DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois Wrestling team travels to Norfolk, Va. to compete in the 2019 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships Friday at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
 
Day One of the Championships starts at 2 p.m. CT, while Day Two begins at 11 a.m. CT
 
Fans can watch all the action of the MAC Wrestling Championships through ESPN+ or follow the live scoring on trackwrestling.com. For those not near a computer, fans follow all the Huskies via Twitter on @NIUWrestling.
 
While the Huskies (8-10, 2-5) are looking to win the MAC Championship, this weekend's event has national ramifications as well.
 
"The MAC Championship is an important event obviously, throughout our league and our guys representing the school," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "Again, it's a stepping stone to getting your seed at the National Tournament. The allocations have been set. The guys know what they have to do to get to the NCAAs. Obviously this is the next step in fulfilling our goals at the national level. So we have to do well this weekend."
 
The MAC has been allocated 27 bids for the NCAA Championships this year, with the most, five, coming at 157.
 
The Huskies bring a young squad into this year's event. Of the 10 wrestlers in the NIU line up, only three have previous MAC Championships experience.
 
Huskie senior Alijah Jeffery (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) is NIU's most experienced grappler heading into the tournament having competed in three MAC Championships during his career. Caleb Gossett (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell Central) is right behind him, as the junior will be competing in his third MAC Championships at 285, while Max Ihry (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsee Valley), who is competing in his second conference tournament, will start at 197 for NIU.
 
Four Huskies making their first MAC Championships appearances – McCoy Kent (Modesto, Calif./Enochs), Kenny Moore (San Diego, Calif./Hoover), Brit Wilson (Mexico, Mo./Mexico) and Will Feldkamp (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) – are looking to punch their tickets to Pittsburgh.
 
Wilson, who is ranked 13th in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Coaches Rankings at 174, has had a solid season for NIU. The redshirt freshman boasts a 23-4 overall record and a 6-1 record MAC competition. Moore is ranked 33rd in the same poll wrestling a 165. He owns an 18-7 mark and 3-1 league record.
 
Kent and Feldkamp have been impressive this season, posting winning records at 149 and 184, respectively. Kent, is 14-7 overall and 3-4, while Feldkamp is 11-7 on the season with a 4-3 record in the MAC. Kent and Moore will need to win their respective weight classes to advance to the NCAAs, while the MAC has two NCAA bids at 174 and 184.
 
"Pure and simple, the work is put in through the year, and it's time to cash in," Ludwig said. "These guys have done an incredible job training, buying into all the things they've needed to improve upon throughout the year. It's been an incredibly coachable group and a fun group to work with. The mindset is to get down there, get a good warm up in and let it fly."
 
NIU's lone MAC Championship came in 1985. However, the Huskies have had 42 individual champions over the years. NIU scored a school-record 92 points at the 2017 MAC Championships, placing fifth in the tournament and sending five wrestlers to the NCAAs.
 
2018 MAC Championships Lineup
125: Bryce West (12-13), No. 6 seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 4
133: Alijah Jeffery (16-9), No. 4 seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 3
141: Drew West (9-8), No. 6 seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 4
149: McCoy Kent (14-7), No. 5 seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 1
157: Mason Kauffman (9-11), No. 7 seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 5
165: No. 33 Kenny Moore (18-7), No. 3 seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 1
174: No. 13 Brit Wilson (23-4), No. 2 seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 2
184: Will Feldkamp (11-7), No. 5 seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 2
197: Max Ihry (1-13), No. 8 seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 1
285: Caleb Gossett (10-10), No. 5 seed, NCAA Auto Bids: 4
 
-NIU-