Wrestling | March 20
PHILADELPHIA—A pair of Huskies were in action today (March 20) as the Northern Illinois University wrestling program opened competition at the 2025 NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee), who was the No. 16 seed heading into the tournament, saw action in two bouts today at 125 pounds.
Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) saw action in three bouts at 157 pounds before being eliminated from the tournament.
Both West and Johnson faced the top-seeded wrestler in their weight class.
"We are proud of the way the guys are competing. They both got a good start today (and) we look forward to getting after it again tomorrow with Blake," said NIU head coach
Ryan Ludwig.
West faced off against No. 17 seeded-Max Gallagher of Penn in his first match, a rematch of the semifinal match from the Midlands Championships in December. Gallagher grabbed the first take down before West collected a pair of escapes and a takedown of his own. Gallagher had a late reversal to tie the bout at five but West had secured ride time for the win. In the round of 16 bout, West faced off against the No. 1 seed, Luke Lilledahl of Penn State. West fell in a 19-3 technical fall to Lilledahl as he moved to the consolation bracket.
In his first bout, Johnson was down early against Richard Fedalen of Columbia. Johnson earned a four-point nearfall late in the second period before capturing the ride time point for the 5-3 decision in his first match of the day. Johnson faced off against the top-seeded Tyler Kasak of Penn State in his second match, dropping the bout via fall (1:39). In the first consolation round, Johnson took on DJ McGee of George Mason and exited the tournament after a 3-2 decision.
Action continues for West at the NCAA Championship on March 21 at 11 a.m. CT.
Results
125: Blake West (23-6) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Blake West (NIU) 23-6 won by decision over Max Gallagher (Pennsylvania) 26-9 (Dec 6-5)
- Champ. Round 2 - Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) 21-2 won by tech fall over Blake West (NIU) 23-6 (TF-1.5 6:53 (19-3))
133: Markel Baker (0-0) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.
157: Landen Johnson (17-13) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points.
- Prelim - Landen Johnson (NIU) 17-13 won by decision over Richard Fedalen (Columbia) 20-15 (Dec 5-3)
- Champ. Round 1 - Tyler Kasak (Penn State) 19-1 won by fall over Landen Johnson (NIU) 17-13 (Fall 1:39)
- Cons. Round 1 - DJ McGee (George Mason) 22-6 won by decision over Landen Johnson (NIU) 17-13 (Dec 3-2)
