Jan. 25, 2008

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DeKALB, Ill. - In a battle of freshmen 125-pound wrestlers, Northern Illinois' TJ Wunnicke fell to Kent State's Nic Bedelyon 4-3, giving the 24th-ranked Golden Flashes the boost they needed to secure a 20-16 win over the Huskies, Friday at the Convocation Center.

"We fought hard, the dual went back and forth quite a bit," 12th-year NIU head coach Dave Grant said. "At 125, losing on riding time may have decided the dual meet."

Wunnicke (Dodgeville, Wis./Dodgeville) tied his match at 3-3 with just 37 seconds remaining, but Bedelyon earned an extra point for riding time to get the win, giving the Golden Flashes (10-4, 1-0 MAC) a 17-7 lead, which they carried to victory.

"Our guys went out there and wrestled hard, and that's what you ask them to do," Grant said after the Huskies (8-5, 2-1 MAC) lost their first conference meet of the season.

True freshman Bryan O'Connor (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) opened the night with a 4-2 win over Kent State's Nick Dierkes, and two bouts later Duke Burk (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame) earned a major decision to put the Huskies ahead 7-3.

The Golden Flashes won the next three matches to hold a 14-7 advantage before Bedelyon's victory gave Kent State a 10 point lead.

Senior Pat Castillo (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township), the 11th-ranked 133-pounder in the country, garnered six points for the Huskies when Kent State declined to field a competitor, making the dual 17-13.

"We've counted quite a bit on Duke and Pat (Castillo)," Grant said. "They're always hard fighting competitors, and you can count of those guys most times to get majors and technical falls."

From there, junior Drew Lashaway, ranked 18th nationally at 141 pounds, defeated NIU's Tristen DeShazer (Wichita, Kan./Wichita West) to put the Golden Flashes up 20-13 and guarantee the Kent State win.

To close out the night, senior Kalen Knull (Urbana, Ohio/Graham) picked up a win for NIU, as he bested Jeremy Depoy, bringing the final score to 20-16.

"You get guys that are seniors, and you're expecting some mileage out of them," Grant said. "You saw that with Kalen tonight."

The Huskies get no break from a tough schedule, as they host another ranked opponent in No. 25 Northern Iowa, Feb. 1 at the Convocation Center.

Kent State 20, Northern Illinois 16

157 - Bryan O'Connor (NIU) def. Nick Dierkes 4-2
165 - Kurt Gross def. Jesse Linczmaier (NIU) 16-11
174 - Duke Burk (NIU) def. Chris Estep MD 15-4
185 - Eric Chine def. Brad Dieckhaus (NIU) MD 14-4
197 - Michael Blackwell def. Jake Smith (NIU) MD 20-9
Hwt. - Jermail Porter def. Dave Benner (NIU) 10-4
125 - Nick Bedelyon def. TJ Wunnicke (NIU) 4-3
133 - Pat Castillo (NIU) def. Forfeit
141 - Drew Lashaway def. Tristen DeShazer (NIU) 8-3
149 - Kalen Knull (NIU) def. Jeremy Depoy 7-4