Jan. 12, 2008

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DeKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois wrestling team opened Mid-American Conference competition with an impressive 25-12 win over Buffalo, Saturday.

The Huskies (5-3, 1-0 MAC) won six of the first seven matches to build a 25-3 lead, which they held for the win. Northern Illinois also defeated Findlay, the No. 14 divison-II team in the nation, 32-6.

"It was a good night for us," NIU head coach Dave Grant said. "Obviously, the MAC competition is something we always stress."

Senior Pat Castillo (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) dominated his match against Buffalo's Joe Wilson, opening up an 8-2 lead in the first period before pinning Wilson at the 2:49 mark. Castillo, the 12th-ranked wrestler in the nation at 133 pounds, upped his record to 14-5 with that win, plus a technical fall against Findlay's Jan Ulinski.

True freshman Bryan O'Connor (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) also impressed, earning a 14-4 major decision over 2007 MAC placefinisher John Cummings. The match was O'Connor's first dual meet competition as a collegian. He had gone 4-4 in open tournament matches prior to the win.

A pair of Huskie wrestlers fought from behind to reverse the momentum of their opponents and take victory. Redshirt freshman Tristen DeShazer (Wichita, Kan./Wichita West) went deep into the third period trailing 1-0 to Andrew Stella. In the last 30 seconds of the match, DeShazer scored on a reversal and a near fall to ensnare a 5-1 win.

"It showed a lot of guts on his part to be able to come back and turn that match around," Grant said.

Junior Jesse Linczmaier also found himself down, trailing 4-0 in the second period before cradling Buffalo's Scott Rendos for the fall.

Overall, Grant was most impressed with the way his young athletes performed. For the Huskies, three true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen wrestled in the win over Buffalo.

"What's really lit a lot of spark in our program is a lot of the younger kids in our line-up," he said. "We're making some mistakes, but those guys are bringing a lot of intensity and a lot of enthusiasm to our program."

Grant complimented the ability of the team's freshman to quickly adapt to the division-I level.

"They were wrestling in high school at this time last year. It's a whole different style, and they're making a great adjustment to the college style of wrestling."

In Northern Illinois' match-up with Findlay, the Huskies won eight of 10 matches on their way to their fifth win of the season.

The Huskies continue MAC action on the road when they face Ohio in Athens, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. (CST).

Results

NIU 25, Buffalo 12
125 - Wunnicke (NIU) def. Bishop, dec. 3-1
133 - P. Castillo (NIU) def. Wilson, fall 2:29
141 - DeShazer (NIU) def. Stella, dec. 5-1
149 - Needle def. Knull (NIU), dec. 5-4
157 - O'Connor (NIU) def. Cummings, MD 14-4
165 - Linczmaier (NIU) def. Rendos, fall 4:22
174 - Burk (NIU) def. Ragusa, dec. 5-1
184 - Moran def. Dieckhaus (NIU), dec. 9-5
197 - Hamel def. Smith (NIU), dec. 3-2
285 - Parker def. Benner (NIU), dec. 3-2

NIU 32, Findlay 6
125 - Wunnicke (NIU) def. Shumaker, fall 2:57
133 - P. Castillo (NIU) def. Ulinski, TF 29-11
141 - V. Castillo (NIU) def. Falk, dec. 8-1
149 - Knull (NIU) def. Vasquez, dec. 13-0
157 - Guerra def. O'Connor (NIU), dec.1-0
165 - Linczmaier (NIU) def. Shannon, dec. 13-6
174 - Burk (NIU) def. Havelka, TF 21-5
184 - Smith def. Dieckhaus (NIU), dec. 5-4
197 - Smith (NIU) def. Stevenson, dec. 9-4
285 - Benner (NIU) def. Clark, dec. 3-2