PHILADELPHIA -- On a busy Saturday of back-to-back dual matches at two different schools, No. 26 Wisconsin wrestling knocked down Rider to earn a 22-16 victory followed by a 26-11 win at Drexel.

Six Badgers each earned two individual wins in the duals, including Eric Barnett (125 pounds) and Nicolar Rivera (133) securing major decisions in both duals. Joseph Zargo (149) tallied an upset decision against Rider and a major decision, while Dean Hamiti (165) earned a major decision and a tech fall.

Max Maylor (184) turned in two gutsy wins with one earned in sudden victory against Rider and a come-from-behind victory against Drexel. Shane Liegel (197) collected a major decision and a hard-fought decision wrestling up a weight class. Hamiti, Maylor and Liegel all wrestled up one weight class on Saturday from their prior lineup spots earlier this fall.

Wisconsin at Rider

Wisconsin jumped out to a 8-0 lead thanks to major decisions won by Barnett and Rivera. Barnett scored three takedowns at 125 in the first period against Rider's Tyler Klinsky for a 9-2 lead then later scored an escape and a reversal, earning a last point with riding time for the bonus-point victory. Rivera collected five takedowns at 133 in his dominant 18-8 major decision over Richie Koehler.
Rider's 141-pounder McKenzie Bell got on the scoreboard with a narrow 8-3 decision against Felix Lettini, who earned his points in the final stanza with an escape and a reversal.

Ranked No. 17 by Intermat this past week, Zargo earned a key upset victory of 12th-ranked Quinn Kinner at 149 with a gritty 7-1 decision. Scoreless after the first period, Zargo scored two takedowns and contained Kinner to earn the extra point for riding time.

Rider rallied back into the dual match with major decisions at 157 and 165 to tie the team score at 11 a piece. Wisconsin's upper weights then took control. Hamiti scored three takedowns and turned Rider's Michael Wilson for a three-point nearfall en route to a 15-4 major decision at 174. Maylor broke a 1-1 tie in regulation against Isaac Dean with a late takedown in sudden victory for a 4-1 decision at 184. Liegel scored 10 unanswered points in the third period against Brock Zurawski at 197 with an escape, a takedown and two near falls to earn a major decision.

Gannon Rosenfeld, a redshirt freshman for UW, earned his first career dual start at heavyweight scoring six points against his opponent. Rider's David Szuba, ranked No. 30 by Intermat, earned an eventual 22-6 tech fall to end the road match with a victory for the visiting Badgers, 22-6, over the Broncs.

Wisconsin at Drexel

The Badgers picked up more wins on Saturday evening, adding an additional victorius bout at 157 pounds by Luke Mechler. After an earlier loss at Rider, the redshirt sophomore bounced back against the Dragons with a bruising 4-0 victory over Tyler Williams thanks to an escape, a two-point nearfall and riding time.

Barnett and Rivera both opened with major decisions to give the Badgers an early 8-0 lead again, a mark the team would not relinquish for the remainder of the dual match.

Zargo earned his own major decision with four takedowns and a reversal against Drexel's Dominic Findora, while Hamiti tacked on five of his own takedowns in a 15-4 major decision against Michael Wilson at 174.

Maylor's earlier success didn't seem like it would continue as the new Badger was trailing 9-1 to Jack Janda. Maylor then rocketed to a 17-13 come-from-behind decision victory with three takedowns and a four-point nearfall in a late third-period flurry of attacks.

Liegel scored the Badgers' final points after breaking a 5-5 tie in the third period against Ibrahim Ameer at 197 to score a late escape and take the decision.

Wisconsin will be on a small break for final exams and holidays, then the Badgers return to action at the 2023 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern on Dec. 29-30 at NOW Arena in Hoffmann Estates, Illinois.

Wisconsin 22, Rider 16
125: #11 Eric Barnett (WIS) over Tyler Klinsky (RID), Major Dec. 13-5 | 4-0
133: Nicolar Rivera (WIS) over Richie Koehler (RID), Major Dec. 18-8 | 8-0
141: McKenzie Bell (RID) over Felix Lettini (WIS), Dec. 8-3 | 8-3
149: #17 Joseph Zargo (WIS) over #12 Quinn Kinner (RID), Dec. 7-1 | 11-3
157: Colton Washleski (RID) over Luke Mechler (WIS), Major Dec. 12-4 | 11-7
165: Jake Silverstein (RID) over Gavin Model (WIS), Major Dec. 10-2 | 11-11
174: #6 Dean Hamiti (WIS) over Michael Wilson (RID), Major Dec. 15-4 | 15-11
184: #28 Max Maylor (WIS) over Isaac Dean (RID), Dec. 4-1 (SV-1) | 18-11
197: Shane Liegel (WIS) over Brock Zurawski (RID), Major Dec. 13-5 | 22-11
285: #30 David Szuba (RID) over Gannon Rosenfeld (WIS), Tech Fall 22-6 5:44 | 22-16

Wisconsin 26, Drexel 11
125: #11 Eric Barnett (WIS) over Desmond Pleasant (DREX), Major Dec. 9-0 | 4-0
133: Nicolar Rivera (WIS) over John Hildebrandt (DREX), Major Dec. 8-0 | 8-0
141: Jordan Soriano (DREX) over Felix Lettini (WIS), Dec. 8-2 | 8-3
149: #17 Joseph Zargo (WIS) over Dominic Findora (DREX), Major Dec. 15-4 | 12-3
157: Luke Mechler (WIS) over Tyler Williams (DREX), Dec. 4-0 | 15-3
165: Cody Walsh (DREX) over Gavin Model (WIS), Tech Fall 21-2 5:00 | 15-8
174: #6 Dean Hamiti (WIS) over Tanner Updegraff (DREX), Tech Fall 18-3 4:22 | 20-8
184: #28 Max Maylor (WIS) over Jack Janda (DREX), Dec. 17-13 | 23-8
197: Shane Liegel (WIS) over Ibrahim Ameer (DREX), Dec. 6-5 | 26-8
285: Santino Morina (DREX) over Gannon Rosenfeld (WIS), Dec 5-0 | 26-11