period takedowns of Gavin Hawk to grab control early, then never looked back. A takedown and an escape each in both of the next two periods stretched his advantage to bonus-point berth, and with the riding time advantage locked up, Myers rolled to a 15-4 major decision.
After Princeton took a 14-10 team lead in the dual, Eddie Enright kept the Wildcats' in the fight with an 8-1 victory by decision at 174 pounds. Like Myers, Enright led the entire way after an early takedown of Holden Garcia. The redshirt first-year allowed Garcia his only points of the match via an escape in the second period, while adding another takedown, an escape and the riding time point to his own tally.
The Tigers held a 19-13 advantage heading into the final two weight classes, but Alex Smith picked up a clutch major decision to nearly even things back up. Smith came out of the gate ready, racking up a 9-2 lead by the end of the first period with three straight takedowns of Conor McCloskey. From there, he kept his foot on the gas with another takedown and the riding time point, securing a 14-4 major decision.
With the dual in the balance, Gabe Christenson had the final say for Northwestern. Wrestling at 285 pounds for the first time this season, the Virginia transfer used two takedowns and four nearfall points to help him to a decisive 13-1 major decision over Gabe Garibaldi. The victory was enough to push the 'Cats past the Tigers, 21-19, for the team's first dual win of the season.
Next up, Northwestern will return to tournament action at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in two weeks' time. The event takes place December 5-6 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Northwestern 21, Princeton 19
125: #18 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) over Dedrick Navarro (Northwestern) (TF 18-3 7:00)
133: #15 Sean Spidle (Northwestern) over Ethan Rivera (Princeton) (Dec 4-0)
141: Billy Dekraker (Northwestern) over Jacob Mann (Princeton) (Dec 5-4)
149: #24 Eligh Rivera (Princeton) over August Hibler (Northwestern) (Dec 7-6)
157: Gunnar Myers (Northwestern) over Gavin Hawk (Princeton) (MD 15-4)
165: #19 Ty Whalen (Princeton) won by forfeit
174: Eddie Enright (Northwestern) over Holden Garcia (Princeton) (Dec 8-1)
184: #19 Kole Mulhauser (Princeton) over J.D. Perez (Northwestern) (TF 17-1 4:33)
197: Alex Smith (Northwestern) over Conor McCloskey (Princeton) (MD 14-4)
285: Gabe Christenson (Northwestern) over Gabe Garibaldi (Princeton) (MD 13-1)
* All individual rankings courtesy of InterMat (November 18)
Players Mentioned
