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Trace Engelkes

Wrestling

Huskies Return Full Lineup for Day Two

Trace Engelkes earns NCAA automatic bid

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – All ten Northern Illinois University wrestlers are still alive after the first day of competition at the Mid-American Conference Championships, hosted by Northern Iowa at the McLeod Center.
 
Head coach Ryan Ludwig was pleased with the efforts of his grapplers.
 
"I thought we came out with a bang," said Ludwig. "We came out attacking; we took control of the matches. That's what we wanted to do, we wanted to get in the attacking mindset and I believe that paid off for us. We had a great first round."
 
In the pigtail rounds, Alijah Jeffery (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) and Caleb Gossett (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell) walked away victorious and qualified for the quarterfinals. Jeffery, at 133-pounds, held his opponent scoreless to win in a 4-0 decision. At 285, Gossett had an early takedown to take the lead and never looked back as he was awarded bonus points in a 6-1 decision.
 
At 125, Brock Hudkins (Danville, Ind./Danville) started off the quarterfinals for the Huskies with an upset over the No. 2 seed Brent Fleedwood of Central Michigan in a 4-2 decision.
 
Angel Velasquez (Modesto, Calif./John H. Pitman) kept the energy high and the fans on the edge of their seats with his come-from-behind victory.  In a last-second takedown, Velasquez secured the win, 2-1, over the No. 3 seed, Mason Smith (Central Michigan) at 141-pounds.
 
Keeping the momentum rolling, Steve Bleise (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea), at 149, took Michael Hayes of Old Dominion into overtime. In overtime, Bleise attacked early and was awarded a takedown and the win, 9-7.
 
Shaun'Qae McMurtry (Lockport, Ill./Nebraska) advanced to the semifinals with his win over Devan Marry of Eastern Michigan in a 5-3 decision at 165-pounds.
 
Following suit, Trace Engelkes (Winnebago, Ill./Wineebago) started off his day on a high note with a 16-0 technical fall.
 
After Engelkes' technical fall win, the Huskies were leading the nine-team field with 39.5 points.
 
Shawn Scott (Holly, Mich./Holly) rounded out quarterfinal wins for Northern Illinois as he took down Jacob Holschlag of Northern Iowa on his home mat, 4-2.
 
The Huskies qualified six wrestlers to the semifinals that took place later in the afternoon.
 
In the semifinals, a hard-fought battle between Trace Engelkes and the No. 2 seed, Christian Brucki of Central Michigan, led into overtime.  In the end, Engelkes came out on top, 11-9, to punch his ticket to the National Championships for the first time in his career.
 
"Today I avenged a pretty ugly earlier season loss and I'm looking to do the same thing tomorrow," commented Engelkes. "I told myself today before the match that I'm better than the last time we faced each other."
 
While Engelkes was the sole Huskie wrestler to have his hand raised in victory during semifinal action, all of NIU's grapplers are still alive and will be back in action tomorrow for a chance to score more team points and earn an NCAA automatic bid.

After a tough loss in his opening match, Bryce Gorman (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) came back with vengeance to record the Huskies first pin of the day in 3 minutes and 38 seconds. 

"Every guy is just as important as the next guy in terms of accomplishing our goals as a team," said Ludwig. "Whether you're fighting for a MAC Title in the finals or scrapping it out in the seventh-place match, you're contributing to the team and team points."
 
"There are still a lot of NCAA spots up for grabs, so we have an important day tomorrow heading in," Ludwig said.  
 
The action picks up tomorrow at 12 pm CST with live updates on TrackWrestling.com along with live coverage on ESPN3.
 
 
Finals pairings
125: No. 1 Shakur Laney (OHIO) vs. No. 6 Dylan Peters (UNI)
133: No. 4 Bryan Lantry (BUFF) vs. No. 2 John Erneste (MIZ)
141: No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (MIZ) vs. No. 2 Noah Forrider (OHIO)
149: No. 1 Lavion Mayes (MIZ) vs. No. 3 Max Thomsen (UNI)
157: No. 1 Joey Lavallee (MIZ) vs. No. 2 Collin Heffernan (CMU)
165: No. 1 Daniel Lewis (MIZ) vs. No. 2 Bryce Steiert (UNI)
174: No. 1 Taylor Lujan (UNI) vs. No. 4 Trace Engelkes (NIU)
184: No. 1 Drew Foster (UNI) vs. No. 2 Jack Dechow (ODU)
197: No. 1 J'den Cox (MIZ) vs. No. 2 Kevin Beazley (ODU)
285: No. 5 Jake Gunning (BUFF) vs. No. 6 Gage Hutchison (EMU)
 
 
Team Scores
1. Missouri - 117.5
2. Northern Iowa – 90.5
3. Old Dominion – 82.5
4. Central Michigan – 72.0 
5. Northern Illinois – 64.0
6. Buffalo - 61.5 
7. Eastern Michigan – 56.0
8. Ohio - 53.0
9. Kent State – 41.5
 
 
 
NIU Results
125
Brock Hudkins (NIU) dec. Brent Fleetwood (CMU) 4-2
Dylan Peters (UNI) dec. Brock Hudkins (NIU) 4-2
 
133
Alijah Jeffery (NIU) dec Sa'Derian Perry (EMU) 4-0 
Josh Alber (UNI) dec. Alijah Jeffery (NIU) 7-2
Corey Keener (CMU) dec. Alijah Jeffery (NIU) 7-2
 
141
Angel Velasquez (NIU) dec. Mason Smith (CMU) 2-1
Noah Forrider (OHIO) dec. Angel Velasquez (NIU) 5-0
 
149
Steve Bleise (NIU) TB-1 Michael Hayes (ODU) 9-7
Lavion Mayes (MIZ) dec. Steve Bleise (NIU) 5-2
 
157
Zachary Carson (EMU) dec. 2-1 Caden McWhirter (NIU) 2-1
Larry Early (ODU) maj. dec. Caden McWhirter (NIU) 8-0
 
165
Shaun'Qae McMurtry (NIU) dec. Devan Marry (EMU) 5-3
Daniel Lewis (MIZ) fall Shaun'Qae McMurtry (NIU) 2:55
 
174
Trace Engelkes (NIU) tech fall Jerald Spohn (KENT) 16-0
Trace Engelkes (NIU) SV-1 Christian Brucki (CMU) 11-9
 
185
Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) maj. dec. Bryce Gorman (NIU) 10-1
Bryce Gorman (NIU) fall Dontae McGee (OHIO) 3:38
 
197
Shawn Scott (NIU) dec. Jacob Holschlag (UNI) 4-3
Kevin Beazley (ODU) dec. Shawn Scott (NIU) 4-3
 
285
Caleb Gossett (NIU) dec. Will Hilliard (ODU) 6-1
Zack Parker (OHIO) dec. Caleb Gossett (NIU) 3-2
Newton Smerchek (CMU) dec. Caleb Gossett (NIU) 4-1
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Players Mentioned

Steve Bleise

Steve Bleise

Redshirt Sophomore
Trace Engelkes

Trace Engelkes

Redshirt Senior
Bryce Gorman

Bryce Gorman

Redshirt Sophomore
Caleb Gossett

Caleb Gossett

Redshirt Freshman
Alijah Jeffery

Alijah Jeffery

Redshirt Sophomore
Shaun

Shaun'Qae McMurtry

Redshirt Senior
Caden McWhirter

Caden McWhirter

Redshirt Freshman
Shawn Scott

Shawn Scott

Redshirt Senior
Angel Velasquez

Angel Velasquez

Redshirt Freshman
Brock Hudkins

Brock Hudkins

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Steve Bleise

Steve Bleise

Redshirt Sophomore
Trace Engelkes

Trace Engelkes

Redshirt Senior
Bryce Gorman

Bryce Gorman

Redshirt Sophomore
Caleb Gossett

Caleb Gossett

Redshirt Freshman
Alijah Jeffery

Alijah Jeffery

Redshirt Sophomore
Shaun

Shaun'Qae McMurtry

Redshirt Senior
Caden McWhirter

Caden McWhirter

Redshirt Freshman
Shawn Scott

Shawn Scott

Redshirt Senior
Angel Velasquez

Angel Velasquez

Redshirt Freshman
Brock Hudkins

Brock Hudkins

Freshman