With the win, the Badgers hit the 12-win mark for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign and now have five wins over ranked opponents this season.
Liegel’s 3-2 win over Zillmer was his first win over a ranked opponent in six tries, improving his overall record to 16-8. After Zillmer notched an escape point in the second period, Liegel recorded a takedown less than 30 seconds into the third to gain a 2-1 lead. Zillmer escaped just 15 seconds later to tie things up before he was called for his second stall warning with just 23 seconds left to give Liegel the match-winning point.
“He (Scott Liegel) has had so many chances to win matches like that,” Wisconsin head coach Barry Davis said. “He finally did it, which is good. Hopefully he has turned the corner now. He has been working and training. Hopefully that put him over the hump and he can build for Big Ten’s.”
Liegel’s win proved vital, as Jackson Hein lost a tight decision, 4-3, to No. 19 Kurtis Julson at 184 lbs., and Timmy McCall was pinned after a back-and-forth first period by Tyler Lehmann at 197 lbs., to pull the Bison within two, 19-17, with just the heavyweight match remaining.
No. 10 Connor Medbery then battled with NDSU’s Evan Knutson. The score remained even for most of two periods before Medbery rattled off a quick four points within a 10-second timeframe.
The Loveland, Colo., native held a 2-1 lead with 45 seconds remaining in the second period before he recorded a takedown and a two-point near fall within nine seconds of each other in the closing moments.
Medbery closed things out with an escape, a takedown and a riding time point to give him the major decision victory, 10-1, over Knutson.
Early on, 10th-ranked Ryan Taylor and 6th-ranked Tyler Graff continued their winning ways while Jesse Thielke showcased a promising bout at 141 lbs., to give the Badgers a large early lead, 12-0.
Taylor won by major decision, 15-4, over Hunter Weber at 125 lbs., while Graff recorded his ninth technical fall victory with a 19-4 win over Justin LaValle at 133 lbs. Thielke raced out to an 8-1 lead in the first period over Clay Cathey at 141 lbs., and ended up winning by a score of 10-4.
No. 6 Isaac Jordan remains undefeated in dual competition after his major decision victory over Nic Olejnik at 157 lbs. The redshirt freshman now sits at 15-0 in dual competition and 22-4 overall.
The Badgers are now off for two weeks before concluding the regular season with two home matches against Big Ten opponents.
“We’ve got a couple weeks off right now to get ready for the next home duals, Big Ten’s and NCAA’s,” Davis said. “We have a lot of time, it will be a tough training break. We’ll talk to the guys about what to expect, what they are going to do. We’ll get their minds right and get back to work.”
The Badgers next match is Feb. 21 against Nebraska at in the UW Field House at 7 p.m. They will conclude the regular season Feb. 23 at home against Iowa at 1 p.m.
Results:
125 #10 Ryan Taylor maj. dec. Hunter Weber, 15-4 0 4
133 #6 Tyler Graff tech fall Justin LaValle, 19-4 (7:00) 0 9
141 Jesse Thielke dec. Clay Cathey, 10-4 0 12
149 Tyler Diamond dec. TJ Ruschell, 11-5 3 12
157 #6 Isaac Jordan maj. dec. Nick Olejnik, 11-3 3 16
165 #3 Steven Monk tech fall Frank Cousins, 16-0, (6:21) 8 16
174 Scott Liegel dec. #11 Hayden Zillmer, 3-2 8 19
184 #19 Kurtis Julson dec. Jackson Hein, 4-3 11 19
197 Tyler Lehmann fall Timmy McCall, 6:04 17 19
Hwt #10 Connor Medbery maj. dec. Evan Knutson, 10-1 17 23
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