Wrestling | January 5

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J.— Returning to dual action, the Northern Illinois Huskies wrestling program took on Rider University in a Mid-American Conference dual this evening. The Huskies lost a nail-biter to the Broncs of Rider, 18-19.
 
"It was a hard fought battle (from start to finish) and we came up short tonight," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "We saw some great things to build on moving forward and look forward to the next opportunity."
 
At 125 pounds, No. 31 Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) got an early takedown in the first period and held off late attempts by Tyler Klinsky to improve to 18-5 on the season with an 8-5 decision.
 
Late in the third period, Nathaniel Genobana (Centerville, Iowa/Centerville) gained momentum with a late takedown to take a 5-4 lead. Genobana earned the 6-4 decision at 133 pounds as the Huskies won the first two bouts.  
 
Jacob Brya (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) fought back after going down 3-0 early in the first period. Brya scored points quickly in the first period as it was 6-3 in favor of Brya at the end of the period. Brya earned his second fall of the season, defeating Will Betancourt of Rider.
 
It was a battle of ranked wrestlers at 149 pounds as Jaivon Jones (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Nordonia) is ranked at No. 23 by WrestleStat and Quinn Kinner of Rider is ranked at No. 22 by Intermat. Jones fell in a 9-7 decision to Kinner for the Huskies first loss of the evening.
 
At 157 pounds, Tulga Zuunbayan (Mongolia/Rolling Meadows) fell in a major decision to No. 32 Colton Washleski. The final bout score was 10-2 in favor of Washleski.
 
Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) won a back-and-forth battle at 165 pounds over Jake Silverstein. Bennett tied the bout in the second period before getting an escape point in the third period to win 5-4 and put the Huskies ahead 15-7.
 
In the 174-pound bout, Hayden Pummel (Indian Lake, Ohio/Indian Lake) fell to Michael Wilson by fall (4:48) as the Broncs closed in on the Huskies lead.
 
Matt Zuber (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) scored the opening point at 184 pounds but was unable to get a takedown during the bout. Zuber, who is ranked at No. 31 in the Intermat poll and No. 33 in the WrestleStat poll, fell in a 4-3 decision to Isaac Dean.
 
Sean Carroll (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) represented the Huskies at 197 pounds. Carroll fell in a 5-1 decision to Azeem Bell of Rider.
 
Jacobi Jackson (St. Louis, Mo./Desmet Jesuit) took down No. 29 David Szuba in the 285-pound match. Jackson recorded a pair of early takedowns in the first period before holding on for an 8-6 decision.
 
The Huskies (7-2, 1-1 MAC) return to DeKalb on January 12 as they host Ohio University in a MAC dual. The Huskies and Bobcats of Ohio will face off at 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
 
Dual Score
125: Blake West (Northern Illinois) over Tyler Klinsky (Rider) (Dec 8-5)
133: Nathaniel Genobana (Northern Illinois) over D`Amani Almodovar (Rider) (Dec 6-4)
141: Jacob Brya (Northern Illinois) over Will Betancourt (Rider) (Fall 4:11)
149: Quinn Kinner (Rider) over Jaivon Jones (Northern Illinois) (Dec 9-7)
157: Colton Washleski (Rider) over Tulga Zuunbayan (Northern Illinois) (MD 10-2)
165: Tommy Bennett (Northern Illinois) over Jake Silverstein (Rider) (Dec 5-4)
174: Michael Wilson (Rider) over Hayden Pummel (Northern Illinois) (Fall 4:48)
184: Isaac Dean (Rider) over Matt Zuber (Northern Illinois) (Dec 4-3)
197: Azeem Bell (Rider) over Sean Carroll (Northern Illinois) (Dec 5-1)
285: Jacobi Jackson (Northern Illinois) over David Szuba (Rider) (Dec 8-6)
 
Final Scores: NIU 18, Rider 19