March 7, 2008

NIUHuskies.com will be providing continuous live coverage of the Mid-American Conference Championships from Kent, Ohio today and tomorrow. Check back frequently for updates on how the Huskies are faring. Championship matches begin Saturday at 11 a.m. (CST).

KENT, Ohio - The Northern Illinois wrestling team advanced four grapplers to Mid-American Conference Championship matches, Friday at the conference championships.

"We've got four in the finals going for a title, with an oppportunity to get to St. Louis and the national championships," head coach Dave Grant said.

As a team, the Huskies sit in third place with 41.5 team points. Central Michigan, which is ranked second in the nation, is in the lead with 57 points, with Kent State in second place at 50.5. Eastern Michigan and Ohio are tied for fourth with 19.5, and Buffalo sits in sixth with 17 points.

"This year, we're expecting a lot out of our freshman, and we're still in third," said Grant, who had six freshmen competing at the championships.

Senior Pat Castillo took an 8-4 decision over Central Michigan's Conor Beebe to earn his way, but the highlight of the night was redshirt freshman Pat McLemore.

"We've been putting a lot of weight on the shoulders on the freshmen in this program," Grant said. "McLemore is a go-to guy for us, wrestling like a senior."

McLemore, wrestling at 141 pounds, reversed a shot from top-seeded Eric Kruger of CMU, and used his opponent's momentum to stick Kruger to the mat. McLemore was able to keep him down for a two-count to earn the pin just 1:56 into the match.

"He's one of those guys that, if you get rolling around with him, he's going to end up on top most of the time," Grant said of McLemore's upset pin.

True freshman Bryan O'Connor has also punched his ticket to the MAC finals. At 157 pounds, O'Connor defeated Eastern Michigan's top-seed Cory Mancuso 6-2 to advance to the finals. Redshirt sophomore Duke Burk is also in the finals after pinning Mike Ragusa of Buffalo 5:56 in to the 174-pound bout.

In the opening match of session two, Huskie freshman TJ Wunnicke fell 11-2 in his first career match at the MAC Championships to Kent Stat's Nic Bedelyon. At 149, senior Kalen Knull lost his match to Kevin Christenson of Ohio, and freshman Bruan Deutsch lost to Kent State's Kurt Gross at 165.

The Huskies who fell in the opening round moved the consolation bracket. There, Wunnicke earned a major decision over Heath Allen of Ohio, Knull bested David Pienaar of EMU, and Deutsch defeated Bobcat Kent Smith.

Northern Illinois continues competition at the MAC Championships, Saturday at 11 a.m. (CST), with the championship matches and consolation finals.

Current Team Standings
Central Michigan 57
Kent State 50.5
Northern Illinois 41.5
Eastern Michigan 19.5
Ohio 19.5
Buffalo 17

Session Two
125: Bedelyon (KSU) MD Wunnicke (KSU) 11-3
133: Castillo (NIU) dec. Beebe (CMU) 8-4
141: McLemore (NIU) fall Kruger (CMU) 1:56
149: Christenson (Ohio) fall Knull (NIU) 3:51
157: O'Connor (NIU) dec. Mancuso (EMU) 6-2
165: Gross (KSU) dec. Deutsch (NIU) 12-4
174: Burk (NIU) fall Ragusa (UB) 5:56

Session Two Consolation Bracket
125: Wunnicke (NIU) MD Allen (Ohio) 12-3
141: Knull (NIU) dec. Pienaar (EMU) 8-7
165: Deutsch (NIU) dec. Smith (Ohio) 10-7
184: Chine (KSU) dec. Dieckhaus (NIU) 9-4
197: Hamel (UB) MD Smith (NIU) 14-5
285: Wade (EMU) dec. Benner (NIU) 5-2

Session One Recap

KENT, Ohio - A pair of pins helped launch the Northern Illinois wrestling team to the front of the pack after one session at the Mid-American Conference Championships, Friday.

The Huskies scored eight team points in the first of two sessions. They lead Eastern Michigan which has six and Kent State, which scored four points. Favorite Central Michigan has only wrestled in two contests, after eight wrestlers earned first-round byes with their regular season performances.

At 133, senior Pat Castillo (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) pinned Joe Wilson of Buffalo to earn three points and a trip to the semi-finals, where he will face Conor Beebe of Central Michigan. Castillo, currently ranked 11th in the country, defeated Beebe 6-3 when the two met in early February.

Also scoring three points with a pin was redshirt freshman Pat McLemore (Hinckley, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) who cradled Andrew Stella of Buffalo to move on to the semi-finals. McLemore will take on Erik Kruger of Central Michigan in his next match. Kruger is ranked No. 13 in the nation, and enters the bout with a 22-8 record. McLemore, who was injured for much of the season, improved his season mark to 11-3.

At 174 pounds, redshirt sophomore Duke Burk(Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame) controlled Eastern Michigan's Derek Foore for a 7-2 victory. Burk's next opponent is 27-12 Mike Ragusa of Buffalo.

Redshirt freshman Bryan Deutsch (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) picked up Northern Illinois' fourth win of the early session, taking out John Cummings of Buffalo. Deutsch's semi-final opponent will be No. 13 Kurt Gross (27-4) of Kent State.

Three Huskies fell in the opening session of competition and will have to make their way back into contention through the consolation bracket. Jake Smith (Bennington, Neb./Bennington), Brad Dieckhaus (St. Charles, Mo./Francis-Howell Central) and David Benner (Fowler, Ind./Benton Central) all lost by decision.

Northern Illinois athletes TJ Wunnicke (Dodgeville, Wis./Dodgeville), Kalen Knull (Urbana, Ohio/Graham) and Bryan O'Connor (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) each had byes for the first session.

For complete results from the MAC Wrestling Championships, visit www.kentstatesports.com.

Session One Results
125: Wunnicke (NIU) BYE
133: Castillo (NIU) fall Wilson (BU) 2:51
141: McLemore (NIU) fall Stella (BU) 3:24
149: Knull (NIU) BYE
157: O'Connor (NIU) BYE
165: Deutsch (NIU) dec. Cummings (BU) 8-2
174: Burk (NIU) dec. Foore (EMU) 7-2
184: Moran (BU) dec. Dieckhaus (NIU) 7-3
197: McClure (EMU) dec. Smith (NIU) 4-3
285: Porter (KSU) dec. Benner (NIU) 7-3