Wrestling | December 29

EVANSTON, Ill.— Eight members of the Northern Illinois University wrestling program advanced to the second day of the 61^st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on December 30. Action began this morning (December 29) on the campus of Northwestern University for the annual non-conference tournament.
 
After day one, the Huskies sit sixth with 42.5 points and are represented in six weight classes heading into the final day.
 
Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) and Devon Dawson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Goddard) advanced to the semifinal rounds at 125 and 285 pounds respectively.
 
Advancing in the consolation bracket for the Huskies are Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport), Charles Curtis (Canton, Ohio/Perry), Collin Arch (Palmyra, Mo./Palmyra), Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna), Caleb Roe (Arab, Ala./Arab), and Sean Carroll (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas).
 
Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) advanced out of the morning session before falling in the second session.
 
On the day, the Huskies faced five ranked opponents (via Intermat).
 
Recapping Action
 
West opened his day with a bye before facing off against Ayden Bollinger of Indiana. West posted a 9-3 decision over Bollinger. In the quarterfinals, West took on James Garcia of Franklin & Marshall, winning in a 7-0 decision.
 
Dawson took on Ryan Boersma of Illinois in his first match, winning in a 2-1 decision. In the second round, Dawson faced SIUE's Jake Fernandez, winning via major decision (13-3). Rocco Dellagatta (Spartan Combat RTC) was Dawson's opponent in the quarterfinals as Dawson pinned Dellagatta in 3:49 to advance to the semifinals.
 
At 133 pounds, Baker opened his day with a technical fall win over Michigan's Teddy Flores. Baker dropped his next match, via a 9-6 decision, to Gabe Whisenhunt of Oregon State). In the second consolation round, Baker faced off against Chase DeBlaere of Oregon State, claiming his second technical fall win of the day. Baker took on fellow-MAC wrestler Cameron Chinavare (CMU) in the next round, winning in a 10-2 major decision.
 
In the 141 pound weight class, Curtis defeated Alec Peralta (SIUE) in the first match of the day in a 14-3 major decision. Curtis faced off against Briar Priest of Pitt in the next round, winning a tight decision, 14-12. In the quarterfinals, Curtis battled against Dylan Chappell of Bucknell, falling in a 12-4 major decision to move to the consolation bracket.
 
Arch received a bye in the opening round at 157 pounds before defeating Jack De Sena of Stanford in a 12-0 major decision. In the quarterfinals, Arch fell in a 4-2 decision to Kal Miller of Maryland as he moves to the consolation bracket.
 
Johnson started his day with an 8-5 decision win over Jagger French of Cal Poly at 157 pounds. Johnson pinned Gunnar Myers of Northwestern as he advanced to the quarterfinals. Johnson battled No. 33 Dylan Evans of Pitt, dropping the match as he advanced to the consolation bracket.
 
Roe received a bye in his first round at 184 pounds before taking on No. 15 Shane Cartegena-Walsh of Rutgers. Roe dropped the match against Cartegena-Walsh and went on to defeat Matt Kubas of Northwestern in a 17-10 decision. In the next round, Roe defeated Cole Han-Lindenmyer of Stanford in a 14-5 major decision to advance to Saturday's competition.
 
Wrestling unattached for the Huskies, Carroll posted a 4-2 decision over Aiden Fockler of CMU to start his day. Carroll defeated Northwestern's Gabe Christenson in a 4-1 decision before taking on Lucas Lawler of Bucknell in the quarterfinals. Carroll dropped the quarterfinal match via major decision as he advanced to the consolation bracket.
 
Action continues tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. CT with the semifinals and consolation rounds getting underway. The placement matches will take place beginning at 4 p.m. CT will all action happening on the Northwestern campus. More information about the tournament can be found here.
 
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