Two 'Cats Podium at 2026 Big Ten Championships

Saturday, March 7

State College, Pa.

All Day

Northwestern

Big Ten Championships

Photo by: Jordan Herald/Northwestern Athletics

Two 'Cats Podium at 2026 Big Ten Championships

3/8/2026 8:07:00 PM | Wrestling

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Two Wildcats reached the podium at the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, with both Billy Dekraker (141 lbs) and Sean Spidle (133 lbs) earning top-eight finishes inside Bryce Jordan Center.

Spidle, who finished seventh, is headed back to the NCAA Championships after earning an automatic bid on Saturday. After falling to the back half of the bracket early on, Spidle defeated ninth-seeded Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) in a tight 1-0 victory by decision in the blood round at 133 lbs. He concluded his weekend in seventh place, the highest finish by a Wildcat.

Also on the Big Ten podium was first-year Billy Dekraker, who finished in eighth place at his first conference Championships. Dekraker picked up a pair of victories over ranked wrestlers en route to the podium, defeating No. 31 Henry Porter in the round of 16 with a dominant 15-0 technical fall before downing No. 30 Greyson Clark in wrestlebacks. His podium finish was the first by a Northwestern true first-year since 2021, when David Ferrante finished seventh at 165 lbs.

Next up for Northwestern wrestling are the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, set for March 19-21 in Cleveland, Ohio. At-large bids to the tournament will be announced on Tuesday, March 10, after all automatic qualifications have been decided at conference championships.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
125
Champ. Round 1 - Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) won by decision over Dedrick Navarro (Dec 8-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Dean Peterson (Iowa) won by decision over Dedrick Navarro (Dec 5-0)
9th Place Quarterfinal - Dedrick Navarro won by major decision over Abram Cline (Maryland) (MD 10-0)
9th Place Semifinal - Spencer Moore (Illinois) won by major decision over Dedrick Navarro (MD 9-1)

133
Champ. Round 1 - Blake Boarman (Purdue) won by decision over Sean Spidle (Dec 3-2)
Cons. Round 2 - Sean Spidle won by decision over Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) (Dec 1-0)
Cons. Round 3 - Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) won by major decision over Sean Spidle (MD 14-2)
7th Place Match - Sean Spidle won by medical forfeit over Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) (MFFL)

141
Champ. Round 1 - Billy Dekraker won by tech fall over Henry Porter (Indiana) (TF 15-0, 4:19)
Quarterfinal - Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) won by fall over Billy Dekraker (Fall 1:04)
Cons. Round 2 - Billy Dekraker won by decision over Greyson Clark (Purdue) (Dec 5-4)
Cons. Round 3 - Dario Lemus (Maryland) won by decision over Billy Dekraker (Dec 9-7)
7th Place Match - Braeden Davis (Penn State) won by decision over Billy Dekraker (Dec 8-1)

149
Champ. Round 1 - Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) won by decision over August Hibler (Dec 9-7)
Cons. Round 1 - August Hibler won in sudden victory - 1 over Joey Buttler (Indiana) (SV-1 9-8)
Cons. Round 2 - Carter Young (Maryland) won by major decision over August Hibler (MD 8-0)
9th Place Quarterfinal - Drew Roberts (Minnesota) won by decision over August Hibler (Dec 5-0)

157
Champ. Round 1 - Kannon Webster (Illinois) won by fall over Ty Wilson (Fall 4:28)
Cons. Round 1 - Bryce Lowery (Indiana) won by decision over Ty Wilson (Dec 4-1)
9th Place Quarterfinal - Victor Voinovich (Iowa) won by major decision over Ty Wilson (MD 8-0)

165
Champ. Round 1 - Braeden Scoles (Illinois) won by tech fall over Jacob Bostelman (TF 20-4, 4:32)
Cons. Round 1 - Jack Conley (Michigan State) won by decision over Jacob Bostelman (Dec 4-2)
9th Place Quarterfinal - Jack Conley (Michigan State) won by decision over Jacob Bostelman (Dec 4-1)

174
Champ. Round 1 - Ethan Riddle (Minnesota) won by decision over Eddie Enright (Dec 4-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Colin Kelly (Illinois) won by decision over Eddie Enright (Dec 4-1)
9th Place Quarterfinal - Eddie Enright won by major decision over Seth Digby (Maryland) (MD 12-3)
9th Place Semifinal - Derek Gilcher (Indiana) won by decision over Eddie Enright (Dec 11-7)
11th Place Match - Ethan Riddle (Minnesota) won by major decision over Eddie Enright (MD 13-4)

184
Champ. Round 1 - Dylan Fishback (Ohio State) won by tech fall over J.D. Perez (TF 17-2, 3:27)
Cons. Round 1 - J.D. Perez won by decision over Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) (Dec 12-8)
Cons. Round 2 - Chris Moore (Illinois) won by tech fall over J.D. Perez (TF 19-3, 6:20)
9th Place Quarterfinal - J.D. Perez won by decision over Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) (Dec 10-7)
9th Place Semifinal - Sam Goin (Indiana) won by decision over J.D. Perez (Dec 13-12)

197
Champ. Round 1 - Remy Cotton (Rutgers) won by major decision over Alex Smith (MD 15-2)
Cons. Round 1 - Gavin Nelson (Minnesota) won by decision over Alex Smith (Dec 4-3)
9th Place Quarterfinal - Gavin Nelson (Minnesota) won by decision over Alex Smith (Dec 5-2)

285
Champ. Round 1 - Cole Mirasola (Penn State) won by fall over Gabe Christenson (Fall 0:26)
Cons. Round 1 - Gabe Christenson won by decision over Joey Schneck (Maryland) (Dec 7-2)
Cons. Round 2 - Luke Luffman (Illinois) won by major decision over Gabe Christenson (MD 14-2)
9th Place Quarterfinal - Gabe Christenson won by decision over Joey Schneck (Maryland) (Dec 4-2)
9th Semifinal - Josh Terrill (Michigan State) won by decision over Gabe Christenson (Dec 7-2)