Wrestling the Cougars (1-8, 0-3 SoCon) for the second consecutive season as part of the Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation Convention at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in the Illinois state capital of Springfield, the Huskies (4-5, 0-2 MAC) emerged victorious again - despite falling behind 12-0 after losing the first three matches.
NIU's chances looked dim when the Huskies then trailed 18-6 after seven bouts in the dual with SIUE on Saturday evening. However, with youth wrestlers from all over the state watching on as two Illinois college teams battled, the Huskies managed to pull off an incredible rally thanks to a pin by Alijah Jeffery (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) at 125 pounds scored six team points for NIU to make it 18-12, a major decision victory by Austin Eicher (Fenton, Mich./Hartland) at 133 closed the gap to 18-16 with one match remaining and No. 14 Steve Bleise (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) sealed the comeback with a dominating decision win at 141 pounds to lift NIU to victory.
NIU wrestling head coach Ryan Ludwig hailed the belief and execution of his lightweight wrestlers, who rescued the result for the Huskies at the end after the dual had started at 149 pounds.
"I give massive credit to our lightweights for getting it done," Coach Ludwig said after the dual. "Alijah ignited the fire with a fall, and Eicher and Bleise followed suit with high-energy wrestling."
Trace Engelkes (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) and No. 16 Shawn Scott (Holly, Mich./Holly) also recorded individual wins for the Huskies at 174 and 197 pounds, respectively, to keep NIU in the dual after the team had lost the opening three matches and fallen into a 12-0 deficit. Scott improved to 9-0 this season in duals after winning on Saturday night against 2015 NCAA Championships qualifier Jake Tindle to notch another quality victory.
Looking to build on the momentum of Saturday's sensational win, the NIU wrestling team has a chance tomorrow to get back to an even dual record this season when the Huskies (4-5) face another SoCon school in The Citadel (4-3, 1-0 SoCon) on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. downstate at SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill.
Results:
149 - John Fahy (SIUE) over Gabe Morse (NIU) (Dec 3-2)
157 - Eric Travers (SIUE) over Andrew Scott (NIU) (TF 19-3 6:56)
165 - Nate Higgins (SIUE) over Shaun`Qae McMurtry (NIU) (MD 12-2)
174 - Trace Engelkes (NIU) over Clayton Bass (SIUE) (Dec 7-2)
184 - Derek Nagel (SIUE) over Quinton Rosser (NIU) (Dec 8-2)
197 - No. 16 Shawn Scott (NIU) over Jake Tindle (SIUE) (Dec 5-3)
285 - Chris Johnson (SIUE) over Arthur Bunce (NIU) (Dec 7-1)
125 - Alijah Jeffery (NIU) over Joe Antonelli (SIUE) (Fall 1:18)
133 - Austin Eicher (NIU) over Dakota Leach (SIUE) (MD 15-3)
141 - No. 14 Steve Bleise (NIU) over John Muldoon (SIUE) (Dec 10-3)
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