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Trace Engelkes NCAA

Wrestling

Huskies Continue Historic Season

All Huskies still alive at NCAAs

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Five Huskies will move on to Day Two at NCAAs for the first time in the history of the program. 
 
"It's about belief, hustle, and grit. The guys came to compete," said head wrestling coach Ryan Ludwig. 
 
In the first session, three Huskies won their opening matches to advance to the Championship Round of 16 on the first day of the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo.  The second session saw two additional victories from those in the consolations brackets, allowing all five Huskies to continue on in the double-elimination format of the Championships.
 
 
Session One
Northern Illinois finished the first session in 19th place (with 5 team points). The Huskies were the fourth-highest Mid-American Conference team on the leaderboard behind Missouri (4th with 12 points) and Northern Iowa/Central Michigan (both tied for 12th with 8 points).
 
At 149-pounds, returning NCAA qualifier Steve Bleise (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) captured his first career NCAA win in a 5-3 decision. In the dual, Bleise was the first to put points on the board with a first-period takedown. His opponent, MAC foe Michael Hayes from Old Dominion, answered back with an escape to bring the score within one point. The second period saw the same trend, a takedown by Bleise and an escape from Hayes, keeping the score tight. However, Bleise secured the win with a third-period escape, moving on to the Round of 16.
 
In his NCAA debut, redshirt senior and MAC runner-up Trace Engelkes (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) had a come-from-behind win at 174-pounds with a pin in the third period. In the first period, Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) took a 2-0 lead over Engelkes with a takedown. However, before the period ended, Engelkes had an escape, closing the gap 2-1.  Engelkes earned a second escape at the start of the second, tying the score, 2-2. In the third period, Schleifer took the lead after a point from an escape before Engelkes finally unleashed.  The Huskie showed his strength with a huge throw, recording a pin in five minutes and 33 seconds.
 
Shawn Scott (Holly, Mich./Holly) won his first dual of the Championships with ease in a 9-2 decision. Scott recorded three takedowns over the course of the dual to give himself a commanding lead. The 7-point margin of victory was the third-largest for the Huskie this season.   
 
Brock Hudkins (Danville, Ind./Danville) was able to get a pair of points on the board against No. 5 Tim Lambert of Nebraska at 125-pounds, before dropping the dual in a 9-2 decision. Lambert started off the first period strong with a takedown and 2 nearfall points, but Hudkins got an escape point to end the period. Hudkins was awarded another escape point in the third-period, but ran out of time to close the gap.
 
Shaun'Qae McMurtry (Lockport, Ill./Nebraska) had a tough draw as he was paired up with the undefeated No. 1 seed, Isaiah Martinez from Illinois. McMurtry scored four points against the returning National Champion, but couldn't hold on as Martinez strung together a takedown coupled with four nearfall points. The dual ended in a 14-4 major decision.
 
 
Session Two
The Huskies finished the first day in 28th place with six team points, already doubling their total from last year's championships.
 
Starting off the wrestlebacks at 125, Brock Hudkins came back with vengeance to shut out Eastern Michigan's Noah Gonser. A first period takedown set the tone of the match for the true freshman as he went on to record three reversals, walking away with a 6-0 win.
 
In his second dual of the day, Shaun'Qae McMurtry fired back strong, finishing the day with a win over Cambell's Quentin Perez. The Huskie recorded four takedowns coupled with escape points to win in a convincing 10-4 decision.
 
At 149-pounds, Steve Bleise faced another MAC opponent, No. 3 Lavion Mayes of Missouri, in the Championship Round of 16. The two had a close dual, battling into overtime.  In the second tiebreaker period, Bleise elected to start in the neutral position, awarding Mayes an escape point.  Unable to secure a takedown, Bleise dropped the match in a 2-1 decision.
 
In the second session, Trace Engelkes was unable to capitalize on the momentum from his victory by pin earlier in the day.  In the Championship Round of 16, he fell to No. 2 Brian Realbuto by technical fall, 16-0.
 
Shawn Scott endured a tough loss in his second match of the day to No. 6 Preston Weigel in the Championship Round of 16. The Huskie started off the dual in a 2-0 deficit after a takedown by Weigel, but was able to come back and tie the score in the third period. After a controversial call at the buzzer that was contested, Weigel was awarded the victory with bonus points in a 3-2 decision.
 
"We all didn't get what we wanted today and now there's another battle to fight. You have to stay focused and have a short memory. There's a lot of wrestling still in front of us," said Ludwig.
 
All five Huskies will be back to compete again tomorrow in the consolation brackets, wrestling to earn the prestigious All-American honors. Wrestling begins at 10 am CST and can viewed on ESPN3 and ESPNU. Follow @NIUWrestling on Twitter for up-to-date results throughout the tournament.
 
 
 NIU Results
 
125 Brock Hudkins
No. 5 Tim Lambert (NEB) dec. Brock Hudkins (NIU) 9-2
Brock Hudkins (NIU) dec. Noach Gonser (EMU) 6-0
 
149 Steve Bleise
No. 14 Steve Bleise (NIU) dec. Michael Hayes (ODU) 5-3
No. 3 Levion Mayes (MIZZ) dec. No. 14 Steve Bleise (NIU) 2-1
 
165 Shaun'Qae McMurtry
No. 1 Isaih Martinez (ILL) maj. dec. Shaun'Qae McMurtry (NIU) 14-4
Shaun'Qae McMurtry (NIU) dec. Quentin Perez (CAMP) 10-4
 
174 Trace Engelkes
No. 15 Trace Engelkes (NIU) pin Jonathan Schleifer (PRIN) 5:33
No. 2 Brian Realbuto (COR) tech. fall Trace Engelkes (NIU) 16-0
 
197 Shawn Scott
No. 11 Shawn Scott (NIU) dec. Benjamin Honis (COR) 9-2
No. 6 Preston Weigel (OKST) dec. Shawn Scott (NIU) 3-2
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Players Mentioned

Steve Bleise

Steve Bleise

Redshirt Sophomore
Trace Engelkes

Trace Engelkes

Redshirt Senior
Shaun

Shaun'Qae McMurtry

Redshirt Senior
Shawn Scott

Shawn Scott

Redshirt Senior
Brock Hudkins

Brock Hudkins

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Steve Bleise

Steve Bleise

Redshirt Sophomore
Trace Engelkes

Trace Engelkes

Redshirt Senior
Shaun

Shaun'Qae McMurtry

Redshirt Senior
Shawn Scott

Shawn Scott

Redshirt Senior
Brock Hudkins

Brock Hudkins

Freshman