Dec. 31, 2007

Final Standings in PDF Format

Final Brackets in PDF Format

EVANSTON, Ill. - Senior Pat Castillo placed at the 2007 Midlands Wrestling Tournament for the third time in his career, helping Northern Illinois to a 10th place finish as a team, Sunday.

"Pat's dedication to the sport is continuing to pay off," head coach Dave Grant said. "Three placefinishes at Midlands is a great accomplishment."

Castillo (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) finished the tournament in fifth after defeating Cory Van Baur of Wyoming by a 12-4 major decision. Over the two-day event, Castillo went 5-2 with three major decisions.

Though Castillo was the team's only placefinisher, the Huskies defeated several quality squads, including No. 8 Missouri and No. 25 Northern Iowa.

"We were aggressive throughout, scoring a lot of pins and technical falls, which is one reason why we finished so high," Grant said.

Huskie sophomore Duke Burk (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame), who had gone undefeated in day one of action, lost his semifinal match 10-1 to Jay Borschel of No. 1 Iowa, then fell 2-1 to No. 2 Iowa State's Nick Hayes.

Northern Illinois continues its season Jan. 5 at the "Flash" Flanagan Open in Dubuque, Iowa before returning to DeKalb Jan. 12 for dual meets against Findlay and Mid-American Conference opponent Buffalo.