NORFOLK, Va. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team extended its streak of qualifying a wrestler to the NCAA Tournament to 48 years as two Huskies punched their ticket to Pittsburgh at the 2019 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships at the Ted Constant Convocation Center Saturday.
 
"The guys wrestled hard after a first tough round yesterday," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "There were a lot of bonus point wins."
 
Brit Wilson (Mexico, Mo./Mexico) and Bryce West (Solon, Iowa/Solon) each earned NCAA bids after finishing second and third, respectively, in their respective weight classes.
 
"Brit wrestled the No. 2 guy in the country in the finals and held his own," Ludwig said. "Bryce West had the breakthrough performance we've been waiting for and is rewarded with a trip to NCAAs He wrestled really well and is just plain tough."
 
Wilson place second at 174 after falling to Missouri's Daniel Lewis by an 11-2 maj. dec. in the finals match. Bryce West opened the day with an impressive victory over Kyle Akins, pinning the Sycamore, Ill. native in 22 seconds. He then posted a 4-2 victory over Missouri's Dack Punke in the third-place bout.
 
Max Ihry (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsee Valley), who came into this event with one win on his ledger, made an impressive run through the MAC Championships at 197. The Huskie redshirt-sophomore finished fourth in the event. Ihry opened the day with a 5-4 decision over SIUE's Christian DuLaney before falling to Missouri's Wyatt Koelling, 3-2.
 
Will Feldkamp (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) also placed fourth at 184 after battling back from a first round loss. Feldkamp defeated Old Dominion's Antonio Agee by injury default after the second period, but then lost to Jordan Atienza of Central Michigan, 14-7, in the third-place match.
 
McCoy Kent (Modesto, Calif./Enochs) and Alijah Jeffery (Marion, Iowa/Linn Mar) finished fifth at 149 and 133, respectively. Both Huskies went 1-1 on the day and won their final bouts to earn their placing.
 
Drew West (Solon, Iowa/Solon), Mason Kauffman (Stratford, Wis./Stratford) and Kenny Moore (San Diego, Calif./Hoover) placed seventh in their respective weight classes. Drew West recorded a first period fall of Lucas Bernal of SIUE at 141, while Kauffman recorded a 12-2 maj. dec. victory over Kent State's Richard Jackson.
 
Caleb Gossett (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell Central) took sixth at 285, but was unable to record a victory on the day.
 
NIU posted a school-best 98 points, topping the previous best of 92 set in the 2017 MAC Championships. Missouri won its seventh consecutive MAC Championship with 180 points.
 
The NCAA Wrestling Tournament starts Thursday, Mar. 21 at 11 a.m. CT and will be held in Pittsburgh's PPG paints Arena. At-large qualifiers will be announced on Tuesday, Mar. 12, while the brackets and seeding will be unveiled Wednesday, Mar. 13.
 
Team Standings
1. Missouri 180.0
2. Buffalo 113.5
3. Central Michigan 82.5
4. Old Dominion 111.0
5. Ohio 99.5
6. NIU 98.0
7. SIUE 68.5
8. Kent State 66.0
 
125: Bryce West (NIU) Finished in 3rd Place
Quarterfinal: B. West fall over Shakur Laney (Ohio), 3:12
Semifinal: Drew Hildebrandt (CMU) dec. B. West, 6-2
Cons. Semi: B. West fall Kyle Akins (UB), :22
3rd Place: B. West dec. Dack Punke (UM), 4-2
 
133: Alijah Jeffery (NIU) Finished in 5th Place
Quarterfinal: Tim Rooney (KSU) fall Jeffery, 5:57
Cons. Round 1: Jeffery fall Austin Macias (SIUE), 1:36
Cons. Semi: Mario Guillen (Ohio) dec. Jeffery, SV-1, 3-1
5th Place: Jeffery dec. Deven Perez (CMU), 9-2
 
141: Drew West (NIU) Finished in 7th Place
Quarterfinal: Bryan Lantry (UB) maj. dec. D. West, 16-2
Cons. Round 1: Cameron Kelly (Ohio) tech fall D. West, 16-1
7th Place: D. West fall Lucas Bernal (SIUE), 1:23
 
149: McCoy Kent (NIU) Finished in 5th Place
Quarterfinal: Tyshawn Williams (SIUE) dec. Kent, 7-4
Cons. Round 1: Kent fall Jason Estevez (UB), 3:49
Cons. Semi: Alec Hagan (Ohio) fall Kent, 4:32
5th Place: Kent dec. Williams (SIUE), 2-1
 
157: Mason Kauffman (NIU) Finished in 7th Place
Quarterfinal: Jarrett Jacques (UM) dec. Kauffman, 2-1
Cons. Round 1: Zac Carson (Ohio) dec. Kauffman, SV-1, 3-1
7th Place: Kauffman maj. dec. Richard Jackson (KSU), 12-2
 
165: Kenny Moore (NIU) Finished in 7th Place
Quarterfinal: Nate Higgins (SIUE) dec. Moore, SV-1, 7-5
Cons. Round 1: Shane Jones (ODU) dec. Moore, 2-1
7th Place: Moore tech fall Bret Fedewa (CMU), 16-1
 
174: Brit Wilson (NIU) Finished in 2nd Place
Quarterfinal: Wilson dec. Kevin Gschwendtner (SIUE), 6-1
Semifinal: Wilson maj. dec. Luke Drugac (ODU), 12-4
Final: Daniel Lewis (UM) maj. dec. Wilson, 11-2
 
184: Will Feldkamp (NIU) Finished in 4th Place
Quarterfinal: Jordan Atienza (CMU) tech fall Feldkamp, 17-0
Cons. Round 1: Feldkamp fall Rill (UB), 2:48
Cons. Semi: Feldkamp inj. default Antonio Agee (ODU), Inj. 5:00
 
197: Max Ihry (NIU) Finished in 4th Place
Quarterfinal: Koelling (UM) dec. Ihry, 6-2
Cons. Round 1: Ihry dec. Landon Pelham (CMU), 3-2
Cons. Semi: Ihry dec. Christian DuLaney (SIUE), 5-4
3rd Place: Wyatt Koelling (UM) dec. Ihry, 3-2
 
285: Caleb Gossett (NIU) Finished in 6th Place
Quarterfinal: Gossett maj. dec. William Hilliard (ODU), 13-2
Semifinal: Matt Stencel (CMU) fall Gossett, 1:52
Cons. Round 1: Jake Gunning (UB) maj. dec. Gossett, 9-1
5th Place: Zack Parker fall Gossett, 6:55
 
-NIU-