Wrestling | February 23
DeKALB, Ill.—A historic night for the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling program as the Huskies defeated the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Cougars, 22-13. With the win, the Huskies won the Mid-American Conference West Division title and achieved the first undefeated season at home in over 20 years.
Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) completed an undefeated season, the first of his career.
The Huskies have won the last 11 meetings between the two programs.
"Tonight was a hard fought, up and down the lineup, team victory," said NIU head coach
Ryan Ludwig. "To have an undefeated season at home and win the MAC west, it is a testament to how hard the guys have worked since stepping foot on campus this fall. The work isn't done yet and we will continue to prepare for the MAC Championships."
West opened the scoring for the Huskies, taking to the mat at 125 pounds. West faced off against Davian Guanajuato and won in a 4-3 decision. West improves to 24-5 overall, 15-0 in duals, and 8-0 against MAC opponents.
Michael Kaminski (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) won his match at 133, taking down Marcel Lopez in a 5-3 decision.
Jacob Brya (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) had the largest early victory for the Huskies at 141 pounds. Brya defeated Almarinez in a 7-3 decision.
Tulga Zuunbayan (Mongolia/Rolling Meadows) got his second major decision victory this season at 157 pounds. Zuunbayan defeated Caine Tyus, 13-3.
At 174 pounds,
Ricardo Salinas (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) moved to 4-3 in MAC duals. Salinas defeated Dominic Lopez in an 8-4 decision.
Jacobi Jackson (St. Louis, Mo./Desmet Jesuit) has clinched several duals for the Huskies and pinned Dan McKiernan in 1:33 for the Huskie victory.
In the only ranked match on the evening, No. Caleb Tyus defeated No. 31
Jaivon Jones (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Nordonia) in a 5-0 decision.
Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) fell at 165 pounds, dropping an 8-4 decision to Bradley Gillum. The Huskies dropped consecutive matches at 184 and 197 pounds, as
Matt Zuber (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) fell in a sudden victory (SV-1, 4-1) and
Sean Carroll (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) dropped an 11-2 major decision.
The Huskies will compete at the 2024 Mid-American Conference Championships, March 8-9, as Kent State will host.
Rankings Check
Three Huskies are represented in the
NCAA Coaches' poll, released on February 15 with West at 125 pounds, Jones at 149 pounds, and Jackson at 285 pounds, receiving recognition. West comes in at No. 32, Jones sits at No. 31, and Jackson lands at No. 28 in the polls.
West and Jackson also received ranks spots in this week's
Intermat poll. West sits at No. 33 at 125 pounds while Jackson comes in at No. 32. Zuber received rankings in the Intermat poll at 184 pounds, landing at No. 33. Jackson is also represented in the
FloWrestling poll, sitting at No. 28.
The Huskies are ranked No. 11 in the
NWCA Mid-Major Poll (released on February 14) and are receiving votes in the
NWCA Coaches Poll, released on February 20.
MAC Standings
| East Division |
Record |
West Division |
Record |
| Rider |
8-0 |
NIU |
7-1 |
| Cleveland State |
6-3 |
Central Michigan |
6-1 |
| Lock Haven |
4-4 |
Buffalo |
4-3 |
| Clarion |
4-5 |
Ohio |
3-3 |
| George Mason |
3-4 |
SIUE |
3-4 |
| Edinboro |
1-7 |
Kent State |
1-8 |
| Bloomsburg |
0-8 |
|
|
Results
125:
Blake West (NIU) over Davian Guanajuato (SIUE) (Dec 4-3)
133: Mikey Kaminski (NIU) over Marcel Lopez (SIUE) (Dec 5-3)
141:
Jacob Brya (NIU) over Eric Almarinez (SIUE) (Dec 7-3)
149: Caleb Tyus (SIUE) over
Jaivon Jones (NIU) (Dec 5-0)
157: Munktulga Zuunbayan (NIU) over Caine Tyus (SIUE) (MD 13-4)
165: Bradley Gillum (SIUE) over
Tommy Bennett (NIU) (Dec 8-4)
174:
Ricardo Salinas (NIU) over Dominic Lopez (SIUE) (Dec 8-4)
184: Deron Pulliam (SIUE) over
Matt Zuber (NIU) (SV-1 4-1)
197: Ryan Yarnell (SIUE) over
Sean Carroll (NIU) (MD 11-2)
285:
Jacobi Jackson (NIU) over Dan McKiernan (SIUE) (Fall 1:33)
NIU 22, SIUE 13
