CLEVELAND – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team rallied from an early deficit to post a 24-6 victory over Cleveland State at Woodling Gymnasium Friday night.
 
The Huskies improve to 10-4 on the season and 5-2 in Mid-American Conference action. NIU's 10 wins are the most for the program since 2014-15 when NIU picked up its 10th win in the penultimate dual of the regular season. The Huskies have three more duals remaining this season.
 
"The guys wrestled tough," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "It was a great team win. I liked the grit out of our guys tonight."
 
NIU fell behind 6-3 after dropping two of the first three bouts. However, McCoy Kent and Mason Kauffman won their matches at 149 and 157, respectively, with Kauffman winning his bout, 3-1, in overtime to put the Huskies up 9-6. NIU never looked back.
 
Izzak Olejnik won his match at 165, 6-2, and Kenny Moore posted a 7-3 win at 174. Brit Wilson earned a 10-4 victory over DeAndre Nassar at 184, while Gage Braun battled for an 8-6 decision at 197. Max Ihry capped the Huskie victory with a 4-3 victory in double overtime
 
The Huskies return to action Sunday when NIU travels to Athens, Ohio to take on the Bobcats of Ohio. The match begins at 1 p.m. CT and will be shown on ESPN+.
 
NIU 24, Cleveland State 6
 
125: Bryce West (NIU) dec. Logan Heil (CSU), 10-6
133: Justin Patrick (CSU) dec. Caleb Brooks (NIU), 4-3
141: Evan Cheek (CSU) dec. Anthony Gibson (NIU), 4-2
149: McCoy Kent (NIU) dec. Gus Sutton (CSU), 6-2
157: Mason Kauffman (NIU) dec. Brady Barnett (CSU), 3-1 SV
165: Izzak Olejnik (NIU) dec. Riley Smucker (CSU), 6-2
174: Kenny Moore (NIU) dec. Chase Archangelo (CSU), 7-3
184: Brit Wilson (NIU) dec. DeAndre Nassar (CSU), 10-4
197: Gage Braun (NIU) dec. Ben Smith (CSU), 8-6
285: Max Ihry (NIU) dec. John Kelbly (CSU), 4-3 SV-2
 
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