Wrestling | November 7

EAST LANSING, Mich.—Six members of the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling team placed at the Michigan State Open across both divisions of competition.
 
Tyler Turzinski (Savage, Minn./Shakopee) led the Huskies with a runner-up finish at 157 pounds in the Open Division.
 
Judah Heeg (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) made his collegiate debut, taking third place in the Freshman/Sophomore Division at 184 pounds.
 
Charles Curtis (Canton, Ohio/Perry) and Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) took fifth and sixth places at 149 and 133 pounds respectively in the Open Division.
 
In the Freshman/Sophomore Division, Logan Bender (Sunrise, Minn./Chisago Lakes) and Nick Strand (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) took fifth and sixth places at 285 and 149 pounds respectively.
 
"I thought it was great to get out here and see top-flight competition," said Ryan Ludwig, NIU head coach. "It was exactly what we were looking for. It was great to see Tyler make a splash and find his offense. Judah competes with a ton of heart and is growing exponentially. We'll take things from this and process things. We have tons of intel to break down and put into practice this as we take a step forward. Proud of the way these guys compete and represent NIU. We'll keep getting better each week."
 
Turzinski opened his day with a 12-1 major decision win over Kent State's Aidan Rush. Turzinski grabbed his first pin of the season, defeating Braden Stauffenberg of Michigan State (6:06). Turzinski added his second major decision win on the day over Blake Cosby of Michigan (11-2) before an 8-4 decision over Cooper Hilton of Michigan, 8-4, to reach the first place bout. Turzinski battled Haakon Peterson of Michigan, dropping the match via tie-breaker, 2-1.
 
Heeg started his day with a 7-1 decision win over Bradley Meyers of Grand Valley in the before falling to Elijah Hawes (Army Prep), in a 7-0 decision.  Heeg claimed his first collegiate pin, defeating Kaden Curry of VMI (0:24) before adding a major decision win over Martin Knight (Lake Erie College), 16-2. Heeg advanced to the third place match after a medical forfeit in the consolation semifinals before defeating Meyers for a second time, in a 4-2 decision.
 
After receiving an opening round bye, Curtis started his day with an 8-1 decision win over Evan Gosz of Michigan State. An 8-5 decision over Tyler Guerra of Indiana sent Curtis to the semifinals where he fell to Jordyn Raney (Oklahoma State). Curtis dropped his next bout, an 2-0 decision, before taking fifth place over Daniel Miranda of Arizona State.
 
Bender faced off against Cliff Nicholson of Ohio State in his opening round, claiming a 3-2 decision before earning a 9-1 major decision over Caleb Evans (Findlay). In the quarterfinals, Cael Lelsgang of Wisconsin posted a 7-1 decision over Bender. Bender had back-to-back pins over Lucas Stuerenburg of Lake Erie College (3:50) and Logan Tollison of Michigan State (2:10). Bender fell in an 11-0 major decision to Kal-El Flucklger of Arizona State before defeating Hunter Vander Heiden to claim the fifth place finish.
 
Baker defeated Joey Romano of Lake Erie College in a major decision (14-4) to start his day before claiming a sudden victory over Adrian Meza of Arizona State (SV-1, 4-1). In the semifinals, Moses Mendoza of Michigan bested Baker in an 8-6 decision. Baker dropped his next match to Massey Odiotti of Northwestern before falling in the fifth place match to Carter Peason of Iowa State in an 8-0 major decision.
 
Strand started his college career with a pin, defeating Eddie Kessen of Central Michigan in 4:29. A technical fall over Calvin Martz (Lake Erie College) sent Strand to the quarterfinals where he fell in a 10-3 decision to EJ Sheeran of VMI. Strand claimed a major decision over Frank Nitti of Wisconsin before dropping a 4-3 decision to Wyatt Lees of Michigan. Sheeran and Strand met again in the fifth place match, which Strand taking the sixth place finish.
 
The Huskies return to action on Nov. 15 as they host Bellarmine in the home opener. Action will take place at DeKalb High School (501 W Dresser Rd) and will get underway at 12 p.m.
 
Stay up-to-date on all NIU Wrestling news by following the team on Facebook (NIU Wrestling), X/Twitter (@NIUWrestling), and on Instagram (@NIU_Wrestling).