Seniors Connor Medbery and Isaac Jordan were honored at the UW Field House Sunday afternoon as part of senior day for the wrestling team. The pair finished their great regular seasons with a bang by scoring major decisions, and helped the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers upset the No. 14 Central Michigan Chippewas in a back-and-forth 19-17 final home dual.
After a quick first win by junior Johnny Jimenez, the Badgers suffered two losses to give Central Michigan a 6-3 advantage after three matches. Andrew Crone then won his match against Justin Oliver in a major decision, to give the lead back to the Badgers at 7-6. The Field House was rocking all day, given the tight dual, and gave the wrestlers energy.
After a tight win by Central Michigan wrestler Colin Heffernan gave the Chippewas the lead right before halftime, Isaac Jordan stepped onto the mat. The senior from Urbana, Ohio, jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and dominated the rest of the way. He tallied eight takedowns, giving the Badgers a major decision, and the lead was back into the Badgers’ hands at 11-9.
The back-and-forth dual continued, with the Chips tallying two straight wins to grab the lead back at 17-11. Ricky Robertson won an incredibly tight match 1-0, with an escape in the second period, setting up a 17-14 scoreline. The pressure was all on Connor Medberry, who delivered in his final match at the UW Field House. The senior from Loveland, Colo. clinched an undefeated season and a 19-17 win for the Badgers with a technical fall.
The seniors delivered on senior day, and head coach Barry Davis was not shy about praising his guys.
“No doubt about it, [Jordan and Medberry are] two great leaders, two great young men that will be greatly missed,” said Davis.
However, will not let them rest on their laurels.
“[I’m] looking forward to those guys at Big Tens and NCAAs and continuing the upward movement and help them try to reach the success of being a national champion.”
The Big Ten tournament starts March 4 in Indianapolis.
