"It was a good night for us," said NIU head coach Dave Grant. "Guys put it on the line and wrestled hard. We had quite a few takedowns and a good attitude tonight. We wrestled real well and our intensity was good. Guys went out to wrestle tonight. We have some good momentum and we need to continue it on this weekend. Overall, we had some great performances."
Heavyweight Joe Sapp (Mahomet / Mahomet-Seymour) got the evening off
to a good start for the visiting Huskies. The No. 20 ranked wrestler gave Northern Illinois a 3-0 lead when he took down EMU freshman Jake Wood. No. 12 ranked Pat Castillo (Western Springs / LaGrange Lyons Twp.) kept the momentum going for the Huskies defeating Eastern Michigan's best wrestler No. 17 ranked Sean Clair. Castillo took home a 7-5 victory over the ranked freshman foe and extended the Huskies lead to six.
Eastern Michigan would bounce back to tie the dual meet at 6-6 after Phillip Plowman pinned Chad Vandiver (Roscoe / Harlem). 133-pounds has been a difficult class for Coach Grant to find success in this season, and despite the loss Northern Illinois did not loose momentum as senior Josh Wooton (Urbana, OH / Graham) came to the canvas for the Huskies. The No. 12 ranked wrestler in nation at 141-pounds, Wooton easily handled his opponent earning NIU's lone major decision of the night with a 15-3 victory over Nick Conklin. Wooton currently holds the Huskies longest winning streak at seven and closed his Mid-American Conference career dual meet record at a stellar 19-1, with his lone defeat coming during his freshman season.
No. 14 ranked Mike Grimes (Villa Park / Lombard Montini) continued his winning ways marking the ninth time this season that both he and Wooton have won in the same dual meet. Grimes improved his record to 21-7 overall and 4-1 in Mid-Am action after his 4-3 decision over Jermain Thompson. With a 13-6 lead, 157-pounder Aaron Owen (Carlsbad, NM) picked up his sixth victory of the season and his second in a row to extend the NIU lead. Owen's 8-2 decision, and more importantly his return to form after struggling with nagging injuries, fills one of only a few holes in the NIU starting 10. 165-pounder Johnny Galloway's (Iowa City, IA) 6-3 decision and 174-pounder Danny Burk's (Peoria / Notre Dame) 11-5 win put the Huskies up 22-6 with only matches remaining. Burk improved his record to 18-9 overall and 3-2 in MAC action. Burk has a good chance to become the fifth Huskie to reach the 20 win plateau this season and join, Castillo, Wooton, Grimes, and Sapp at that mark.
Alex Nelson (Portage, WI / Turner) returned to the lineup for the Northern Illinois Thursday (Feb. 16) night. The senior who normally wrestles at 165-pounds went up two weight classes and earned a 9-3 decision in the 184-pound bout for NIU.
Rounding out the evening's competition was 197-pounder Derek Hunsinger's (El Paso) victory over Tony Lyssiotis. Hunsinger's 10-6 decision gave the Huskies a 28-6 victory and improved Hunsinger's record to 2-1 in Mid-American competition.
Northern Illinois returns to the mats for its final two dual meets of the season Sunday (Feb. 19) when it travels to Charleston, IL to square off with Eastern Illinois University and the University of Northern Colorado at 2:00 p.m. (CST). Following the duals the Huskies will have almost two weeks to rest before hosting the Mid-American Conference Championship at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, IL, on March 3rd and 4th.
No. 24 Northern Illinois 28 at Eastern Michigan 6
285: #20 Joe Sapp (NIU), def. Jake Wood (EMU), 8-3, 3-0 NIU
125: #13 Pat Castillo (NIU), def. #17 Sean Clair (EMU), 7-5, 6-0 NIU
133: Phillip Plowman (EMU), pinned Chad Vandiver (NIU), 1:25, 6-6
141: #12 Josh Wooton (NIU), maj. dec. Nick Conklin (EMU), 15-3, 10-6 NIU
149: #14 Mike Grimes (NIU), def. Jermain Thompson (EMU), 4-3, 13-6 NIU
157: Aaron Owen (NIU), dec. Quinn Guernsey (EMU), 8-2, 16-6 NIU
165: Johnny Galloway (NIU), def. Chad Roush (EMU), 6-3, 19-6 NIU
174: Danny Burk (NIU), def. Josh Lewis (EMU), 11-5, 22-6 NIU
184: Alex Nelson (NIU), def. John McClure (EMU), 9-3, 25-6 NIU
197: Derek Hunsinger (NIU), def. Tony Lyssiotis (EMU), 10-6, 28-6 NIU
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