Wrestling | November 22

DeKALB, Ill.—It came down to the final two bouts in the opening Mid-American Conference dual between the Huskies of Northern Illinois University and Broncs of Rider University. The Huskies (1-1, 1-0 MAC) would be victorious, claiming a 20-19 victory over the Broncs (0-2, 0-1 MAC).
 
This was the first win over Rider in NIU Wrestling history and the second straight meeting that the dual was decided by a single point. Rider claimed the 2023-24 meeting, 19-18 in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
 
"In the dual meet matchups and the individual performances, the bonus points are huge in terms of closing that margin of victory," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "We needed Spencer and Jacob to step up late and they did in a big way. When we are in a tough MAC battle, it's going to hotly contested and hard fought."
 
The Huskies won the opening three bouts, which featured a pair of bonus points before dropping the next five bouts. Spencer Mooberry (Osage, Iowa/Osage) earned a win by fall to put the Huskies within two at 19-17 before Jacob Christensen (Durham, Calif./Durham) would hold on for a 3-1 decision to claim victory for NIU.
 
Dual Recap
 
Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) earned the first win of the night for the Huskies, a major decision, as he took on Will Betancourt. West, who is ranked No. 29 by FloWrestling, claimed an early first period takedown before adding a second takedown in the next period.
 
Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) got the next round of bonus points for the Huskies, winning by major decision at 133 pounds. Baker, who took on Nieko Malone, captured a pair of first period takedowns on his way to a 19-5 win.
 
Jacob Brya (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) had a takedown in the first period before claiming a pair of reversals. Brya took on McKenzie Bell and captured the third win of the evening for the Huskies with a 7-5 decision.
 
At 149 pounds, Collin Arch (Palmyra, Mo./Palmyra) faced off against No. 24 Sammy Alvarez. Alvarez had an early takedown as Arch fell 7-1. Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) battled against No. 28 Colton Washleski at the 157 bout. Washleski claimed four first period takedowns as he defeated Johnson 17-6.
 
Brett Smith (Troy, Mo./Buchanan) represented the Huskies at 165 pounds, taking on Enrique Munguia. Smith claimed a second period takedown but was unable to hold off a late charge by Munguia, falling in a 5-4 decision.
 
Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) faced off against No. 29 Michael Wilson at 174 pounds. Evans dropped a 17-3 major decision to Wilson. At 184 pounds, Spencer Steiner (Fresno, Calif./Clovis North) took on No. 33 Isaac Dean as Dean won by technical fall over Steiner (20-4, 6:41).
 
With the Huskies down by eight points, Mooberry took the mat against Steyn De Lange. De Lange captured a first period takedown before Mooberry got a takedown and the lead in the third period. Mooberry captured his first win by fall over De Lange to bring the Huskies within two.
 
Coming down to the final bout, Christensen had an escape in the second period for the first points of the bout. Christensen took on Collin French, winning in a 3-1 decision for the first win for the Huskies in program history over Rider.
 
The Huskies take a two-week break from action, returning to the mat on Dec. 7 as they travel to compete at the Cougar Clash. Action is set to take at 10 a.m. in Edwardsville, Illinois.
 
Results
 
125: Blake West (Northern Illinois) over Will Betancourt (Rider) (MD 8-0)
133: Markel Baker (Northern Illinois) over Nieko Malone (Rider) (MD 19-5)
141: Jacob Brya (Northern Illinois) over McKenzie Bell (Rider) (Dec 7-5)
149: Sammy Alvarez (Rider) over Collin Arch (Northern Illinois) (Dec 7-1)
157:  Colton Washleski (Rider) over Landen Johnson (Northern Illinois) (MD 17-6)
165: Enrique Munguia (Rider) over Brett Smith (Northern Illinois) (Dec 5-4)
174: Michael Wilson (Rider) over Jake Evans (Northern Illinois) (MD 17-3)
184: Isaac Dean (Rider) over Spencer Steiner (Northern Illinois) (TF 20-4 6:41)
197: Spencer Mooberry (Northern Illinois) over Steyn De Lange (Rider) (Fall 6:05)
285: Jacob Christensen (Northern Illinois) over Collin French (Rider) (Dec 3-1)
 
NIU 20, Rider 19