Wrestling | March 18

DeKALB, Ill— Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) and Devon Dawson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Goddard) are set to make their first appearances and represent the Northern Illinois University Huskies at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Action will take place at Rocket Arena, March 19-21.
 
The first session begins on March 19 at 11 a.m. CT with preliminary rounds and first matches before the second session begins at 6 p.m. CT. A full schedule can be found at NCAA Wrestling Championship Central. All matches throughout the championship will be available on the ESPN family of networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+).
 
Baker earned the No. 8 seed at 133 pounds — the highest seed by a Huskie since Brit Wilson received the No. 7 seed at 184 pounds in 2021. Bryce West was the Huskies last qualifier at 133 pounds, qualifying for the 2021 tournament. Baker was an alternate for the 2025 tournament and did not compete.
 
Dawson earned the No. 11 seed at 285, earning the Huskies first qualifier at 285 pounds since Max Ihry in 2020. Dawson will make his first NCAA appearance as a Huskie, having previously competed at the NJCAA level for Pratt Community College. 
 
Baker became NIU's first MAC champion at 133 pounds since 2016 when Austin Eicher won the title and first consecutive title since 2022-23 for the Huskie wrestling program. Baker's first round opponent will be a rematch of the 2026 title bout as he takes on Will Betancourt of Rider. Baker posted a 2-1 decision on March 7 to claim the title. Baker is currently on a 15-match win streak and has defeated four ranked opponents this season.
 
Dawson earned NIU's second conference title at 285 pounds when he defeated Bryson Bukh of SIUE, 12-8. Dawson is the only Huskie ranked in four polls with his highest coming from Intermat at No. 19. Dawson put together a 31-5 season and has not dropped a match since January 9 against Harvard. This season, Dawson claimed seven wins over ranked opponents. Dawson's opening match will come against Trevor Tinker of Cal Poly.
 
With Baker and Dawson qualifying for the national tournament, NIU extends their streak of at least one NCAA qualifier to 55-straight years and the third straight year of two wrestlers qualifying. This dates to 1972 when Larry Johnson earned All-America honors by taking fifth.

NIU has two national champions in its history, with Roy Conrad winning the Division I title in 1960 at 177 and Neal McDonald earning the Division II championship in 1965.
 
Catch all things NIU Wrestling by following the team on Facebook (NIU Wrestling), X/Twitter (@NIUWrestling), and on Instagram (@NIU_Wrestling).