Wrestling | February 6

BUFFALO, NY—Winning the first three bouts with bonus points, the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling team (8-6, 4-1 MAC) defeated the Bulls of the University at Buffalo (3-10, 2-4 MAC). The Huskies posted a 29-11 victory over the Bulls, with seven of the ten bouts going NIU's way.
 
Tonight's bout featured four ranked wrestlers. NIU had three ranked wrestlers in Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee), Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport), and Devon Dawson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Goddard). West holds the No. 31 ranking via Intermat while Dawson sits at No. 20. Baker holds the No. 28 ranking via Intermat and is the highest ranked Huskie via WrestleStat at No. 15. The Bulls had one ranked grappler in Kaleb Burgess, who sits at No. 22 via Intermat.
 
"The guys came out firing tonight. They were pushing the pace and looking to score," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "We need to build on this to be at our best every time we take the mat."
 
West got his second major decision of the season, defeating Zachery Belverio, 12-1. West extends his win streak to five and moves to 114 career wins, ranking second in the NIU Wrestling record book.
 
Baker moves to ten straight wins as he claimed his fourth technical fall victory of the season. Baker defeated Troy Guerra 17-2 in just over three minutes as he remains undefeated in MAC action.
 
At 141 pounds, Charles Curtis (Canton, Ohio/Perry) took the mat against Tyler Roark. Curtis earned his sixth straight victory on the mat and his fifth major decision of the season, posting a 14-4 victory.
 
Collin Arch (Palmyra, Mo./Palmyra) and Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) took the mat at 149 and 157, dropping a pair of decision to the Bulls. Johnson faced Burgess, falling 9-5.
 
Brett Smith (Troy, Mo./Buchanan) won via injury default at 165 pounds before Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) earned an 8-6 decision at 174 for the Huskies.
 
Ian Smith (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./ Northwestern) stepped onto the mat at 184 pounds for the Huskies and got his first conference win. Smith added his first major decision of the season with an 11-0 win over Connor Scuilla.
 
The Huskies dropped the bout at 197 before Dawson took the mat in the heavyweight bout. Dawson earned his ninth straight win, defeating Magnus Bibla in a 5-1 decision.
 
NIU wrestling takes a break from conference action next week as they travel to Northwestern on February 13. Dual time is set for 7 p.m. in Evanston. The Huskies will conclude the regular season on February 20 as they host SIUE in the annual "Beauty and the Beast" dual.
 
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).