Web  NIUHuskies.com
DeShazer Upset Highlights Day One at Midlands

Redshirt sophomore picks up late fall over seventh seed Jimmy Conroy.



Tristen DeShazer picked up his ninth pin of the year, Monday at Midlands, upsetting seventh-seeded Jimmy Conroy of Pitt.

Dec. 29, 2008

Day One Brackets in PDF Format Get Acrobat Reader

Day One Team Standings in PDF Format Get Acrobat Reader

EVANSTON, Ill. - Redshirt sophomore Tristen DeShazer had collected eight of his 10 wins by fall entering the 46th Midlands Championships, Monday. His ninth pin proved to be one of the biggest of his young career.

DeShazer (Wichita, Kan./Wichita West) stuck Pittsburgh's Jimmy Conroy, the 14th-ranked 133-pounder in the nation, late in the third period to improve to 11-5. DeShazer went 1-1 on the day, and he will engage Cleveland State's Josh Palivoda, who holds an 8-11 record when competition resumes Tuesday.

The fall highlighted Northern Illinois' opening day at the Midwest's biggest wrestling tournament, where the Huskies sit in 32nd place with five team points. Iowa, the defending national champion, leads the way with 43 points.

Northern Illinois saw success at 157 pounds, where Bryan Deutsch (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) won two straight matches after an opening round loss. Deutsch won two close decisions, and takes on unattached Matt Ballweg, a 7-4 redshirt with the Hawkeyes, in Tuesday's first round.

Other Huskies still alive at Midlands include 184-pounder Brad Dieckhaus (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell Central), who will compete against Grant Gambrall (5-3), and Scott Penny (Granite City, Ill./Granite City), who drew Tennessee-Chattanooga's Ethan Winel (5-3) at 197 pounds.

At 141 pounds, redshirt sophomore Pat McLemore (Hinckley, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) also picked up a win for the Huskies. After dropping his opening bout to sixth-seeded Dan LeClere of Iowa, McLemore won a high-scoring 10-9 decision over Northern Iowa's Trenton Washington. The defending MAC Champion was eliminated in the next round in a close 12-10 decision to Jordan Lipp.

Sophomore Bryan O'Connor (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) won a bout at 165 pounds, taking out Joe Barczak (6-4) of Illinois, 7-4, before losing consecutive matches to seeded competitors in the double-elimination tournament.

The Huskies wrap-up Midlands, Tuesday, Dec. 30, and open the dual season of 2009 against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Missouri Baptist, Jan. 10 in Edwardsville.