Ryan Deakin’s season began the same way it ended: as a champion. Kicking off the year in Las Vegas at the annual Cliff Keen Invitational, Deakin took down three top-15 wrestlers on the way to his third straight CKLV title. His five-win weekend set the tone for what would result in Northwestern’s first individual national championship since 2014, one that would solidify Deakin as one of the best wrestlers in NU history. Here’s a look back at his historic final season:
Deakin entered the year as a consensus top-3 wrestler in the 157 weight class, with good reason to consider him as the nation’s best.