DEKALB, Ill. – For the 48th consecutive year the Northern Illinois wrestling program will be represented at the NCAA Wrestling Championships as two Huskies will take the mat at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Thursday.
 
"We come into every year with a clean slate knowing that you can't count on anything," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig of the school's 48th-straight NCAA berth. "You've got to go to work and earn it every year.
 
Redshirt freshmen Brit Wilson (Mexico, Mo./Mexico) and Bryce West (Solon, Iowa/Solon) will be competing at 174 and 125, respectively.
 
"For two freshmen to be representing us at the national tournament is pretty exciting for our future," Ludwig said. "They did some of their best wrestling of the year at the MAC Championships. They're ramping up their work at the right time. That was the plan all year long."
 
Wilson, who is the 13th seed, went 25-5 on the season and finished second in the MAC Wrestling Championships to No. 2 Daniel Lewis of Missouri. Wilson will open the tournament against No. 20-seed Spencer Carey of Navy, who finished the season with a 24-14 record.
 
West, who earned his way to Pittsburgh with a third-place finish at the MAC Championships, will face Iowa's Spencer Lee in his opening bout. West is seeded 30th in the field and enters the event with a 15-14 overall record.
 
Fans can watch all the action of the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships through WatchESPN or follow the live scoring on trackwrestling.com. For those not near a computer, fans follow all the Huskies via Twitter on @NIUWrestling.
 
-NIU-