Northwestern wrestling arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska this weekend with the expectations of a solid upper-half finish and a handful of NCAA qualifiers. The Wildcats left with their best team finish at the conference championships since 2006, a three-time Big Ten Champion and what will almost certainly be a full lineup at the national championship in Detroit.
The highlight of the weekend for NU was, for the third straight year, a championship performance from senior Ryan Deakin, who once again proved to be the best 157-pound wrestler the Big Ten has to offer. Entering the weekend a perfect 13-0 on the year, Deakin started strong with a quarterfinal-round pin over Ohio State’s Bryce Hepner, followed by a hard-fought 4-3 decision over Nebraska’s Peyton Robb.