Jan. 16, 2008
DeKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois wrestling team tries for its sixth dual meet win in a row when it faces Ohio, Friday at 6 p.m. (CST).
The Huskies have put together an impressive streak of victories, outscoring their opponents 150-48 over a five match undefeated stretch that began Nov. 24 with a win over Northern Colorado. Since that time, NIU has gone on to beat then-No. 5 Northwestern, Augustana, Findlay and Mid-American Conference rival Buffalo.
"It's obviously a confidence builder for us," said 12th-year head coach Dave Grant. "The thing we've been keying on is competing to the best of our ability, giving maximum effort and being aggressive."
Senior Pat Castillo (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) has been a major contributor to Northern Illinois' recent wins. The 133-pounder has earned two major decisions and two falls during the streak. At 174 pounds, Duke Burk (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame) has also made significant contributions to the Huskies' recent success. The redshirt sophomore picked-up a key victory in NIU's win over Northwestern, and has gone undefeated in dual meets since late November.
The Bobcats (4-9, 0-1 MAC) opened the season strong, winning four of their first five duals, but have since struggled, losing eight in a row. Included in those losses was a 31-6 MAC defeat at the hands of Eastern Michigan, and an 18-12 loss to Findlay, a team NIU beat 32-6.
"They have some very talented individuals, including three guys who are in the MAC rankings," Grant said of Ohio.
A youth movement is going on at Ohio, where the two winningest wrestlers are underclassmen. At 165 pounds, sophomore Jacob Ison holds a 9-4 record and 36 points scored in dual meet competition. Freshman Germane Lindsey leads the way in total wins, with a 13-9 record as a 141-pound wrestler.
In 2007, NIU pulled out a 19-13 victory over the Bobcats after falling down 7-0 after two matches. Current Huskies Kalen Knull (Urbana, Ohio/Graham), Castillo and Burk all picked up wins to help NIU to victory.
"Last year we had some holes in our line-up," Grant said. "This year we're a little more solid all the way up and down, despite the loss of some good seniors that picked up a lot of wins for us."
The Huskies will take just a day off after facing the Bobcats before heading to the Wendy Duals in Ashland, Ohio, where Purdue, Liberty and Cleveland State await.
