Wrestling | October 28

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team returned to the mat after a long offseason in its annual Red-Black Dual at Victor E. Court Friday night. The Red team emerged victorious over the Black team, 18-10.

"It's about the way we go out and compete. If I'm being picky, we need to create some more scoring opportunities. We need to hand fight a little bit more actively to create some openings to get to some leg attacks, but I thought our competitive spirit was really good," said head NIU coach Ryan Ludwig.

After Nathaniel Genobana of the Black team opened the action with a 3-2 triumph over Bryce West at 133, Jacob Brya of the Red team took down Jaivon Jones 2-1 at 141 to level the contest at 3-3. Later, Anthony Cheloni and Tulga Zuunbayan logged wins to increase Red's lead to 9-3 at 149.

In the 165-weight class, two-time NCAA qualifier Izzak Olejnik beat Tommy Bennett of the Red team in a major decision 11-1 win at 165. At 174, Hayden Pummel inflated Red's lead to 12-7 after beating Ricardo Salinas 2-0 before Matthew Zuber bested Devonjae Hudson at 184 to get Black back in the win column.

At 197, Jacob Christensen gave team Red another three points after beating Jordan Sommers 8-2, making the score 15-10, Red. Finally, Terrese Aaron finished off team Black after winning his match versus Jacobi Jackson in overtime, 3-1, sealing Red's win.

"I thought we had some good mat returns on top and we got to our feet on bottom. You always want more, there's no doubt. But overall, I thought the competitive fire was there, and that's what we're looking for,"

The Huskies commence the regular season Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Michigan State Open.

"The guys prepared well, they got out there, but we've got a lot of work to do before Michigan State - that's really where we want to start seeing where we're at. That's the main test we're looking for."

Red-Black Dual Results
133: Nathaniel Genobana (Black) dec. Bryce West (Red), 3-2
141: Jacob Brya (Red) dec. Jaivon Jones (Black), 2-1
149: Anthony Cheloni (Red) dec. Caleb Brooks (Black), 5-2
157: Tulga Zuunbayan (Red) dec. Anthony Gibson (Black), 10-9
165: Izzak Olejnik (Black) MD Tommy Bennett (Red), 11-1
174: Hayden Pummel (Red) dec. Ricardo Salinas (Black), 2-0
184: Matthew Zuber (Black) dec. Devonjae Hudson (Red), 4-0
197: Jacob Christensen (Red) dec. Jordan Sommers (Black), 8-2
285: Terrese Aaron (Red) dec. Jacobi Jackson (Black), 3-1 OT