DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team will head to Columbia, Missouri this weekend to compete against No. 7 Missouri (9-3, 6-0 MAC). The Huskies (6-6, 2-4 MAC) will take on the reigning Mid-American Conference Champions on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2pm CST.
 
The dual will be streamed live at mutigers.com (free to view).  You can also follow the Huskies on Twitter for up-to-date results @NIUWrestling. 

The Competition
No. 7 Missouri has only lost two MAC duals since joining the conference in 2012. Since, the Tigers have won five conference titles.  Over the years, their program has trained seven national champions—including senior J'den Cox, who earned an Olympic bronze medal this summer in Rio.  The team currently has seven wrestlers who are nationally-ranked, six of which rank in the top-10.
 
Last Bout
Last year (2/7), the NIU wrestling team was able to put a scare in No. 5 Missouri.  The meet went down to the wire, as the Huskies won four matches and fought to pull out the upset in the final duals. After the first three duals, the Huskies were behind (16-4), but rallied to make the score 19-14 with only two matches remaining. In the end, however, the Tigers came away with the win (26-14), securing their undefeated regular season in the MAC.
 
Coach's Corner
"Heading into this weekend we are looking to wrestle smart and capitalize on scoring opportunities. It's about focusing on what we do best and bringing competitive fire to every situation," said head wrestling coach Ryan Ludwig.
 
MAC Rankings
Below are the rankings released from the MAC on Feb. 2.
 
2017 MAC February Wrestling Rankings
1.     Missouri (26.0)
2.     Northern Iowa (22.0)
3.     Central Michigan (15.0)
4.     Ohio (12.5)
5.     Old Dominion (8.0)
6.     Eastern Michigan (7.0)
7.     Northern Illinois (6.0)
8.     Buffalo (3.0)
9.     Kent State (0.5)
  
2017 MAC February Weight Class Rankings:
125 – 1. Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa, Senior); 2. Shakur Laney (Ohio, Sophomore); 3. Noah Gonser (Eastern Michigan, Redshirt Freshman); 4. Brent Fleetwood (Central Michigan, Junior).
133 – 1. Josh Alber (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 2. John Erneste (Missouri, Sophomore); 3. Cameron Kelly (Ohio, Sophomore); 4. Bryan Lantry (Buffalo, Sophomore).
141 – 1. Jaydin Eierman (Missouri, R-Freshman); 2. Noah Forrider (Ohio, Junior); 3. Kyle Springer (Eastern Michigan, Junior); 4. Kevin Budock (Old Dominion, Freshman).
149 – 1. Lavion Mayes (Missouri, Senior); 2. Justin Oliver (Central Michigan, Sophomore); 3. Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa, R-Freshman); 4. Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois, Sophomore).
157 – 1. Joey Lavalle (Missouri, Junior); 2. Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan, Junior); 3. Caden McWhirter (Northern Illinois, R-Freshman); t-4. Casey Sparkman (Kent State, Sophomore); t-4. Cullen Cummings (Ohio, Junior).
165 – 1. Daniel Lewis (Missouri, Sophomore); 2. Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 3. Seldon Wright (Old Dominion, Sophomore); 4. Tyler Rill (Buffalo, Senior).
174 – 1. Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa, R-Freshman); 2. C.J. Brucki (Central Michigan, Junior); 3. Trace Engelkes (Northern Illinois, Senior); 4. Dylan Wisman (Missouri, Redshirt Freshman). 
184 – 1. Drew Foster (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 2. Jack Dechow (Old Dominion, Senior); 3. Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan, Junior); 4. Brett Perry (Buffalo, Sophomore).
197 – 1. J'den Cox (Missouri, Senior); 2. Austin Severn (Central Michigan, Senior); 3. Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion, Junior); 4. Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois, Senior).
HWT – 1. Zack Parker (Ohio, Sophomore); 2. Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan, Junior); 3. Austin Myers (Missouri, Redshirt Freshman); 4. JJ Everard (Northern Iowa, Senior).
 
 
Lineup
Below are the probable lineups for both teams.
 
NIU Huskies (6-6, 2-4 MAC)
(Overall record, dual record)
125: Brock Hudkins (13-7, 4-2)   
OR   Kirk Johansen (3-2, 3-2)
133: Alijah Jeffery (12-12, 5-6)
141: Angel Velasquez (9-10, 2-4)   
OR   Anthony Rubino (1-5, 0-3)
149: No. 10 Steve Bleise (21-5, 10-1)
157: No. 31 Caden McWhirter (15-10, 6-6)
165: Andrew Scott (4-6, 1-2)   
OR  Shaun'Qae McMurtry (6-7, 5-5)
174: No. 25 Trace Engelkes (13-3, 8-2)
184: Bryce Gorman (14-10, 3-5)   
OR  Michael Aldrich (6-7, 2-1)
197: No. 12 Shawn Scott (18-4, 12-2)
285: Caleb Gossett (9-14, 1-10)
 
 
No. 7 Missouri Tigers  (9-3, 6-0 MAC)
(Overall record, dual record) 
125: Aaron Assad 12-7, 1-3
133: No. 10 John Erneste 19-5, 6-1
141: No. 9 Jaydin Eierman 18-5, 7-3
149: No. 2 Lavion Mayes 14-1, 10-0
157: No. 5 Joey Lavallee 20-1, 10-0
165: No. 4 Daniel Lewis 19-2, 11-0
174: No. 18 Dylan Wisman 9-5, 7-3
184: Matt Lemanowicz 6-11, 3-7
197: No. 1 J'den Cox 17-0, 9-0
285: Austin Myers 10-11, 4-8
 
Next Up
The NIU wrestling team will host their last home meet against MAC rival, Buffalo, on Sunday Feb. 12 at Victor E. Court.