Tonight the Milwaukee School of Engineering hosts Carthage College at the Kern Center. This will be a battle of Wisconsin CCIW rivals. Historically, MSOE has the 4-1 advantage, but Carthage won the last meeting 25-19. Both teams have had a strong start to the season and are among the toughest private wrestling institutions in Wisconsin. They are a short distance apart, but utilize different recruitment strategies. Both colleges offer unique benefits, which we will dig into later.
MSOE is coached by Mike Schmidt and is 2-2 this year in dual meets. They are led by regionally ranked wrestlers: 125 Jesse Johnson 3, 133 Liam Anderson 5, 141 Max Sanderfoot 6, 157 Michael Smith 8, 165 Toren Vandenbush 6, 184 Gavin Graham 7 and 197 Jake Schmidt 8. The Raiders are the premier academic institution in Wisconsin. They have a beautiful campus in downtown Milwaukee and great engineering pathways. They recruit from all over the country and have 8 Wisconsin preps on the roster.
Carthage College of Kenosha is coached by Alberto Quiros and are 3-2 this season in duals. They are led by regionally ranked wrestlers: 125 Chris Kish 5, 141 Cole Nelson 8, 149 Elijah Zepada 8, 157 Zaren Anderson 6, 165 Christian Gilbert 7, 174 Collin Ruiz 8 and 184 Devin Rogers 6. Carthage is another beautiful campus located on Lake Michigan. They are also a big brain team with the College specializing in NASA’s Space grant consortium. The only drawback is you have to live in Kenosha, but Becker makes it work with the Rangers lol.The Firebirds have a roster from all over the country heavy on Illinois and Wisconsin preps.
Tonight’s probables and predictions:
125: Chris Kish CAR over Jesse Johnson MSOE decision 0-3
- I have watched Chris wrestle for a few seasons now and he is a gamer. He performs best under the bright lights and is a good spark plug to start a team. Johnson is ranked higher by the NWCA and has the better start to the season. This is a gut pick, not my brain.
133: Liam Anderson MSOE over Zach Miller CAR major decision 4-3
- In a battle of Minnesota and Illinois preps, it pains me to give the nod to the Gopherland recruit. Liam has a stronger start to his season and is coming off a third place finish at the MSOE open. A major decision feels a little conservative here, don’t be surprised if the gap is wider.
141: Max Sanderfoot MSOE over Cole Nelson CAR decision 7-3
- This is our matchup of the night! Two Cheesehead preps toe the line and will get after it. Anytime these men wrestle, it is not boring. Both can score from a variety of positions and love to attack. This is a toss up match and the winner will secure a late takedown to close it out. Advantage goes to Kimberly prep Sanderfoot with the hometown crowd. Side note: attend the dual in person if you can. I watched the last stream, it had no announcer and was boring. I reached out to the program so hopefully we get a better fan experience this time. I do appreciate the free stream, you get what you pay for.
149: Connor Nagela MSOE over Elijah Zepeda CAR decision 10-3
- Connor has been up and down at 149/157 this season, we most recently saw him at 157. This is his best weight class and they don’t have a backup 149 if he is still at 157. In this clash of Illinois preps, I give the nod to the senior over the freshman.
157: Michael Smith MSOE over Zaren Anderson CAR decision 13-3
- In another toss up match I see Michael getting the job done at home. Smith is a hometown Wisconsin recruit so he can wrangle this Texas native right? Both have had good starts to the season and are capable of winning. Should be a fun one to watch.
165: Toren Vandenbush MSOE over Christian Gilbert CAR decision 16-3
- Vandenbush is a freshman from powerhouse program Random Lake. Gilbert is a junior from Illinois. This should be another exciting matchup, this time I’m not favoring age. If you’ve followed Wisconsin wrestling you know the name Vandenbush. I’m sure Toren is ready for this moment and not the average freshman.
174: Collin Ruiz CAR over Jackson Hughes MSOE decision 16-6
- Ruiz is a senior Illinois prep. Hughes is from Onalaksa, Wisconsin and is a freshman. I can see Hughes winning here,especially after a runner up finish at the MSOE invite. Ruiz’s experience will pay off and get the win tonight. Hughes is bumping up from 165 and may still be a bit undersized.
184: Gavin Graham MSOE over Devin Rogers CAR decision 19-6
- Most of these matches tonight are toss ups and can go either way. I write this preview in the beautiful city of Milwaukee, wish I had rose colored glasses and give the Raiders a hometown bump. They give back to the community and are accessible to the press. They also have a long history of wrestling in Wisconsin and the Firebirds are greenhorns. I’ll take the West Allis native over the Illinois prep. I don’t know what is in the water there, but West Allis people are a tough scrappy bunch.
197: Jake Schmidt MSOE over Jared Werner CAR major decision 23-6
- Jake is an Illinois prep from another tough town, Joliet. He has put together a good season and should be able to get some bonus for the engineers here.Werner is a sophomore from parts unknown USA. A mysterious man without much on the information roster, can he make a name for himself here?
285: Mason Kochersperger CAR over forfeit MSOE 23-12
- No one likes to see a forfeit, and MSOE is known to bump guys around and fill a roster. I wouldn’t mind MSOE letting the guys wrestle at their weight classes and giving up six here. You need to be confident your men can get the job done and that is where tactics start. If the dual is in the balance, expect a Raider to toe the line.
Thank you for reading this far. It is nice to give some smaller programs some shine and highlight the hard work they are doing. I always try to grow the sport and the more people on the mats the better. See you at the dual tonight. Illinois Wesleyan will also be competing, making this a tri meet. I’ll leave you with some wise words from Fat Joe, “Yesterday’s price is not today’s price!”
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