TRENTON, N.J. – Brit Wilson won his second-consecutive Mid-American Conference championship at 184 and four Huskies earned NCAA bids following the Northern Illinois University wrestling team's performance at the 2021 MAC Wrestling Championships at the Cure Insurance Arena on Saturday.
 
Wilson, who won last year's title, scored a second-period pin of Missouri's Jeremiah Kent to cap his run in the tournament and earn his third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.
 
"He's the consummate competitor," NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig said. "He's consistent, he's steady and he was rewarded for it. He's an awesome team leader for us. He put up bonus points in every match. We're really happy for him to be rewarded like that today."
 
The Huskies finished fourth of 14 teams with 90.0 points with seven wrestlers placing and four grapplers earning NCAA bids.
 
"After a first day, where we thought we could've competed better in spots, I thought today was a testament to our guy's resilience and their belief they came with a renewed energy and purpose today and really put together a great second day," Ludwig said.

Wilson was also named Most Outstanding Wrestler, the first Huskie to win the honor since Pat Castillo in 2008.
 
In addition to Wilson taking first at 184, Izzak Olejnik took second at 165, and Anthony Cheloni placed third at 149. Mason Kauffman took fourth at 174, Bryce West and Gage Braun finished fifth at 133 and 197, respectively. Senior Max Ihry placed seventh at 285 to round out the Huskie placers.
 
Wilson, West, Olejnik and Cheloni punched their tickets to St. Louis for the NCAA Tournament with their performances this weekend. Wilson and West competed in the 2019 NCAAs, while Olejnik, who along with Wilson and two other Huskies, earned bids last season, but were unable to compete due to the event being canceled due to COVID-19.
 
Olejnik backed up his 2020 MAC Championships run with another strong showing this season, making the championship match for the second consecutive year. Unfortunately for the sophomore, he suffered a tough loss to Missouri's Keegan O'Toole.
 
He then had to come right back and face off against Alex Cramer of Central Michigan in a true-second place match. Olejnik responded with a 9-0 maj. dec. win to earn the bid.
 
"Izzak Olejnik had a heck of a tournament, completely dominant," he said. "Then he gets to the finals, wrestles an incredibly tight match against a top-10 opponent in O'Toole from Missouri.
 
"Then, the toughest match of a year for anybody, is the true placing match. When you drop your finals match, and somebody gets to challenge you for your qualifying spot, that takes a lot of mental fortitude to turn back around, have a short memory, and get after it. He handled that with incredible poise and maintain a spot to the show."
 
Cheloni made an impressive run at 149 in this year's tournament. After suffering a setback in the semifinals on day one, he came out strong on day two scoring a 4-1 win in the consolation semifinals before earning a 1-0 win over Kent State's Kody Komera.
 
"He wasn't really happy with things when he lost in the semis, he really wanted to be in that finals match," he said. "He showed a lot of maturity and regained his composure to put together a really solid run today to take third and qualify for his first national tournament."
 
Kauffman had an impressive showing at this year's Championships, advancing to the third-place match. He edged out Central Michigan's Jake Lowell, 3-2, in the consolation quarterfinals before scoring a 7-4 decision over Paul Pierce of George Mason in the consi semifinals.
 
Unfortunately for Kauffman, he suffered a 5-4 overtime loss to Jacob Oliver of Edinboro in a tightly contested bout.
 
"It was an incredibly controversial match," Ludwig said. "Mason wrestled really well in this tournament and we're really hoping and think he's deserving of an at-large bid."
 
The NCAA will announce the complete tournament field Wednesday, March 10 at 5 p.m. CT. The 2021 NCAA Tournament will take place March 18-20 in St. Louis, Mo.
 
Team Standings - Final
1.  Missouri, 188.5
2.  Central Michigan, 129.0
3.  Rider, 120.5
4.  NIU, 90.0
5.  Edinboro, 80.0
6.  Cleveland State, 68.0
7.  Clarion, 57.5
8.  Kent State, 54.0
9.  Buffalo, 44.0
10. SIUE, 43.5
11. George Mason, 35.0
12. Ohio, 34.0
13. Bloomsburg, 28.5
14. Lock Haven, 15.0
 
2021 MAC Wrestling Championships Results for NIU
 
133 – Bryce West (NIU)
Champ. Round 1: Bryce West (NIU) BYE
Quarterfinals: Richie Koehler (Rider) dec. Bryce West (NIU), 3-2
Cons. Round 2: Bryce West (NIU) dec. Anthony Glasl (George Mason), 5-4
Cons. Quarterfinals: Bryce West (NIU) fall Brendon Fenton (Kent State), 1:26
Cons. Semifinals: Mario Guillen (Ohio) dec. Bryce West (NIU), 7-4
Fifth-Place Match: Bryce West (NIU) inj. Aaron Schulist (SIUE), 0:00
 
141 – Caleb Brooks (NIU)
Champ. Round 1: Caleb Brooks (NIU) dec. Cole Manley (Lock Haven), 5-4
Quarterfinal: Saul Ervin (SIUE) dec. Caleb Brooks (NIU), 10-3
Cons. Round 2: Derek Spann (Buffalo) maj. dec. Caleb Brooks (NIU), 9-1
 
149 – Anthony Cheloni (NIU)
Champ. Round 1: Anthony Cheloni (NIU) dec. Alex Mosconi (Ohio), 2-0
Quarterfinal: Anthony Cheloni (NIU) dec. Cardeinte Wilson (SIUE), 4-1
Semifinals: Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State) dec. Anthony Cheloni (NIU), 5-1
Cons. Semifinals: Anthony Cheloni (NIU) dec. Wyatt McCarthy (Rider), 4-1
Third-Place Match: Anthony Cheloni (NIU) dec. Kody Komera (Kent State), 1-0
 
157 – Anthony Gibson (NIU)
Champ. Round 1: Daniel Patten (Cleveland State) dec. Anthony Gibson (NIU), 7-1
Cons. Round 1: Anthony Gibson (NIU) BYE
Cons. Round 2: Michael Petite (Buffalo) dec. Anthony Gibson (NIU), 12-8
 
165 - Izzak Olejnik (NIU)
Champ. Round 1: Izzak Olejnik (NIU) dec. Noah Grover (Buffalo), 7-0
Quarterfinal: Izzak Olejnik (NIU) dec. Kolby Ho (Clarion), 8-2
Semifinal: Izzak Olejnik (NIU) dec. Riley Smucker (Cleveland State), 9-3
Final: Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) dec. Izzak Olejnik (NIU), 6-2
True Second: Izzak Olejnik (NIU) maj. dec. Alex Cramer (CMU), 9-0
 
174 – Mason Kauffman (NIU)
Champ. Round 1: Mason Kauffman (NIU) dec. John Worthing (Clarion), 7-3
Quarterfinals: Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) dec. Mason Kauffman (NIU), 10-8
Cons. Round 2: Mason Kauffman (NIU) dec. Angel Garcia (Rider), 2-1
Cons. Quarterfinals: Mason Kauffman (NIU) dec. Jake Lowell (CMU), 3-2
Cons. Semifinals: Mason Kauffman (NIU) dec. Paul Pierce (George Mason), 7-4
Third-place Match: Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) dec. Mason Kauffman (NIU), SV-1, 5-4
 
184 – Brit Wilson (NIU)
Champ. Round 1: Brit Wilson (NIU) BYE
Quarterfinal: Brit Wilson (NIU) maj. dec. Ryan Yarnell (SIUE), 10-2
Semifinal: Brit Wilson (NIU) maj. dec. DeAndre Nassar (Cleveland State), 12-3
Final: Brit Wilson (NIU) fall Jeremiah Kent (Missouri), 4:33
 
197 – Gage Braun (NIU)
Champ. Round 1: Matt Correnti (Rider) dec. Gage Braun (NIU), 5-3
Cons. Round 1: Gage Braun (NIU) dec. Sergio Villalobos (SIUE), 10-6
Cons. Round 2: Gage Braun (NIU) dec. Cody Mulligan (Edinboro), 8-2
Cons. Quarterfinals: Gage Braun (NIU) maj. dec. Austin Stith (George Mason), 8-0
Cons. Semifinals: Greg Bulsak (Clarion) dec. Gage Braun (NIU), 6-2
Fifth-Place Match: Gage Braun (NIU)dec. Jake Walker (Ohio), 8-2
 
285 – Max Ihry (NIU)
Champ. Round 1: Max Ihry (NIU) dec. Jarrett Walters (Bloomsburg), 6-3
Quarterfinal: Ethan Laird (Rider) dec. Max Ihry (NIU), 3-2
Cons. Round 2: Max Ihry (NIU) dec. Jacob Cover (Kent State), 5-3
Cons. Quarterfinals: Colton McKiernan (SIUE) dec. Max Ihry (NIU), UTB, 5-4
Seventh-Place Match: Max Ihry (NIU) dec. Tyler Bagoly (Clarion), 5-2
 
-NIU-