Wrestling | December 20

KENT, OHIO—Camren French (Mattoon, Ill./Mariner) claimed a first-place finish at 125 pounds as the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling squad competed at the Kent State Open on Dec. 20.
 
French was one of several Huskies to place at the open and was joined in the top 4 by Brody Hallin (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) as Hallin claimed fourth at 157 pounds.
 
Lucan O'Brien (Lakewood, Ohio/St. Edwards) and Tyler Schofield (Olivet, Mich./Olivet) grabbed fifth place finishes at 149 and 165 pounds respectively as they wrestled unattached at the open.
 
Ian Smith (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) grabbed a sixth-place finish at 197 pounds for the Huskies.
 
How It Happened

French opened his day, defeating Tyeler Hagensen (Unattached-Kent State) with a major decision at 9-1. French posted a 15-1 major decision over Matthew Dolan (Unattached-West Virginia) before defeating Tyler Chappell (Unattached-Pitt) in an 8-4 decision. In the championship bout, French defeated Kent State's Nico Calello in an 8-2 decision to claim the victory.
 
After opening his day with a bye, Hallin posted victories over Darius Marines (Unattached-Michigan State), a 4-3 decision, and Keegan Knapp (Kent State), a 4-3 decision. Logan Swaw (Unattached-Illinois) handed Hallin his first loss of the day, a 5-0 decision.
 
O'Brien started action at 149 pounds with a bye as his first win of the day came against Joe Sentipal (Unattached-Lock Haven) in a technical fall, 21-4. Kyle Schickel of Clarion handed O'Brien his lone loss of the day, a technical fall 17-1. O'Brien defeated Thomas Bock of Kent State via major decision (11-3) and Eli Carr (Bears Regional Training Center) in a 7-3 decision. In the fifth-place match, O'Brien defeated Colin Roberts (Unattached-Edinboro) via fall (2:37).
 
At 165 pounds. Schofield defeated Wesley Barnes of Clarion via major decision 11-1. Schofield's lone loss of the day came at the hands of Christopher Minto of Nebraska, a technical fall loss (18-3). Schofield defeated Brady Worthing of Clarion in a 9-4 decision before besting Shermuhammad Sadriddinov (Unattached-Clarion) in a major decision (12-2). Schofield met Barnes again in the fifth-place match, posting an 8-1 decision to claim fifth.
 
Smith fell to Ethan Wiant (Clarion) in the first round, a 5-1 decision) before getting his first win of the day over Eli Markel (Unattached-Edinboro) in a 6-1 decision. Smith posted a major decision over Mason Ellis (Unros) at 17-4 before taking down Xander Myers (Unattached-Cleveland State) in a 4-2 decision. In the fifth-place bout, Brad Morrison (Unattached-Pitt Johnstown) defeated Smith with a fall (2:19).
 
With one more tournament to close out the 2024 calendar year, the Huskies will compete at the 60th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, December 29-30. Action will take place in Hoffman Estates at the NOW Arena.