Wrestling | March 5
ATHENS, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team had three wrestlers win Mid-American Conference titles on Saturday as the MAC Wrestling Championship wrapped up Saturday at Ohio University's Convocation Center. The Huskies finished third in the team standings with 93 points.
Redshirt-Senior
Brit Wilson (Mexico, Mo./Mexico) won his third consecutive championship at 184 pounds, defeating Kent State's Colin McCracken by major decision 8-0. Wilson outscored his four opponents this weekend 37-6. He is the second three-time MAC champion in NIU wrestling history, joining Ben Heizer who won three-straight 184-pound titles from 2002-2004. Wilson also qualified for the NCAA Championship with his victory. He joins T.C. Dantzler (1990-93) as the only four-time national qualifiers in program history.
Redshirt-Junior Izzak Olejnik (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield) won the 165-pound championship in sudden victory over Ashton Eyler of Lock Haven 7-5. Olejnik led 5-2 going into the third period, but Eyler escaped from the bottom and earned a late takedown to send the bout into extra time. In sudden victory, Olejnik took down Eyler to secure his first MAC title after reaching the final match in each of the previous two years. With the win Olejnik qualified for his third straight NCAA Championship.
Mason Kauffman (Stratford, Wis./Stratford/Eastern Michigan) also won his first MAC title Saturday, winning the 174-pound championship match 7-5 over Ohio's Sal Perrine. Kauffman broke a 2-2 tie with a takedown of Perrine in the second period. He escaped to start the third and earned another takedown to go up 7-3 and was able to hang on for the championship. Kauffman earned his second straight qualification to the NCAA Championship.
"They've been the leaders of the way we want to compete, in the way we do things every day, and their leadership has been unbelievable appreciated," said head coach
Ryan Ludwig about his trio of MAC champions. "It just makes it that much more rewarding to see them get what they deserve. They had to work hard for it and to see them win in a row like that was extremely special."
NIU had four other wrestlers place on Saturday. Junior
Jaivon Jones (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Nordonia) took fourth place at 141 pounds. Jones defeated Clarion's Seth Koleno 3-2 in the consolation semifinals. In the third place match, Jones was taken down late by Gabe Willochell of Edinboro in a 2-0 loss.
Anthony Gibson (Westland, Mich./John Glenn) finished sixth at 157 pounds.
Bryce West (Solon, Iowa/Solon) won the seventh-place match 8-5 over Austin Macias of SIUE.
Terrese Aaron (Mexico, Mo./Mexico) also took seventh place at 285 with a 3-1 victory over Edinboro's Max Millin.
"Those guys gave a lot of effort today and they knew those key points were important," Ludwig said. "
Bryce West put together an incredible effort to finish seventh.
Jaivon Jones wrestled a really good tournament and is really coming into his own.
Terrese Aaron made a lot of gains this season and we're proud of his efforts to take seventh."
Lock Haven won the MAC team title with 123.5 points. Central Michigan was second with 108 points followed by the Huskies with 93. Buffalo took fourth place with 93 points and Clarion rounded out the top five with 79.5 points. This is the second time in three years the Huskies have placed third at the MAC Championship.
The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will announce the 43 at-large qualifiers for this year's NCAA Championship on Tuesday, March 8 and the brackets and seeding on March 9. The 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship will be held March 17-19 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich.
2022 MAC Championships Team Standings
1. Lock Haven 123.5
2. Central Michigan 108
3. NIU 93
4. Buffalo 92.5
5. Clarion 79.5
6. Cleveland State 73.5
7. Kent State 71.5
8. Rider 68
9. Ohio 61.5
10. SIUE 52
11. George Mason 47
12. Bloomsburg 42
13. Edinboro 30.5
--NIU--
