Wrestling | January 23

DeKALB, Ill.— A pair of close battles inside NIU's Victor E. Court as the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling team defeated Kent State and Ohio in Mid-American Conference duals this evening. The Huskies (7-5, 3-0 MAC) defeated the Golden Flashes of Kent State (5-5, 1-3 MAC), 19-17, before handing the Bobcats of Ohio (4-3, 1-2 MAC) a 20-17 loss.

NIU has won the last seven meetings against Kent State and the last four matches against Ohio.
 
Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) had one of the biggest upsets as he defeated Ohio's Garrett Thompson at 174 pounds. Bennett posted a 6-5 decision win over No. 13/10 Thompson.
 
"We need to create more offense. The fact that we were able to dig it out and win some close ones and get some upsets, makes me proud," said NIU Head Coach Ryan Ludwig. "A lot of tonight was us chasing and pursuing our offense and closing the gap. Tommy beat a highly ranked opponent at 174 from Ohio. I thought Deuce (Curtis) and Markel wrestled well tonight going 2-0."
 
Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee), Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport), Charles Curtis (Canton, Ohio/Perry), Brett Smith (Troy, Mo./Buchanan), and Devon Dawson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Goddard) all went 2-0 in action this evening.
 
Smith got the first win of the evening for the Huskies against the Golden Flashes as his bout at 165 went into sudden victory. Smith got a takedown in the second overtime period to win 4-1. The Golden Flashes won three matches in a row, including a technical fall and fall win.
 
Dawson, who is ranked No. 20/24, was the second Huskie to see their match go to sudden victory. Dawson outlasted NR/No. 32 Brentan Simmerman in the only bout to feature a pair of ranked opponents via a 7-4 decision. West, who lands in the rankings at No. 30/22, posted a 5-2 decision in his match against Nico Calello. Baker, No. 29/16, added the third straight victory for NIU, defeating Nick Molchak in a 4-2 decision.
 
Curtis put the Huskies within won with a major decision over Landen Duncan. In the deciding match, Collin Arch (Palmyra, Mo./Palmyra) took on Silas Stits. Arch outlasted Stits, claiming the 7-3 decision at 149 pounds.
 
In the second match of the evening, Smith got the first win for the Huskies in a defensive battle against Jack Lledo. Smith posted a 2-0 decision at 165 pounds before Bennett took the mat against No. 13/10 Thompson.
 
Ohio took the next two bouts against the Huskies via technical fall as they took a 14-6 lead over the Huskies. Dawson earned his second technical fall of the season, defeating Wyatt Schmitt 23-6, 5:45. West had his second defensive battle of the night, posting a 10-4 decision at 125 pounds.

Baker added a 10-3 decision at 133 pounds for the Huskies while Curtis had the final win of the evening for NIU, defeating Kolton Barker in a 4-2 decision.
 
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