Wrestling | January 31

CLEVELAND, Ohio—Four of the first five bouts featured bonus points for the Huskies as the Northern Illinois University wrestling program defeated the Cleveland State University Vikings, 29-14.
 
The Huskies move to 4-3 on the year and 4-1 in MAC duals. This is the Huskies fifth straight win against the Vikings.
 
"The guys came out strong tonight and kept their foot on the gas," noted NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "Brya and Johnson came up big in pinning their opponents. It was nice to see Bennett and Carroll grind out some gritty matches."
 
Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) collected his sixth major decision win of the season as he defeated Ben Aranda 9-1 in the opening bout. West, who is ranked No. 12 by WrestleStat and No. 19 by Intermat, moves to 16-5 on the season and 5-0 in MAC duals.
 
Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) remains undefeated in conference action after he faced Jake Manley. Baker posted a 4-1 decision at 133 pounds, his third consecutive win.
 
Jacob Brya (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) collected his second fall of the season as he defeated Ethan Mitchell in 4:28.

At 149 pounds, Collin Arch (Palmyra, Mo./Palmyra) got his first major decision victory of the season over AJ Parish. Arch posted a 15-2 score as he collected his first conference win of the season.
 
At 157 pounds, Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) marked his seventh pin of the season and fastest pin. Johnson earned his victory in just 50 seconds over Douglas Terry.
 
Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) posted a 4-2 decision over Gavin Ricketts at 174 pounds.
 
The final Huskie victory came at 197 pounds as Sean Carroll (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) took on Joey Lyons. The bout went to sudden victory with Carroll posting a 4-1 win for his third MAC win.
 
Brett Smith (Troy, Mo./Buchanan) took on Tate Geiser in the 165-pound bout, falling in sudden victory, 4-1. Austin Stewart (Collinsville, Ill./Collinsville) faced off against JR Reed at 184 pounds, losing via technical fall. At the 285-pound bout, Jacob Christensen (Durham, Calif./Durham) took on No. 30 Daniel Bucknavich. Christensen was defeated via fall (1:57) as the Huskies claimed their fourth conference win of the season.
 
The Huskies return to action on February 7 as they host Buffalo in the NIU Convocation Center in the annual "Beauty and the Beast" dual. Action is set to get underway at 7 p.m. for the Huskies Senior Night.
 
Final Score
 
125: Blake West* (NIU) def. Ben Aranda (CSU), MD 9-1
133: Markel Baker (NIU) def. Jake Manley (CSU), Dec 4-1
141: Jacob Brya (NIU) def. Ethan Mitchell (CSU), Fall 4:28
149: Collin Arch (NIU) def. AJ Parish (CSU), MD 15-2
157: Landen Johnson (NIU) def. Douglas Terry (CSU), Fall 0:50
165: Tate Geiser (CSU) def. Brett Smith (NIU), SV-1, 4-1
174: Tommy Bennett (NIU) def. Gavin Ricketts (CSU), Dec 4-2
184: JR Reed (CSU) def. Austin Stewart (NIU), TF 18-0, 4:26
197: Sean Carroll (NIU) def. Joey Lyons (CSU), SV-1, 4-1
285: Daniel Bucknavich* (CSU) def. Jacob Christensen (NIU), Fall 1:57
 
Team Score
NIU: 29
CSU: 14
 
*Nationally Ranked