Wrestling | December 7
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.—Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) and
Jacob Brya (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) captured third place finishes for the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling program as the Huskies competed at the Cougar Clash, hosted by SIUE on Saturday (Dec. 7).
West opened his day with a win over Brandon Morvari on Minnesota in a 4-0 decision before defeating Davian Guanajuato of SIUE in a 5-0 decision. West dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 5 Stevo Poulin of Northern Colorado before getting back on track with a 7-1 win over Damion Ryan of Bellarmine. In the third-place match, West defeated No. 14 Noah Surtin via fall (5:31).
Brya opened his day with a bye in the first round before defeating Rhett Koenig of Minnesota in a technical fall (TF-1.5, 15-0, 7:00). Brya dropped an 11-5 decision to No. 18 Josh Edmond of Missouri before winning over SIUE's Ben Lunn in an 8-3 decision. To claim the third-place finish, Brya defeated Easton Hilton of Missouri in a major decision (15-5).
At 133 pounds,
Lucian Brink (Coshocton, Ohio/Coshocton) represented the Huskies and finished in sixth place. Brink fell in a major decision to Kade Moore of Missouri before winning over Trayce Eckman. Brink fell in a major decision to Andrew Crapps of Missouri as he faced Marcel Lopez (SIUE) in the fifth-place match. Lopez posted a 2-1 decision over Brink as Brink took sixth.
Brett Smith (Troy, Mo./Buchanan) took fifth place at 165 pounds for the Huskies after dropping his opening match to Blaine Brenner of Minnesota. Smith captured back-to-back wins over Nico Lozano of Little Rock and Caden Ernd of Illinois before meeting Brenner in the consolation semifinal match. Smith took on Bradley Gillum of SIUE in the fifth-place match, claiming a 2-1 decision victory.
Representing NIU at 285 pounds,
Jacob Christensen (Durham, Calif. / Durham) opened his day with a 4-2 decision over Marko Ivanisevic of Illinois in the quarterfinals. Missouri's Jarrett Stoner won in sudden victory over Christensen. Daulton Mayer of Bellarmine defeated Christensen by fall before Christensen posted a 4-2 decision over Little Rock's Keith Miley in the fifth-place match.
Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) and
Brody Hallin (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) placed in the 157-pound bracket. Johnson captured the fifth-place spot while Hallin claimed the final spot on the podium. Johnson had wins over Cody Wagner of Little Rock (Fall 5:51) and Ryan Bennett of Illinois (TF-1.5 4:22, 16-1). Johnson faced No. 13 Vince Zerban of North Colorado twice on the day with Zerban taking both meetings. The duo met in the third round of the consolation bracket, with Johnson claiming a 6-4 decision. Additionally, Hallin claimed a win over Illinois' Charlie Fifield (Dec 7-3).
At 174 pounds,
Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria) claimed the seventh-place spot with a win over Kameron Phillips of Northern Colorado in the final match. Evans won by fall (3:53) for his lone victory on the day.
Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill. / Brother Rice) also competed at 174 pounds for the Huskies and claimed a 6-4 decision over Kodiak Cannedy of Little Rock on the day.
Spencer Mooberry (Osage, Iowa/Osage) represented NIU at 197 pounds and took seventh place after opening his day with a major decision over Evan Grazzini of Bellarmine. Mooberry fell to Andrew Donahue and Tyler Perry, both of Northern Colorado while defeating Kennedy Wyatt of Bellarmine in a 5-1 decision. In the seventh-place match, Mooberry won by fall (1:42) over Jesse Cassatt of Missouri.
Collin Arch (Palmyra, Mo./Palmyra) won by decision (8-6) over Zac Cowan of Bellarmine in the 149-pound bracket before dropping his next two matches.
Austin Stewart (Collinsville, Ill./Collinsville) represented NIU at 184 pounds while
Sean Carroll (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) saw action at 197 pounds.
As a team, the Huskies finished in fifth place in the eight-team field, just 1.5 points behind Bellarmine.
The NIU wrestling program will return to action on December 19 and 20 as they travel to Kent, Ohio. The Huskies and Golden Flashes will face off in a MAC dual on December 19 before competed at the Kent State Open on December 20.
*All Rankings used are Intermat Rankings, released on December 3, 2024
