Jan. 18, 2008
ATHENS, Ohio - The Northern Illinois wrestling team sprinted to a 13-0 lead en route to a 26-10 Mid-American Conference win over Ohio, Friday.
The Huskies (6-3, 2-0 MAC) had major decision wins from nationally ranked grapplers Pat Castillo (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) and Duke Burk (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame).
"We had big wins from our two ranked individuals," head coach Dave Grant said. "It's being able to count on wins out of those guys that makes this a pretty solid dual meet team."
Burk, wrestling at 174 pounds, improved his record to 14-4, with a 7-1 mark in dual meets. Castillo moved to 15-5 (7-2 duals) at 133 pounds and upped his major decision total to nine, tied for fourth in the nation.
Northern Illinois received an additional boost on the scoreboard from true freshman TJ Wunnicke (Dodgeville, Wis./Dodgeville), who pinned his opponent in the evening's 125-pound bout in just 49 seconds.
"TJ had a big pin, which puts you 14 points up when combined with what Pat and Duke did," Grant said.
Grant also complimented the efforts of Jesse Linczmaier (Fox Lake, Ill./Grant), who etched a 7-6 win over the Bobcat's Kent Smith, and heavyweight David Benner (Fowler, Ind./Benton Central).
"Jesse got down couple points, but had a nice comeback win," Grant said, "and Benner had a hard fought match at the heavyweight spot to start us off."
Benner's 3-1 decision over Ohio's Jason Marshall was one of seven Huskie wins on the night.
"The supporting cast came through and it was a good win," Grant said.
The 12th-year head coach was optimistic about his team's ability to continue improving in preperation for March's MAC and NCAA Championships.
"I think we can get better, still, we can get better," he said. "With the young guys there's a steep learning curve and there are things they can improve on."
With the win, the Huskies equaled their win total from the 2006-07 campaign.
Northern Illinois won't wait long before jumping back into the competitive realm. The Huskies wrestle at the Wendy Duals in Ashland, Ohio, Sunday.
NIU 26, Ohio 10
HWT- David Benner (NIU) defeats Jason Marshall (Ohio), 3-1
125- TJ Wunnicke (NIU) pins Heath Allen (Ohio) in 49 seconds
133- #11 Pat Castillo (NIU) defeats Quentin Keyes (Ohio), MD 22-9
141- Germane Lindsey (Ohio) defeats Tristen DeShazer (NIU), 9-7
149- Kalen Knull (NIU) defeats Kevin Christensen (Ohio), 5-4
157- Clay Tucker (Ohio) defeats Bryan O'Connor (NIU), 6-4
165- Jesse Linczmaier (NIU) defeats Kent Smith (Ohio), 7-6
174- #13 Duke Burk (NIU) defeats Jacob Ison (Ohio), MD 11-3
184- Erik Schuth (Ohio) defeats Brad Dieckhaus (NIU), MD 14-4
197- Jake Smith (NIU) defeats Chris Iammarino (Ohio), 3-1
