Wrestling | November 3

DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team opened its 2023-24 season with two resounding dual meet victories Friday night at the NIU Convocation Center in the Huskie Duals. The Huskies shut out St. Ambrose 47-0 and Lindenwood 48-0, earning bonus points in 19 of the 20 bouts.
 
"We talked to the guys this week about the way we compete," said head coach Ryan Ludwig. "The way we compete is our signature. We want to compete every second, get all of our offense out there and leave that mat with no regrets. I thought we did that tonight. We wrestled very hard and were very aggressive in our pursuit of points and that's what we ask for."
 
Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee), Tommy Curran (Carol Stream, Ill./DeKalb), Matt Zuber (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) and Carter Grewe (Colby, Wis./Colby) all went 2-0 on the night. West won both of his matches at 125 pounds by technical fall, defeating Steele Dias of St. Ambrose 16-0 in 4:04 and Lindenwood's Austin Kegley 20-3. Curran put 11 team points on the board at 149 with a technical fall against Reese Finch of St. Ambrose and a 2:52 fall over Cruz Lara of Lindenwood. Zuber and Grewe won both of their matches by major decision.
 
"Blake had a great performance tonight and had a couple bonus point victories," Ludwig said. "He battled through some adversity this week and he rose above it and did a great job for the team tonight. Tommy is a very dangerous wrestler at 149, and he's only a redshirt-freshman. He brings a lot to the table."
 
NIU won four matches by fall Friday night. Junior Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) needed 2:14 to pin St. Ambrose's Diego Machado in the 165-pound bout of the first dual. Jordan Sommers (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) capped the St. Ambrose dual with a first period fall over Jeremiah Morris at 285. Kavan Troy (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester) won his 157-pound match against Lindenwood's Logan Johnson by fall in 2:21. Hayden Pummel (Indian Lake, Ohio/Indian Lake) also put six points on the board against the Lions with a second period fall over Kaden Charboneau.
 
"It's a mindset to keep wrestling hard and keep scoring points," said Ludwig about NIU's bonus points in Friday's duals. "We put a lot of points on the board which is a huge deal in dual meet settings. We did the job we wanted to do tonight. Now we have to get ready for an incredibly tough competition next week."
 
The Huskies head to Michigan State on Saturday, Nov. 11 for the MSU Open. Competition begins at 9:30 a.m.
 
--NIU--
 
NIU 47, St. Ambrose 0
125: Blake West (NIU) over Steele Dias (SAU) (TF 16-0 4:04) 
133: Lucian Brink (NIU) over Isaac Martinez (SAU) (MD 8-0) 
141: Danny Curran (NIU) over Guiseppe Guerra (SAU) (MD 15-2) 
149: Tommy Curran (NIU) over Reese Finch (SAU) (TF 16-0 3:41) 
157: Alec Rees (NIU) over Riley Woods (SAU) (MD 14-0) 
165: Jake Evans (NIU) over Diego Machado (SAU) (Fall 2:14) 
174: Ricardo Salinas (NIU) over Jayden Terronez (SAU) (TF 20-4 5:47) 
184: Matt Zuber (NIU) over Dylan Meiners (SAU) (MD 13-0) 
197: Carter Grewe (NIU) over Tyreese Johnson (SAU) (MD 11-1) 
285: Jordan Sommers (NIU) over Jeremiah Morris (SAU) (Fall 2:47)
Extra Match (133) Nathaniel Genobana (NIU) over Jacob Alexander (SAU) (TF 21-3 3:52)
 
NIU 48, Lindenwood 0
125: Blake West (NIU) over Austin Kegley (LU) (TF 20-3 6:28) 
133: Michael Kaminski (NIU) over Caiden Pelc (LU) (TF 20-4 5:48) 
141: Dylan Gvillo (NIU) over Ben Bohr (LU) (Dec 2-0) 
149: Tommy Curran (NIU) over Cruz Lara (LU) (Fall 2:52) 
157: Kavan Troy (NIU) over Logan Johnson (LU) (Fall 2:21) 
165: Tommy Bennett (NIU) over Zachary Rackers (LU) (TF 19-4 4:32) 
174: Hayden Pummel (NIU) over Kaden Charboneau (LU) (Fall 4:04) 
184: Matt Zuber (NIU) over Luke Shaver (LU) (MD 17-3) 
197: Carter Grewe (NIU) over Ryan Golnick (LU) (MD 8-0) 
285: Jacobi Jackson (NIU) over David Hernandez (LU) (MD 17-3)