Wrestling | March 7

TRENTON, New Jersey—Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) will wrestle in the 125-pound championship bout for the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling program as five Huskies advanced to the second day of the 2025 Mid-American Conference Championship.
 
Joining West in action tomorrow are Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) at 133 pounds, Collin Arch (Palmyra, Mo./Palmyra) at 149 pounds, Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) at 157 pounds, and Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice)

In the team standings, the Huskies currently sit in seventh place with 30 points. 

"It's great to see Blake get through to the finals (after) competing well today," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "(There is) still a lot of work to in this tournament heading into tomorrow."
 
After receiving an opening round bye in the 125-pound bracket, No. 13 West notched his 20th win of the season, taking down Max Elton of Buffalo. West claimed his ninth major decision win of the season, winning 11-0. In the semifinal match, West faced off against Drew Davis (SIUE) in a rematch from the regular season finale. West, the No. 1 seed, posted a 5-0 decision victory to advance to the championship match for a second consecutive year.
 
Baker, who is No. 32 in WrestleStat rankings, claimed his fourth major decision victory over the season in the opening round at 133 pounds, defeating Adan Benavidez of Kent State, winning 16-2. Baker, who was the No. 3 seed, posted a 2-0 decision in the quarterfinals against Marcel Lopez of SIUE to advance to the semifinals. Baker fell in a 3-2 decision to No. 30 Sean Spidle of Central Michigan to move to the consolation bracket.
 
Arch, who was unseeded at 149 pounds, lost via technical fall in the opening round to No. 25 Kaden Cassidy of George Mason. Arch had a bye in the first consolation round before posted a 6-1 decision over No. 33 Billy Meiszner, the No. 4 seed, to advance to Saturday's action.
 
Johnson, who was the No. 5 seed at 157 pounds, received an opening round bye before facing off against No. 26 Nicholas Stampoulos of Lock Haven in the quarterfinals. Johnson trailed most of the bout, came from behind to win in a 10-6 decision. Johnson took on the top-seeded No. 13 Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan in the semifinals, dropping a technical fall victory in the bout.
 
Unseeded at 174 pounds, Bennett dropped his opening match to Ronald Dimmerling of Cleveland State (Fall 6:09). Bennett bounced back, grabbing his second major decision win of the season over Nick Foster of Bloomsburg (15-3). Bennett had a thrilling sudden victory decision over Rafael Kanpp of Buffalo (SV-1, 4-1) to advance to the third consolation round.
 
Jacob Brya (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) had the No. 5 seed at 141 pounds and opening his action with a bye. In the quarterfinals, Danny Martinez posted a 7-2 decision over Brya. Brya dropped a 5-4 decision to Braden Placko of Rider in the consolation round as he exited the tournament.
 
Representing the Huskies at 165 pounds, Brett Smith (Troy, Mo./Buchanan) dropped a 6-2 decision to Caden Dobbins of Lock Haven in the first round. Smith received a first consolation round bye before falling in the second round to Hunter Shaut of Buffalo in an 8-2 decision.
 
Austin Stewart (Collinsville, Ill./Collinsville) represented NIU at 184 pounds and opened his day against the top-seeded Isaac Dean of Rider. Dean, who is ranked No. 20 by WrestleStat, defeated Stewart via technical fall. Stewart faced Kent State's Holden Martin in his second match, falling via technical fall to end his tournament.
 
Sean Carroll (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) held the No. 7 seed at 197 pounds and had an opening round bye. Carroll took on Luke Cochran (Central Michigan) in the quarterfinals, dropping a 5-2 decision. In the second consolation round, Carroll dropped a 2-1 decision to Lonnell Owens-Pabon (Buffalo) as he ended his tournament.
 
At 285 pounds, Jacob Christensen (Durham, Calif./Durham) faced off against George Mason's James Blackman in the opening round, losing via fall. After a bye in the first consolation round, Christensen dropped a 4-0 decision in the second round to Bryan Caves of Central Michigan.
 
Fans can view live streaming and live results and more can be found at the 2025 MAC Championship Central.
 
Action begins at 10:30 AM CT with the consolation quarterfinal round inside the CURE Insurance Arena. The championship match will take place at 2 PM CT.