IU moved to 8-6 and 1-4 in Big Ten on the season after splitting the weekend against conference foes Northwestern and Nebraska. The Hoosiers defeated the Wildcats on the road before dropping their match against Nebraska on Sunday.
On Friday in Evanston, Illinois, IU defeated Northwestern 23-14 by winning six of the 10 matches, including the last three.
With three matches remaining, IU trailed 14-13 before 141-pound sophomore Cole Weaver, 149-pound senior Chris Perez and 157-pound sophomore No. 19 Jake Danishek all became victorious to give the Hoosiers their first Big Ten win of the season.
“It’s always good to get a Big Ten win,” 165-pound sophomore Bryce Martin said. “This is a very tough conference, so any time the team can come away with a win, it’s good. It’s another step forward.”
IU fell to No. 5 Nebraska two days later by a score of 31-15 in the Hoosiers' fifth Big Ten match of the season.
Sophomore 133-pound Garrett Pepple forfeited his match after breaking his nose against Northwestern, and 184-pound senior No. 6 Nate Jackson and 174-pound sophomore No. 17 Devin Skatzka picked up wins due to forfeits as well.
Martin picked up a win against Nebraska to rebound from a loss against Northwestern. He defeated No. 27 Dustin Williams in dramatic fashion.
Martin trailed 3-2 with 1:35 left in the match when he began shooting for the legs looking for a takedown to take the lead.
With six seconds remaining, that takedown came. Martin then held Williams down for the remaining five seconds earning Martin his second Big Ten win of the season.
Martin has had lots of close matches throughout his career. Sunday was another example of that, and he was able to come out on top.
“He held really good position,” Martin said. “I shot a realistic shot one time, and I got it, so I have confidence in knowing I can take these guys down. It’s more of the concept of getting to my offense even more. I think I can stretch the match out even more, but it is definitely a good win.”
The Hoosiers will now have the week to prepare for another busy weekend on the road. IU will take on Maryland on Friday before traveling to No. 11 Rutgers on Sunday.
“Keep working to get better,” Martin said. “We are not even looking at Sunday right now, just Friday and wrestling Maryland and wrestling as best we can. Keep getting better because the ultimate goal is in March. It’s not about today but about what we do for March.”
