Wrestling | March 20

CLEVELAND-- Northern Illinois University's Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) and Devon Dawson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Goddard) battled on the second day of the NCAA Division I Championships in Cleveland before their tournament runs came to an end on Friday.
 
"We are proud of the way Markel and Devon represent the program. They embody the spirit of this program in the way they live and compete," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig.
 
Baker competed in the quarterfinals this morning, taking on the top-seeded Jax Forrest of Oklahoma State. Forrest snapped Baker's 17-match win streak, with a 18-3 technical fall loss (2:38).
 
In the blood round, Baker faced the No. 13 seed Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska. The duo battled as Van Dee prevailed in a 2-1 decision as Baker exited the tournament. Baker finishes the season with a record of 28-6.
 
In the consolation round this morning, Dawson battled Braxton Amos of Wisconsin. Amos, the No. 12 seed, posted an 11-1 major decision over Dawson. Dawson finished the season with a record of 32-7.
 
This season, the NIU Huskies posted a dual record of 9-7, went 4-2 in MAC action, and finished second in the MAC West. Baker and Dawson each claimed individual MAC titles on March 7 and extended NIU's streak to 55-years of a Huskie at the national tournament.
 
NIU earned conference wrestler of the week honors six times this season as Baker and Dawson accounted for four of those. Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) broke the NIU school record for most career wins, ending his collegiate career with 119 wins.
 
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Results (Full)
 
133: Markel Baker place is unknown and scored 2.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Markel Baker (NIU) won by decision over Will Betancourt (Rider), Dec 8-1
• Champ. Round 2 - Markel Baker (NIU) won in sudden victory - 1 over Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado), SV-1 8-5
• Quarterfinal - Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) won by tech fall over Markel Baker (NIU), TF-1.5 2:38 (18-3)
• Cons. Round 4 - Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) won by decision over Markel Baker (NIU), Dec 2-1

 
285: Devon Dawson place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Devon Dawson (NIU) won by decision over Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), Dec 7-4
• Champ. Round 2 - Hunter Catka (Rutgers) won in tie breaker - 1 over Devon Dawson (NIU), TB-1 2-1
• Cons. Round 2 - Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) won by major decision over Devon Dawson (NIU), MD 11-1