Feb. 7, 2008

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Senior Pat Castillo shined on the mat, but the Northern Illinois wrestling team struggled as a whole, falling 41-3 to No. 5 Central Michigan, Thursday.

Castillo (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) won his 21st match of the season with a 5-2 triumph over Conor Beebe.

"Pat wrestled tough tonight," NIU head coach Dave Grant said. "So did a lot of our other guys, but we put six freshmen out against five ranked guys."

The 12th-year coach of the Huskies complimented the performance of 13th-ranked sophomore Duke Burk, who fell 4-1 to No. 3 Brandon Sinnot.

"That was a really close match, with Duke wrestling hard against one of the top guys in the country," Grant said.

Central Michigan bookended the night with pins. NIU freshman TJ Wunnicke (Dodgeville, Wis./Dodgeville) was cradled by No. 19 Luke Smith in the first bout, and senior David Benner (Fowler, Ind./Benton Central) fell to ninth-ranked Bubba Gritter in the nightcap.

The Chippewas scored bonus points in five other matches to up their point total to 41.

Northern Illinois continues its road trip with a visit to Ypsilanti, where it will face Eastern Michigan, Gardner-Webb and Clarion, Saturday.

No. 5 Central Michigan 41, Northern Illinois 3
125: No. 19 Luke Smith (CMU) pin TJ Wunnicke (NIU) at 5:28; CMU leads 6-0
133: No. 10 Pat Castillo (NIU) dec. Conor Beebe (CMU), 5-2; CMU leads 6-3
141: Tony D'Alie (CMU) dec. Tristen DeShazer (NIU), 14-11; CMU leads 9-3
149: Brandon Carter (CMU) pin Kalen Knull (NIU) at 1:39; CMU leads 15-3
157: Tyler Grayson (CMU) tec. fall Bryan Deutsch (NIU), 17-1 at 7:00; CMU leads 20-3
165: No. 9 Trevor Stewart (CMU) maj. dec. Anthony Victor (NIU), 15-2; CMU leads 24-3
174: No. 3 Brandon Sinnott (CMU) dec. No. 13 Duke Burk (NIU), 4-1; CMU leads 27-3
184: No. 4 Christian Sinnott (CMU) maj. dec. Brad Dieckhaus (NIU), 18-7; CMU leads 31-3
197: Vince DiDona (CMU) maj. dec. Jake Smith (NIU), 13-3; CMU leads 35-3
285: No. 9 Bubba Gritter (CMU) pin David Benner (NIU) at 5:58; CMU leads 41-3