By: Brook Weber
EVANSTON, Ill. — Day One of the 2025 Big Ten Championships concluded with three Boilermakers securing automatic qualifying bids to the NCAA Championships. Four others are still in the mix for auto-bids ahead of Day Two at the conference meet.
Brody Baumann, Joey Blaze and Matt Ramos all punched their tickets to the upcoming national tournament, hosted in Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center on March 20-22.
The last Boiler standing in the winner's bracket, Ramos wrestled on in Saturday night's semifinals but lost a 12-4 major decision to Penn State's No. 4-seeded Luke Lilledahl, his first defeat of the season.
After falling behind 7-0 within the first minute of the match, the hole proved too deep to overcome as Ramos dropped to 24-1 on the year. He can still secure a bronze medal with two more wins on Sunday, which would match his career-best finish at the conference tournament (2023).
And ultimately, with his spot in Philadelphia safe, the grand prize of a national title is still on the table for the top-ranked 125-pounder.
After falling in a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to Nebraska's Antrell Taylor earlier in the day, Blaze responded well in Session II with back-to-back 5-1 decision wins over Luke Mechler (WIS) and Chase Saldate (MICH).
The former guaranteed at least an eighth-place finish for Blaze to clinch an auto-bid, and since he won both, he is still in the mix for third place if he gets two more wins on Sunday.
Fifth-seeded Tommy Askey (MIN) will be Blaze's first hurdle he needs to clear to become a Big Ten bronze medalist in just his sophomore season.
Redshirt sophomore Baumann is also headed to the national meet for his second-straight year after notching a 4-3 decision over Indiana's Derek Gilcher in Consolation Round 2.
After losing to Gilcher 2-1 on a tough stalling call back in January's "Mackey Mania", Purdue's 174-pound star got one back over the Hoosier in Evanston. Baumann scored the only takedown of the match and escaped in the third period to book the win.
A later loss to Maryland's Branson John sent him to Sunday's seventh-place match against No. 5-seeded Clayton Whiting from Minnesota. STILL IN THE HUNT Stoney Buell, Greyson Clark, Hayden Filipovich and Ben Vanadia all still have hope for automatic bids to the big dance depending on how they wrestle Sunday.
Clark, Filipovich and Vanadia find themselves in a win-and-in situation, while Buell has to win twice on Sunday to secure the ninth and final auto-bid in the 165-pound division.
Ramos and Clark will battle in-state rival Hoosiers on their path to third and seventh place finishes, respectively. Both Boilers were victorious in their most recent meetings against their upcoming opponents.
Isaac Ruble (149) will fight on for ninth place after winning a decision and pinning Royce Nilo (WIS), but his division only takes the top eight as automatic qualifiers to Philly. A strong Day Two for Ruble would boost his resume as a potential at-large for the NCAA Tournament. DAY TWO SCHEDULE 1 p.m. ET - Session III: Consolation Semifinals, 7th-Place Matches (B1G+)
5:30 p.m. ET - Session IV: 1st-, 3rd- and 5th-Place Matches (BTN and B1G+) DAY ONE RESULTS 125 | #1 Matt Ramos (R-Senior)
Round 1: BYE
Quarterfinal: #8 Nicolar Rivera (WIS) – W, Fall (SV-1)
Semifinal: #4 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) – L, MD 12-4
UP NEXT – 3rd Place Semifinal: #6 Jacob Moran (IU)
133 | #11 Dustin Norris (R-Junior)
Round 1: #6 Jacob Van Dee (NEB) – L, MD 12-4
Cons. Round 1: #14 Nolan Wertanen (MICH) – W, D 8-1
Cons. Round 2: #4 Braeden Davis (PSU) – L, TF 17-2 (2:03)
11th Place Quarterfinal: #14 Nolan Wertanen (MICH) – L, MD 20-12
141 | #9 Greyson Clark (Sophomore)
Round 1: #8 Henry Porter (IU) – W, TF 16-1 (6:05)
Quarterfinal: #1 Beau Bartlett (PSU) – L, MD 13-3
Cons. Round 2: #10 Chris Cannon (NU) – W, D 11-5
3rd Place Quarterfinal: #5 Sergio Lemley (MICH) – L, MD 12-2
UP NEXT – 7th Place Match: #8 Henry Porter (IU)
149 | #11 Isaac Ruble (R-Sophomore)
Round 1: #6 Andrew Clark (RUT) – L, MD 13-2
Cons. Round 1: #14 Royce Nilo (WIS) – W, D 6-1
Cons. Round 2: #4 Dylan D'Emilio (OSU) – L, D 5-1
9th Place Quarterfinal: #14 Royce Nilo (WIS) – W, Fall 5:22
UP NEXT – 9th Place Semifinal: #10 Drew Roberts (MIN)
157 | #6 Joey Blaze (Sophomore)
Round 1: #11 Jason Kraisser (ILL) – W, MD 13-0
Quarterfinal: #3 Antrell Taylor (NEB) – L, D 4-3
Cons. Round 2: #13 Luke Mechler (WIS) – W, D 5-1
3rd Place Quarterfinal: #9 Chase Saldate (MICH) – W, D 5-1
UP NEXT – 3rd Place Semifinal: #5 Tommy Askey (MIN)
165 | #11 Stoney Buell (R-Junior)
Round 1: #6 Braeden Scoles (ILL) – L, Fall 4:59
Cons. Round 1: #14 Jay Nivison (MSU) – W, D 8-5 (SV-1)
Cons. Round 2: #5 Andrew Sparks (MIN) – L, D 12-5
9th Place Quarterfinal: #14 Jay Nivison (MSU) – W, D 4-1 (SV-1)
UP NEXT – 9th Place Semifinal : #10 Anthony White (RUT)
174 | #8 Brody Baumann (R-Sophomore)
Round 1: #9 Lucas Condon (WIS) – W, D 14-7
Quarterfinal: #1 Levi Haines (PSU) – L, Fall 5:58
Cons. Round 2: #10 Derek Gilcher (IU) – W, D 4-3
3rd Place Quarterfinal: #12 Branson John (MD) – D 9-4
UP NEXT – 7th Place Match: #5 Clayton Whiting (MIN)
184 | #13 Orlando Cruz (R-Freshman)
Round 1: #4 Gabe Arnold (IOWA) – L, TF 19-4 (6:00)
Cons. Round 1: #12 Lucas Daly (MSU) – L, D 5-4
9th Place Quarterfinal: #12 Lucas Daly (MSU) – L, D 10-7 (SV-1)
197 | #11 Ben Vanadia (R-Junior)
Round 1: #6 Evan Bates (NU) – L, MD 10-0
Cons. Round 1: #14 Niccolo Colucci (WIS) – W, Fall 4:07
Cons. Round 2: #4 Isaiah Salazar (MIN) – L, MD 12-0
11th Place Quarterfinal: #14 Niccolo Colucci (WIS) – W, TF 17-2 (5:32)
UP NEXT – 11th Place Semifinal: #10 Remy Cotton (MSU)
285 | #10 Hayden Filipovich (R-Junior)
Round 1: #7 Ben Kueter (IOWA) – L, D 5-1
Cons. Round 1: BYE
Cons. Round 2: #9 Seth Nevills (MD) – L, D 5-0
11th Place Quarterfinal: BYE
UP NEXT - #11 Harley Andrews (NEB)
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Penn State (145.0)
2. Nebraska (118.5)
3. Iowa (98.0)
4. Minnesota (88.5)
5. Illinois (81.5)
6. Ohio State (76.0)
7. Michigan (56.0)
8. Maryland (47.5)
9. Rutgers (46.0)
10. PURDUE (33.5)
11. Indiana (27.0)
12. Northwestern (18.5)
13. Wisconsin (13.5)
14. Michigan State (11.5)
EVANSTON, Ill. — Day One of the 2025 Big Ten Championships concluded with three Boilermakers securing automatic qualifying bids to the NCAA Championships. Four others are still in the mix for auto-bids ahead of Day Two at the conference meet.
Brody Baumann, Joey Blaze and Matt Ramos all punched their tickets to the upcoming national tournament, hosted in Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center on March 20-22.
The last Boiler standing in the winner's bracket, Ramos wrestled on in Saturday night's semifinals but lost a 12-4 major decision to Penn State's No. 4-seeded Luke Lilledahl, his first defeat of the season.
After falling behind 7-0 within the first minute of the match, the hole proved too deep to overcome as Ramos dropped to 24-1 on the year. He can still secure a bronze medal with two more wins on Sunday, which would match his career-best finish at the conference tournament (2023).
And ultimately, with his spot in Philadelphia safe, the grand prize of a national title is still on the table for the top-ranked 125-pounder.
After falling in a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to Nebraska's Antrell Taylor earlier in the day, Blaze responded well in Session II with back-to-back 5-1 decision wins over Luke Mechler (WIS) and Chase Saldate (MICH).
The former guaranteed at least an eighth-place finish for Blaze to clinch an auto-bid, and since he won both, he is still in the mix for third place if he gets two more wins on Sunday.
Fifth-seeded Tommy Askey (MIN) will be Blaze's first hurdle he needs to clear to become a Big Ten bronze medalist in just his sophomore season.
Redshirt sophomore Baumann is also headed to the national meet for his second-straight year after notching a 4-3 decision over Indiana's Derek Gilcher in Consolation Round 2.
After losing to Gilcher 2-1 on a tough stalling call back in January's "Mackey Mania", Purdue's 174-pound star got one back over the Hoosier in Evanston. Baumann scored the only takedown of the match and escaped in the third period to book the win.
A later loss to Maryland's Branson John sent him to Sunday's seventh-place match against No. 5-seeded Clayton Whiting from Minnesota. STILL IN THE HUNT Stoney Buell, Greyson Clark, Hayden Filipovich and Ben Vanadia all still have hope for automatic bids to the big dance depending on how they wrestle Sunday.
Clark, Filipovich and Vanadia find themselves in a win-and-in situation, while Buell has to win twice on Sunday to secure the ninth and final auto-bid in the 165-pound division.
Ramos and Clark will battle in-state rival Hoosiers on their path to third and seventh place finishes, respectively. Both Boilers were victorious in their most recent meetings against their upcoming opponents.
Isaac Ruble (149) will fight on for ninth place after winning a decision and pinning Royce Nilo (WIS), but his division only takes the top eight as automatic qualifiers to Philly. A strong Day Two for Ruble would boost his resume as a potential at-large for the NCAA Tournament. DAY TWO SCHEDULE 1 p.m. ET - Session III: Consolation Semifinals, 7th-Place Matches (B1G+)
5:30 p.m. ET - Session IV: 1st-, 3rd- and 5th-Place Matches (BTN and B1G+) DAY ONE RESULTS 125 | #1 Matt Ramos (R-Senior)
Round 1: BYE
Quarterfinal: #8 Nicolar Rivera (WIS) – W, Fall (SV-1)
Semifinal: #4 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) – L, MD 12-4
UP NEXT – 3rd Place Semifinal: #6 Jacob Moran (IU)
133 | #11 Dustin Norris (R-Junior)
Round 1: #6 Jacob Van Dee (NEB) – L, MD 12-4
Cons. Round 1: #14 Nolan Wertanen (MICH) – W, D 8-1
Cons. Round 2: #4 Braeden Davis (PSU) – L, TF 17-2 (2:03)
11th Place Quarterfinal: #14 Nolan Wertanen (MICH) – L, MD 20-12
141 | #9 Greyson Clark (Sophomore)
Round 1: #8 Henry Porter (IU) – W, TF 16-1 (6:05)
Quarterfinal: #1 Beau Bartlett (PSU) – L, MD 13-3
Cons. Round 2: #10 Chris Cannon (NU) – W, D 11-5
3rd Place Quarterfinal: #5 Sergio Lemley (MICH) – L, MD 12-2
UP NEXT – 7th Place Match: #8 Henry Porter (IU)
149 | #11 Isaac Ruble (R-Sophomore)
Round 1: #6 Andrew Clark (RUT) – L, MD 13-2
Cons. Round 1: #14 Royce Nilo (WIS) – W, D 6-1
Cons. Round 2: #4 Dylan D'Emilio (OSU) – L, D 5-1
9th Place Quarterfinal: #14 Royce Nilo (WIS) – W, Fall 5:22
UP NEXT – 9th Place Semifinal: #10 Drew Roberts (MIN)
157 | #6 Joey Blaze (Sophomore)
Round 1: #11 Jason Kraisser (ILL) – W, MD 13-0
Quarterfinal: #3 Antrell Taylor (NEB) – L, D 4-3
Cons. Round 2: #13 Luke Mechler (WIS) – W, D 5-1
3rd Place Quarterfinal: #9 Chase Saldate (MICH) – W, D 5-1
UP NEXT – 3rd Place Semifinal: #5 Tommy Askey (MIN)
165 | #11 Stoney Buell (R-Junior)
Round 1: #6 Braeden Scoles (ILL) – L, Fall 4:59
Cons. Round 1: #14 Jay Nivison (MSU) – W, D 8-5 (SV-1)
Cons. Round 2: #5 Andrew Sparks (MIN) – L, D 12-5
9th Place Quarterfinal: #14 Jay Nivison (MSU) – W, D 4-1 (SV-1)
UP NEXT – 9th Place Semifinal : #10 Anthony White (RUT)
174 | #8 Brody Baumann (R-Sophomore)
Round 1: #9 Lucas Condon (WIS) – W, D 14-7
Quarterfinal: #1 Levi Haines (PSU) – L, Fall 5:58
Cons. Round 2: #10 Derek Gilcher (IU) – W, D 4-3
3rd Place Quarterfinal: #12 Branson John (MD) – D 9-4
UP NEXT – 7th Place Match: #5 Clayton Whiting (MIN)
184 | #13 Orlando Cruz (R-Freshman)
Round 1: #4 Gabe Arnold (IOWA) – L, TF 19-4 (6:00)
Cons. Round 1: #12 Lucas Daly (MSU) – L, D 5-4
9th Place Quarterfinal: #12 Lucas Daly (MSU) – L, D 10-7 (SV-1)
197 | #11 Ben Vanadia (R-Junior)
Round 1: #6 Evan Bates (NU) – L, MD 10-0
Cons. Round 1: #14 Niccolo Colucci (WIS) – W, Fall 4:07
Cons. Round 2: #4 Isaiah Salazar (MIN) – L, MD 12-0
11th Place Quarterfinal: #14 Niccolo Colucci (WIS) – W, TF 17-2 (5:32)
UP NEXT – 11th Place Semifinal: #10 Remy Cotton (MSU)
285 | #10 Hayden Filipovich (R-Junior)
Round 1: #7 Ben Kueter (IOWA) – L, D 5-1
Cons. Round 1: BYE
Cons. Round 2: #9 Seth Nevills (MD) – L, D 5-0
11th Place Quarterfinal: BYE
UP NEXT - #11 Harley Andrews (NEB)
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Penn State (145.0)
2. Nebraska (118.5)
3. Iowa (98.0)
4. Minnesota (88.5)
5. Illinois (81.5)
6. Ohio State (76.0)
7. Michigan (56.0)
8. Maryland (47.5)
9. Rutgers (46.0)
10. PURDUE (33.5)
11. Indiana (27.0)
12. Northwestern (18.5)
13. Wisconsin (13.5)
14. Michigan State (11.5)