Wrestling | November 8

EAST LANSING, Mich.—Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) of the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling team captured the first place title at 133 pounds as the Huskies opened the 2025-26 season at the Michigan State Open.
 
Baker was one of eight Huskies to place in the top-6 as Tyler Turzniski (Savage, Minn./Shakopee) and Sean Carroll (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) claimed second places at 157 pounds and 285 pounds respectively. Turzinski was the only Huskie to place in the Freshman/Sophomore Division, a division reserved for those in their first two years of competition.
 
Devon Dawson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Goddard) took third at 285 pounds while Colin Young (Belvidere, Ill./Dubuque Wahlert) claimed fourth at 165 pounds. Caleb Roe (Arab, Ala./Arab) and Spencer Mooberry (Osage, Iowa/Osage) captured fifth place titles at 184 and 197 pounds while Jacob Brya (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) rounded out the Huskies with a sixth-place finish.
 
In total, the Huskies had 18 wins over P4 opponents on the day.
 
Baker saw only P4 opponents and opened with his day with a win over Carter Dibert (Arizona State). Baker posted a 15-8 decision over Blaine Fraizer of Indiana before a 7-2 decision over Massey Odiotti of Northwestern. In the first-place match, Baker defeated Jackson Blum of Indiana in a 4-2 decision.
 
Turzinski, who was one of four Huskies to compete in the Freshman/Sophomore division, began his day with a win over Mason Stewart of Michigan State (Decision 10-3). Turzinski posted a 6-4 win over Garrett McChesney of Edinboro before falling the first-place match to Justin Gates of Michigan in a 7-3 decision.
 
Carroll captured a win via fall to open his day before defeating Ryan Boersma of Illinois in a 5-1 decision. Carroll defeated Bryan Caves of Central Michigan in an 8-1 decision before facing off against Dawson. Carroll fell in the first-place match to Carter Blough of GVSU in a 7-3 decision.
 
Dawson opened his day with a win over Dirk Morely of Northwestern, winning via major decision 20-7. Dawson claimed a second consecutive major decision win over Simon Lato of Central Michigan (14-3) before defeating Max Vanadia of Michigan State in sudden victory. Dawson met fellow Huskie Carroll in the semifinal match, falling in a 4-2 decision. Dawson rebounded with a 7-2 win over Josh Terrill of Michigan State before taking on Vanadia in the third-place match.
 
Young dropped his opening match, an 11-4 decision to Jacob Bostelman of Northwestern, before claiming a 4-2 decision over Cole Hopkins of Central Michigan. Young posted wins over Jack Conley (Michigan State), Brett Smith (NIU), and e'Than Birden (Ohio) as he reached the third-place match. Young took on TJ Schierl of Ohio State, dropping the match via sudden victory, 4-1.
 
Roe opened his day against Roger Addison of Arizona State, falling in a 17-6 major decision. Following a bye, Roe posted a 16-0 (5:11) technical fall win over Trey Myers of Central Michigan as he would then defeat fellow Huskie Dominic Heim (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee). Roe advanced in the competition after a medical forfeit before falling to Holden Martin of Kent State, 8-5. In the fifth-place match, Roe faced Addison again, claiming the win.
 
Mooberry started his day with back-to-back wins over Damion Schunke (Arizona State) and Brayden Mirjavadi (GVSU) as he reached the semifinals at 197 pounds. Mooberry fell to Seth Shumate of Ohio State via fall and Luke Cochran of Central Michigan in an 8-1 decision to reach the fifth-place match. Mooberry took on Mirjavadi a second time, claiming the fifth-place spot with a 2-0 decision.
 
Brya started his day with wins over fellow MAC schools Central Michigan (Colin Kacena) and Kent State (Nathan Roth) as he reached the semifinals. Brya dropped a 5-1 decision to Michigan's Sergio Lemley before dropping a major decision (8-0) to No. 28 (Intermat) Sam Cartella of Northwestern. In the fifth-place match, Brya took on Clayton Jones of Michigan State, losing via fall.
 
Rankings
 
Baker has his highest ranking in the WrestleStat poll, at No. 26 was the only ranked Huskie to compete today. Baker holds the No. 28 spot in the Intermat poll and is ranked No. 30 in the College Wrestling Report and FloWrestling polls.
 
Dawson claimed an upset over Vanadia in the quarterfinals as Vanadia is ranked No.32 by the College Wrestling Report.
 
Brett Smith (Troy, Mo./Buchanan) had a ranked upset over No. 26 Chandler Amaker of Central Michigan at 165 pounds in his first match of the day.
 
The Huskies continue action on the road as they will compete at the Boilermaker Duals (Nov. 15), Bellarmine (Nov. 21) and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Tournament (Dec. 5-6). The Huskies home opener is set for December 19 against Oregon State.
 
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