December 30, 2005

Northern Illinois' Pat Castillo Aims For 125-Pound Title at Midlands Championships; Huskies Fourth as a Team

EVANSTON, IL --- Northern Illinois University*s Pat Castillo (Western Springs / LaGrange Lyons Twp.) is obviously the underdog for the 125-pound championship bout tonight at the 43rd Annual Midlands Wrestling Championships.

But that*s okay with the Huskie sophomore because the bottom line is that he*s put himself in position for a stellar finish in one of collegiate wrestling*s most prestigious annual events. Castillo, the No. 7 seed for his weight class, has already surprised the No. 2 and 6 seeds en route to earn his berth opposite top-seeded Nick Simmons of Michigan State University.

Castillo heads up a surprising crew of potential NIU placewinners that have coach Dave Grant*s program in fourth-place as a team heading into Friday evening*s finals. Tickets are only $12 for tonight's 7 p.m. finals sessions at Northwestern University's Welsh-Ryan Arena

Fellow Mid-American Conference member Central Michigan University is the surprise team leader through six rounds of action as the Chippewas have compiled 68 points followed by the University of Illinois at 65.5 and Michigan State University at 55 points. Then comes Northern Illinois in fourth with 52.5 points ---- ahead of three tradition-rich programs No. 5 Iowa State University (51), No. 6 University of Iowa (50.5), and No. 7 University of Northern Iowa (48.0). Indiana University is eight at 45 points with meet host Northwestern University rounding out the top 10 (41 points) for the two-day meet which has competitors from 50 squads ranging from various collegiate levels as well as national wrestling clubs.

Castillo began with a 4-3 decision over Seth Wright from Northern Iowa before posting a 3-1, sudden victory overtime win over No. 2 seed, Luke Eustice from the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. After that quarterfinal surprise, Castillo registered a 4-1 decision over No. 6 seed Luke Smith from Central Michigan in order to gain his championship berth opposite Michigan State*s Simmons.

Among the Huskies* other hopefuls still competing are a quintet of contenders for possible third-place finishes including Josh Wooton (Urbana, OH / Graham) at 144 pounds, Johnny Galloway (Iowa City, IA / City) at 165, Danny Burk (Peoria Notre Dame) at 174, Derick Hunsinger (El Paso) at 197, and Joe Sapp (Mahomet / Mahomet-Seymour) at heavyweight. In addition, two Northern Illinois grapplers * Andy Hiatt (DeKalb) at 133 pounds and Justin Metcalfe (Oswego) at 149 * are candidates for seventh-place finishes

(For further information, please contact Daniel Solow or Steve Nemeth) -NIU-