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YPSILANTI, Mich. – Nothing is quite like the collegiate wrestling postseason. Set for two days of win-or-go-home drama at the Mid-American Conference Championships, the Northern Illinois University wrestling team faces the challenge it has looked forward to all season this weekend.

When the MAC’s wrestling tournaments for all 10 weight classes begin on Saturday afternoon at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich., the Huskies will be competing for MAC titles and automatic berths to the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which will be held March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

NIU wrestling head coach Ryan Ludwig and his team can’t wait for the action to begin after months of hard work and preparation for this very moment.

“This is going to be a great MAC Wrestling Championships. The table is certainly set for an exciting weekend,” Ludwig said. “The men on our team have prepared well and are excited to compete.”

Two Huskies enter this weekend’s action ranked in their respective weight classes: No. 14 Steve Bleise (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) at 141 pounds and No. 20 Shawn Scott (Holly, Mich./Holly) at 197 pounds. The duo, who were touted as the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the MAC in their weight classes, will wrestle in their home state while looking to match or better their seeding in order to secure NCAA auto bids.

Trace Engelkes (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) is another of the eight NIU wrestlers with winning 2015-16 individual records entering the MAC Championships, and he also earned a No. 4 seed in the MAC at 174 pounds thanks to his 19-10 record throughout open tournaments and the dual season.

The primary goal for each Huskie and every wrestler in the MAC this weekend will be to go undefeated and win an individual MAC title, with NIU seeking its 40th MAC individual champion; moreover, the secondary aim is to earn one of the MAC’s 41 automatic qualifying berths to NCAAs, which were allocated to conference earlier in the week and marked the third-highest total for any wrestling conference in the country.

For NIU, placing in one or more of those desired NCAA-qualifying positions would mean that the Huskie wrestling program would be sending representatives to the Division I Nationals for the 45th consecutive season – a streak that dates back to 1972.

Along with Scott and Bleise, four other Huskies will be wrestling in their home state of Michigan this weekend. Austin Eicher (Fenton, Mich./Hartland) will battle at 133 pounds, Gabe and Andrew Morse (Alto, Mich./Lowell) are set to compete at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively, and senior heavyweight Arthur Bunce (Munith, Mich./Dansville) rounds out the NIU contingent with local support.

Completing the NIU lineup will be redshirt freshman Alijah Jeffery (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) at 125 pounds, Shaun’Qae McMurtry (Lockport, Ill./Nebraska) at 165 pounds and Quinton Rosser (Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller) at 184 pounds.

NIU Lineup for 2016 MAC Championships
125: Alijah Jeffery, No. 7 Seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 4
133: Austin Eicher, No. 7 Seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 6
141: Steve Bleise, No. 3 Seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 4
149: Gabe Morse, No. 6 Seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 5
157: Andrew Morse, No. 6 Seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 5
165: Shaun’Qae McMurtry, No. 7 Seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 4
174: Trace Engelkes, No. 4 Seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 3
184: Quinton Rosser, No. 8/9 Seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 4
197: Shawn Scott, No. 4 Seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 5
285: Arthur Bunce, No. 6 Seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 1

Follow @NIUWrestling on Twitter throughout the postseason.

--NIU--