Wrestling | November 12

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team beat Lindenwood and Harper College at the Huskie Duals Saturday afternoon inside Victor E. Court. NIU cruised past Lindenwood 44-6 to start the day before keeping the pace against Harper College with a 52-6 win.

"I thought it was a really, really solid day for us. It's nice to come out and have two dominant wins when you're debuting at home," said head NIU coach Ryan Ludwig.

"I thought our guys were quick to get to their attacks. Our shot-finishes were better than they were the week before, and that's what we've been working on. We got away on bottom. So, I thought overall, it was a good day for us,"

How it Happened | Lindenwood: 33^rd ranked redshirt freshman Blake West got the energy going early, pinning Austin Kegley at 125. Redshirt freshman Nathaniel Genobana increased the Huskies' lead to 9-0 with a 10-4 decision over Caiden Pelc at 133. Later at 141, redshirt junior Jaivon Jones dominated Kalen Napier with a 17-0 tech fall, increasing NIU's lead to 14-0.

The Huskies kept the momentum going at 149 when Anthony Cheloni recorded the Huskies' second fall of the day, pinning Tucker Kinsaul. Junior Tulga Zuunbayan took the forfeit win at 157 before sophomore Jackson Vance edged Kaden Charboneau at 165, inflating NIU's advantage to 29-0. Redshirt freshman Hayden Pummel and junior Matthew Zuber kept it going with commanding victories at 174 and 184, respectively.

At 197, Lindenwood finally got on the scoreboard as Ryan Golnick defeated redshirt freshman Devonjae Hudson, but redshirt senior Terrese Aaron capped the opening dual with a medical forfeit win over David Hernandez, sealing the Huskies' 44-6 win.

How it Happened | Harper College: Back-to-back pins from Blake West and Bryce West was how NIU's dual with Harper College commenced. Junior Michael Kaminski got in on the fun with an 8-0 major decision win over Tuvsin Zunnbayan to give the Huskies a quick 16-0 lead.

Harper College forfeited the 149 and 157 bouts, but got on the board at 165 as Brendan Parks pinned redshirt junior Alec Rees.  

NIU amended things quickly as redshirt freshman Ricardo Salinas won his bout over Kaden Randazzo via fall. Redshirt freshman Devonjae Hudson and Redshirt freshman Jacobi Jackson finished off the Hawks with two more pins, giving the Huskies the 52-6 win.

Up Next: The Huskies will have a week to prepare for their first away dual of the season, the Boilermaker Duals in West Lafayette, Ind. NIU will face UT-Chattanooga, Cleveland State and Purdue on Sunday (Nov. 20). Action starts at 10 a.m. ET inside the Holloway Gymnasium.

"This week, we've got to really train and lock down a few more things on top. We can ride a little bit better; I think we can stay in our positions a little bit better - in neutral, we got in trouble a couple of different times. So, we just want to eliminate some of those mistakes and maximize the things we're doing well. So next week, we got three tough duels on the road. So, we need to elevate our level as we head into those tougher duals."

NIU (44) vs. Lindenwood (6)

125: Blake West (NIU) over Austin Kegley (LU) (Fall 2:03)
133: Nathaniel Genobana (NIU) over Caiden Pelc (LU) (Dec. 10-4)
141: Jaivon Jones (NIU) over Kalen Napier (LU) (TF 17-0 4:35)
149: Anthony Cheloni (NIU) over Tucker Kinsaul (LU) (Fall 1:22)  
157: Tulga Zuunbayan (NIU) over (LU) (For.)
165: Jackson Vance (NIU) over Kaden Charboneau (LU) (Dec 7-6)
174: Hayden Pummel (NIU) over Drew Gvillo (LU) (TF 17-1 5:41)
184: Matthew Zuber (NIU) over Cody Thurston (LU) (MD 14-2)
197: Ryan Golnick (LU) over Devonjae Hudson (NIU) (Fall 1:38)
285: Terrese Aaron (NIU) over David Hernandez (LU) (M. For.)
 
NIU (52) vs. Harper College (6)

125: Blake West (NIU) over Chris Kish (HACO) (Fall 2:21)
133: Bryce West (NIU) over Brian Rea (HACO) (Fall 1:06)
141: Michael Kaminski (NIU) over Tuvsin Zunnbayan (HACO) (MD 8-0)
149: Anthony Cheloni (NIU) over (HACO) (For.)
157: Jackson Vance (NIU) over (HACO) (For.)
165: Brendan Parks (HACO) over Alec Rees (NIU) (Fall 4:50)
174: Ricardo Salinas (NIU) over Kaden Randazzo (HACO) (Fall 4:17)
184: Matthew Zuber (NIU) over Giovanni Jackson (HACO) (Fall 3:57)
197: Devonjae Hudson (NIU) over Manny Mejia (HACO) (Fall 5:46)
285: Jacobi Jackson (NIU) over Farouk Shaaban (HACO) (Fall 1:38)