EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern's six-member Class of 2022 was lauded by the wrestling publication Intermat on Friday, with the cohort of new Wildcats ranked 17th-best in the nation.
The group includes Erich Byelick (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep), Lucas Davison (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton), Matt DeAugustino (Palm Coast, Fla./Flagler Palm Coast), Jack Jessen (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook), Jack Heyob (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier), and Matt Vinci (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic).
The mark is Northwestern's highest ranking by Intermat since 2014, when the incoming class was rated the 5th-best recruiting class. That class included Bryce Brill, Regis Durbin, and Johnny Sebastian.
This recruiting class is highlighted by three grapplers who are ranked in the top-75 in FloWrestling's "Class of 2018 Big Board," including Davison (49th), Jessen (58th), and Byelick (72nd).
The strong recruiting class indicates continued success for an upstart wrestling program that finished 11-4 and 5-4 in the rigorous Big Ten. The five in-conference wins were the most in one season for NU since the 2010-11 campaign.
Led by redshirt first-years Sebastian Rivera and Ryan Deakin, the Wildcats were ranked 17th in the nation at the end of the year in the NWCA/USA TODAY coaches poll. Over the course of the season, six different Wildcats were ranked in the top-20 in the nation in an individual poll.
The group includes Erich Byelick (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep), Lucas Davison (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton), Matt DeAugustino (Palm Coast, Fla./Flagler Palm Coast), Jack Jessen (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook), Jack Heyob (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier), and Matt Vinci (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic).
The mark is Northwestern's highest ranking by Intermat since 2014, when the incoming class was rated the 5th-best recruiting class. That class included Bryce Brill, Regis Durbin, and Johnny Sebastian.
This recruiting class is highlighted by three grapplers who are ranked in the top-75 in FloWrestling's "Class of 2018 Big Board," including Davison (49th), Jessen (58th), and Byelick (72nd).
The strong recruiting class indicates continued success for an upstart wrestling program that finished 11-4 and 5-4 in the rigorous Big Ten. The five in-conference wins were the most in one season for NU since the 2010-11 campaign.
Led by redshirt first-years Sebastian Rivera and Ryan Deakin, the Wildcats were ranked 17th in the nation at the end of the year in the NWCA/USA TODAY coaches poll. Over the course of the season, six different Wildcats were ranked in the top-20 in the nation in an individual poll.