After winning the Big Ten Championship at 125 pounds two weeks ago, Sebastian Rivera placed third in the same weight class at nationals on Saturday. The redshirt sophomore grappler, ranked tops in the country coming into the tournament, recovered from a shocking loss in the semifinals to place higher than any other Wildcat wrestler.
Rivera (aka C-Bass) suffered his first loss of the season at 125 pounds to fifth-ranked Jack Mueller on Friday before responding with two wins in Saturday’s consolation round. Mueller went on to lose to Spencer Lee of Iowa, who Rivera beat twice in the regular season, including for the Big Ten title.