Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling Brings Home 4 Champions From Michigan State Open

Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling was in action over the weekend with multiple wrestlers competing in the Michigan State Open. Wisconsin returned home from East Lansing with four champions! Nicolar Rivera (133), Luke Condon (174), Eric Barnett (125) and Dean Hamiti (165).

Four Badgers claim crowns 👑 at Michigan State Open

Nicolar Rivera 133 (Fr./So.)
Luke Condon 174 (Fr./So.)
Eric Barnett 125 (Open)
Dean Hamiti 165 (Open)

10 Badgers overall earn spots on podium. Full results: https://t.co/tbXWTc92eW pic.twitter.com/hQuT4ExXG7

— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) November 11, 2023

Let’s take a look at each weight class and see how the Badgers performed individually.

125 pounds

No.5 Eric Barnett was back in action and put on a clinic tape in the Open Division.

Barnett went out and ran though his competition and finished his day 3-0. Barnett’s scoring numbers wont blow you away but he is a closer – with 5-0, 11-6 and 5-3 victories.

133 pounds 

Zan Fugitt wrestled in the Freshman/Sophomore Division and had a very strong outing.  Wrapping up his day with a 3-1 record and a 2nd place finish –  the true freshman from Missouri continues his hot start to the year.

Simon Kruse would likely agree he did not have his best day on the mat Saturday.  Kruse wrestled tough but dropped both of his matches.

Nicolar Rivera continues to impress in the 133 pound class after a 4-0 finish to his day of work in East Lansing – including two victories by technical fall.

At 133, the Battle of the Badgers saw sophomore Nicolar Rivera clinch first place over teammate and true freshman Zan Fugitt 10-6 @nicolar27_r finished the day 4-0 including 3 bonus point wins

Fugitt added 2 tech falls & a decision on his side of the bracket before the final

— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) November 11, 2023

141 pounds

Felix Lettini was the lone representative for the Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling program at 141 pounds. Lettini went 1-2 in the Freshman/Sophomore Division on the afternoon and dropped his final match in sudden victory.

149 pounds

Danny Sheen competed in the Freshman/Sophomore division and wasn’t able to secure a victory. After losing his first match following a bye, Sheen had to medical forfeit (MMF) his final match. Sending T’s & P’s to him and hoping for a speedy recovery.

Aidan Medora had an nice day in the 149 pound division while accounting for a 2-2 record. Medora won his first match by fall.

No. 15 Joseph Zargo had a strong showing in the Open Division. Finishing his day 3-1 with a 2nd place finish was a nice consolation after taking a hard fought loss in the 133 finals.

Joe Zargo finishes 2nd overall at 149 in his first D1 tournament in new weight class

Down 5-3 in the 2nd period in a close-fought bout, Zargo was turned by Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) for the fall 5:32

Zargo finishes 3-1 overall including one major decision in the quarters

— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) November 11, 2023

157 pounds

Royce Nilo competed in the Freshman/Sophomore Division and complied a 3-2 record and finished his day with a 17-0 technical fall in his 5th place match!

Freshman Royce Nilo gets on the podium for his first college tournament!

Nilo defeats Zachary Jacobs (Albion College) with a 17-0 shutout tech fall to finish 5th overall

— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) November 11, 2023

Luke Mechler competed hard and finished his tournament with a 2-2 record.

Losing is never enjoyable but this could be a good litmus test for him as the loss comes in the consolation rounds to his teammate, Cody Goebel.

🚨Upset Alert!🚨

157: Luke Mechler (@BadgerWrestling) over #17 Jared Hill (Oklahoma) 5-4

MSU Open (Round of 16)

— The College Wrestling Report (@TheCollegeWrR) November 11, 2023

Cody Goebel wrestled in the Open Division and landed a 4th place mark after posting a 4-2 record on Saturday. After losing by technical fall 21-4, Goebel went on to win four straight before losing 9-3 in the 157 finals.

Gavin Model finished 1-2 and just couldn’t seem to find his offense at the Michigan State Open.  After winning by fall in an early match, Model lost 3-1 and 8-2  to round out his day.

The 157 starter will be an intriguing follow as the season wears on.

165 pounds

Graham Calhoun couldn’t secure a win on the afternoon after two hard fought battles.  Calhoun fell 10-9 and 5-2 in a sudden victory. Tough day for him but he will bounce back.

No. 4 Dean Hamiti is still “HIM” for those wondering. Four DOMINATING wins for the reigning, defending, Big Ten Champion.

Finishing his day with two falls, a major decision and a technical fall for the Championship was just how he drew it up. I guess he is not washed after all.

First Tournament of the season
First crown of the season
Big Ten Wrestler of the Week

On to the next for @HamitiDean … pic.twitter.com/GCSafjoXkU

— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) November 14, 2023

174 pounds

Cale Anderson competed in the Open Division for the Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling program and finished up with a 2-2 output on Saturday.

Josh Otto didn’t have the day he planned for after his opening round bye.  Otto had all three matches decided by decision and finished 1-2 on the afternoon.

Luke Condon flew through the Freshman/Sophomore Division like a warm knife through butter. Completing his day with a 4-0 record, the California Condor (my proposed nickname) had all four of his wins coming by pure domination!

Condon ran through his opponents on Saturday with 18-1, 27-8, and 20-3 technical falls, and another by fall.

Luke Condon completes a destructive day on the mat in 1st Place! 🥇

Condon seals the title with a 20-3 tech fall victory over Rollie Denker (Michigan State)

That’s his 3rd Tech Fall today and his 4th bonus point win thanks to an earlier pin.

Not bad for your college debut!

— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) November 11, 2023

184 pounds

Shane Liegel wrapped up his day 2-3 and had tough matches throughout the day.  After starting strong with two major decision victories, Liegel lost back-to-back matches by technical fall and another by major decision.

Liegel did not wrestle in the 5th place match due to a medical forfeiture (MFF).

Sending T’s & P’s to him and hoping for a speedy recovery.

197 pounds

Michael Talshahar brought 5th place finish back to Madison with a 3-2 record on the day. Talshahar wrestled in the Freshman/Sophomore Division and had a good showing.

I think the Florida native would agree, wrestling is an insanely tough sport and sometimes you win by the fall – and sometimes you lose by it.

Mikey Talshahar secures 5th place at 197!

After earning 2 pins earlier, Talshahar defeats Jase Grundy (Mott CC) with a dominating 20-3 tech fall 😤

Congrats @Miketal22!

— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) November 11, 2023

Brooks Empey did not have the day he envisioned when strapping up his wrestling shoes Saturday morning.  Empey lost both matches he wrestled in by a combined 20-1. It certainly stings now but this will be valuable in the long run as he grinds to better himself and refine his craft.

285 pounds

The heavyweight division… lets just say the boys had a tough day at the Michigan State Open.

Isaac Klarkowski followed up his Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling debut at the UW-Stevens Point Open with two losses by a combined 35-5.  Those results wont sit well a competitor like Klarkowski and he will use this day as fuel to get better.

The same rationale can also be said for Gannon Rosenfeld. The redshirt freshman from Mankato, MN made his season debut in the Open Division and just wasn’t able to make a run.  Settling for a 1-2 record will have him ready to get back to work and get better.

Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling MAN OF THE MAT Award

Who was our inaugural award winner of the Badger Notes MAN OF THE MAT award? The intent of this prestigious award is to highlight a specific wrestler for something they did that was spectacular from the event.

Winning the incredible award is not just about what kind of points you scored or securing a win. This award is about how you represented yourself on the mat when adversity struck.  Who had that dawg in them and the will to win in the face of defeat.

Wisconsin Badgers Luke Condon

Luke Condon was a man on a mission. The California native, and pending approval of the nickname “California Condor” notched a record of 4-0 in the 174 pound weight class.

Not only did the freshman win all of his matches – he did it in a DOMINATE fashion.

After a fall and three technical falls –  Luke Condon earned the MAN OF THE MAT award.

Previous winners of the MAN OF THE MAT Award

DUAL: Felix Lettini vs. Lindenwood

What’s Next for the Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling team?

Next up for the Wisconsin Badgers wrestlers is a dual vs. No.10 Iowa State at Humboldt High School on 11/19 at 2PM.

This dual will be awesome because not only are the No. 10 Cyclones and No.27 Badgers going at it –  the dual is being held at small town high school in Northwest Iowa and will be televised on UFC Fight Pass.

Stay tuned to Badger Notes for coverage of the Wisconsin Badgers wrestling program and their upcoming competitions!

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