EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE wrestling's first win of the 2015-16 season is an historic one.
SIUE defeated Northwestern 28-18 Sunday night for its first win against a Big Ten wrestling program since Jan. 11, 1989, when the Cougars bested Illinois 27-13 at the Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars, which hope to use this momentum as they begin Southern Conference action next Sunday at Chattanooga, improved to 1-4 this season, while the Northwestern Wildcats dropped to 1-4.
SIUE opened up its scoring with a key victory from Nate Higgins at 165 pounds. Higgins weighed in at 157 pounds but was bumped up a weight class.
Higgins opened up a 5-1 lead in the first period with a pair of takedowns and a penalty point from Northwestern's Luke Norland. Higgins would add two more takedowns as well as riding time in the win.
Derek Nagel turned in the most impressive performance of the night for the Cougars at 184 pounds, blanking Regis Durbin 11-0 for a major decision. Nagel put Durbin on his back in the first period and controlled the tempo for the rest of the match.
Chris Johnson earned SIUE's tightest win of the match, a 3-2 victory over Conan Jennings at heavyweight. The two wrestlers went to triple overtime last season at the Midlands, and Johnson picked up the edge this season.
With both wrestlers picking up escapes to start the scoring, Johnson recorded the crucial takedown in the third period to improve his season record to 8-5.
SIUE 28, Northwestern 18
141 - Jameson Oster (Northwestern) over John Muldoon (SIUE), 9-3
149 - Trevor Feagans (SIUE) won by forfeit
157 - Eric Travers (SIUE) won by forfeit
165 - Nate Higgins (SIUE) over Luke Norland (Northwestern), 11-4
174 - Mitch Sliga (Northwestern) over Clayton Bass (SIUE), 7-1
184 - Derek Nagel (SIUE) won by major decision over Regis Durbin (Northwestern), 11-0
197 - Jake Tindle (SIUE) won by forfeit
285 - Chris Johnson (SIUE) def. Conan Jennings (Northwestern), 3-2
125 - Garrison White (Northwestern) pinned Joe Antonelli (SIUE), Fall 2:41
133 - Dominick Malone (Northwestern) pinned Dakota Leach (SIUE), 2:58