Wrestling | February 8
DeKALB, Ill.—Returning home for the final two duals of the regular season, the Northern Illinois University Huskies (11-2, 5-1 MAC) wrestling program is set to take on Lock Haven University on Friday, February 9. Action is set to begin at 7 p.m. in the NIU Convocation Center as the NIU Gymnastics program will hold a quadrangular meet in the annual "Beauty and the Beast" dual.
Fans are invited to stay post-match for an autograph session with the team.
Lock Haven enters Friday's dual with a 6-9 overall record and a 3-2 record in the MAC. Lock Haven's MAC wins have come over Clarion, George Mason, and Bloomsburg. The Bald Eagles have fallen to Rider and Buffalo in MAC action. The Bald Eagles have won three of their last five duals.
The Huskies have a 2-2 record against Lock Haven, with the last meeting coming during the 2011-2012 season. The Huskies were victorious in that meeting, winning the dual 22-16.
Jacobi Jackson (St. Louis, Mo./Desmet Jesuit) earned MAC Co-West Wrestler of the Week honors as announced by the league office on Tuesday. Jackson was the final Huskie to wrestle against Buffalo in the last outing and sealed the Huskies fourth consecutive victory. This was Jackson's first career honor from the MAC as he improved to 11-4 on the season.
The Huskies have reached 11 wins in a single season for the tenth time in program history, with the last time being in 2019-20 (13-4 overall).
Rankings Check
In the
NCAA Coaches' Rankings, released on January 22, the Huskies saw three wrestlers land spots inside the top-33.
Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) sits at No. 33 at 125 pounds,
Jaivon Jones (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Nordonia) lands at No. 30 at 149 pounds, and Jackson rounds out the Huskies at No. 26 at 285 pounds.
West and Jackson also collect rankings from
Intermat wrestling. West enters the poll at No. 32 at 125 pounds, while Jackson moves to No. 32 in the heavyweight division. Jackson lands at No. 29 in the
FloWrestling rankings and Jones receives recognition from
WrestleStat at No. 24 at 149 pounds.
There will be two sets of ranked matches on Friday night, occurring in the 125, and 149 weight classes. Anthony Noto (125 pounds) enters the NCAA rankings at No. 8 and is ranked by Intermat, and WrestleStat. The other ranked bout will be at 149 pounds as Nick Stonecheck is ranked by WrestleStat at 23.
As of the January 31 release, the Huskies come in at No. 14 in the
National Wrestling Coaches Association Mid-Major poll.
Looking at the MAC
The Huskies lead the MAC West with a 5-1 conference record in dual competitions. The remaining MAC West opponent for the Huskies is SIU Edwardsville will take place on February 23.
Lock Haven sits at No. 3 in the MAC East as Rider leads the East Division.
The 2024 MAC Championships will take place March 8-9 in Kent, Ohio.
Standings as of February 8, 2024
East Division
| Rider |
6-0 |
| Clarion |
3-2 |
| Lock Haven |
3-2 |
| Cleveland State |
2-2 |
| George Mason |
3-4 |
| Bloomsburg |
0-6 |
| Edinboro |
0-5 |
West Division
| NIU |
5-1 |
| Central Michigan |
3-1 |
| SIU Edwardsville |
3-2 |
| Buffalo |
3-2 |
| Ohio |
1-3 |
| Kent State |
1-4 |
