Northern Illinois University Office of Sports Information February 6, 2005
COLLEGIATE WRESTLING – Northern Illinois University at University of Northern Iowa / at Cedar Falls, IA / Sunday / February 6, 2005

Final Results: #13 Northern Iowa 23, #23 Northern Illinois 17
Wt. Results Team Score (NIU-UNI)
165: Johnny Galloway (Northern Illinois) dec. #13 Nick Baima (Northern Iowa), 15-12 3-0
174: #9 Eric Hauan (Northern Iowa) tech fall Danny Burk (Northern Illinois),5:24 5-3
184: Dan Dunning (Northern Iowa) dec. Derick Lalowski (Northern Illinois), 8-6 8-3
197: #6 Sean Stender (Northern Iowa) pinned Brandon Check (Northern Illinois), 4:46 14-3
Hwt: Jeff Knoll (Northern Iowa) dec. Joe Sapp (Northern Illinois), 5-3 17-3
125: Chad Vandiver (Northern Illinois), tech fall Adam Baumgartner (Northern Iowa), 6:45 17-8
133: #12 Sam Hiatt (Northern Illinois) dec. Ryan Osgood (Northern Iowa), 6-5 17-11
141: Josh Wooton (Northern Illinois) pinned C.J. Ettelson (Northern Iowa), 2:13 17-17
149: #6 Jeff Harrison (Northern Iowa) dec. Mike Grimes (Northern Illinois), 6-4 20-17
157: Chris Bitetto (Northern Iowa ) dec. Joe Henning (Northern Illinois), 8-2 23-17

#23 Northern Illinois Fall At #13 Northern Iowa 23-17, Galloway Topples Ranked Foe At 165

Cedar Falls, IA – Northern Illinois wrestling coach Dave Grant has never been one for “moral victories”, but his young squad took yet another step in its progression on Sunday as the Huskies battled No. 13 Northern Iowa down to the final match before succumbing to a 23-17 decision.

The Huskies earned four wins and charged back from a 17-3 deficit to knot the match at 17-17 heading into the final two contests. Although the Panthers were able to earn decision at both 149 and 157 to secure the win, NIU never let up and nearly shocked the host Panthers.

NIU actually jumped out to a 3-0 team lead thanks to an another outstanding performance by sophomore Johnny Galloway. A native of Waterloo, IA, Galloway, a three-time Iowa State Champion, was sharp in his homecoming, defeating No. 13 Nick Baima 15-12. Galloway outclassed his ranked foe, building a 10-3 lead after the first two periods, which included two takedowns and four near-fall points in the opening frame.

“Johnny (Galloway) just continues to roll along,” Grant said. “He’s been sharp for us and is hitting his stride. He’s aggressive out there and that makes for an exciting match. He beat a tough opponent today and that says a lot about the progress he is making everyday.”

Galloway’s win would be the last NIU highlight until the 125-pound division as UNI won four consecutive matches to build that aforementioned 17-3 lead. With the Huskies reeling, redshirt freshman Chad Vandiver answered the call in a big way, recording a technical fall over Adam Baumgartner at 6:45. After securing a pair of takedowns and six near-fall points through two periods to build a 11-0 lead, Vandiver used one final push in the final :45 seconds to takedown Baumgartner and gain two more back points for his first technical fall win of the season.

No. 12 Sam Hiatt cinched the deficit to 17-11 with a 6-5 win over Ryan Osgood. Down 4-2 after the first period, Hiatt surged to a 5-4 lead and held on for his 22nd win of the year.
Josh Wooton then brought the Huskies all the way back with a pin of C.J. Ettelson at 141 pounds. Now 9-4 at the weight class, Wooton was simply overpowering, stopping his opponent just 2:13 into the opening period to tie the team score at 17-17.

“Our team has a lot of fight in it,” Grant said. “It doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says, our guys won’t let up. Chad got us off to a great start and we saw some momentum build. What a great effort by Josh (Wooton). We needed a pin in that situation and he stayed aggressive.”

Mike Grimes nearly earned NIU’s second upset win of the night when he battled No. 6 Jeff Harrison at 149 pounds to a 6-4 decision. Down 4-1 after the opening period, Grimes tied the contest at 4-4 in the second period, but two Harrison points in the third gave the Panther the win.

Northern Illinois returns to action on Sunday Feb. 13 when it travels to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

###NIU###