Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

West Claims 125-pound Championship at Midlands | Results
EVANSTON, Ill.— Blake West claimed a first-place finish as action concluded for the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling program at the 2025 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. The Huskies finished in sixth as a team with 70.5 points and saw three additional Huskies land on the podium.
 
Devon Dawson earned the Elias, John, & Pete George Sportsmanship Award as he claimed runner-up honors at 285 pounds.
 
"We are proud of the way our guys came to compete. We are finding our stride and we need to process all the situations from the weekend and continue to get better," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "Blake bringing home a Midlands Championship means a great deal the program, and it couldn't have been earned by a more deserving guy. Devon wrestled really tough, and is among the elite in the country. It was also nice to have (Markel) Baker on the podium of a loaded bracket and Landen back in action with some big wins."
 
Competing at 125 pounds for NIU, West started his day against Christian Castillo of Iowa State, winning in sudden victory 15-8. In the championship match, West battled against Tyler Chappell of Pitt, edging him for a 6-5 decision win.
 
Dawson started his day with a tie-breaker win over Lucas Lawler of Bucknell, winning in a 6-3 decision in the semifinals. In the championship match, Dawson faced Hunter Catka of Rutgers, dropping the match in a major decision.
 
Landen Johnson took seventh place at 157 pounds after opening his day with a sudden victory win over Ryan Bennett of Illinois. Johnson dropped a 10-3 decision to Conner Harer of Rutgers before facing Eric Almarinez (SIUE) in the seventh-place match. Johnson pinned Almarinez in 2:38 to take seventh place.
 
Markel Baker finished the tournament in eighth place at 133 pounds. Baker took on Matty Lopes (Unattached-Lehigh) in the first match of the day, winning in an 11-4 decision. Baker dropped a 5-4 decision to Isaiah Cortez (Spartan Combat RTC) in his second match as he moved to the seventh-place match. Baker battled against Dylan Shawver of Rutgers, dropping the match in sudden victory to finish in eighth place.
 
Charles Curtis represented the Huskies at 141 pounds and took on Drew Gorman on Virginia Tech in his lone match on the day. Gorman pinned Curtis in 1:39 as the Ohio native was eliminated from the tournament.
 
Caleb Roe battled Tyler Bienus at 184 pounds, dropping the match in a 5-1 decision. Collin Arch took on fellow-MAC wrestler Eric Almarinez (SIUE), falling in a close 4-3 decision. Sean Carroll competed against Parker Ferrell of Virginia Tech at heavyweight, dropping the match in an 11-1 major decision.
 
The Huskies return to action on January 9-10 as they travel to the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
 
 
Lopez, Woodcock, and Almarinez Pace Cougars | Results 
EVANSTON, Ill. - SIUE wrestling sported three top-eight finishes Tuesday at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.

Marcel Lopez placed fifth at the 133 pounds. Eric Almarinez collected eighth place at 157 pounds, and Brock Woodcock took seventh place at 165 pounds.

Lopez led the way with 11 team points, culminating in his fifth-place victory over Oregon State's Gabe Whisenhunt 3-1.

As a team, SIUE scored 27.5 points and placed 15th overall. Rutgers won the team title over Pittsburgh 93-92.5.

SIUE wrestling next opens Mid-American Conference action at First Community Arena with a Jan. 10 match against Edinboro. The first whistle is set for 10 a.m. SIUE also faces Little Rock at 2 p.m. on Jan. 10.

Below are the complete match-by-match results for the Cougars.

Midlands Championships Results for SIUE
125
Drew Davis 3-2
Davian Guanajuato 3-2

133
Marcel Lopez 4-2, place is 5th
Porter Matecki 2-2

141
Danny Martinez 0-2
Alec Peralta 1-2

149
Ben Lunn 1-2

157
Eric Almarinez's 2-3, place is 8th
PJ Murphy 0-2
Hayden Whidden 1-2

165
Tavius Hosley 1-2 
Landen Johnson 2-2
Gage Murphy 0-2
Brock Woodcock 5-2, place is 7th

174
Bradley Gillum 1-2
Dominic Lopez 2-2
Caleb Neal 3-2

184
Amare Overton 1-2
Nico Ronchetti 0-2

197
Myron Mendez3-2
Nick Nosler 0-2

285
Bryson Buhk 2-2
Jake Fernandez 1-2

Caves, Cochran Earn 5th-Place Finish at Midlands Championships | Results
EVANSTON, Ill. – Central Michigan's Luke Cochran and Bryan Caves each placed fifth in their respective weight classes on Tuesday during the final day of the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Ryan Fieldhouse on the campus of Northwestern University.

The Chippewas finished 13^th with 38 points in the 30-team field.

Caves, a redshirt senior, placed fifth at 285 pounds while Cochran, a redshirt sophomore, was fifth at 197. Both won three of their four Tuesday matches to finish the tournament 4-2.

Four other Chippewas -- Andrew Austin (133), Chandler Amaker (165), Cody Brenner (184), and Aidan Fockler (285) – lost their respective matches on Tuesday and were eliminated from the tournament.

Caves opened on Tuesday with a 5-1 victory over Bryson Buhk of SIUE and then followed with a 4-1 win over Josh Harkless of Rochester Institute of Technology.

Caves then lost to Bucknell's Lucas Lawler, 9-3, to reach the fifth-place match where he won by medical forfeit over Trevor Tinker of Cal Poly.

Cochran also won his first two matches on Tuesday, the first 14-7 over Luke Duthie of Stanford and the second over Dylan Connell of Illinois, 8-5.

He then dropped a 4-0 decision to Gabe Sollars of Indiana to reach the fifth-place match where he won by medical forfeit over Jude Correa of Spartan Combat Regional Training Center.

Austin bowed on a 15-4 major decision to Dylan Shawver of Rutgers; Amaker was pinned by Ryan Ford of Rutgers in 4:22; Brenner dropped a 5-1 decision to Roman Rogotzke of Indiana; and Fockler was eliminated on an 8-2 decision by Harkless.

The Chippewas are scheduled to partake in the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals on Jan. 9-10 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and then go to Northern Illinois for their first Mid-American Conference dual meet of the season on Jan. 16.

Match-by-match results for Central Michigan wrestlers with their tournament record:

133
Andrew Austin, 2-2
Cameron Chinavare, 2-2

141 
Nick Blackburn

149 
Jimmy Nugent, 0-2
Colin Kacena, 1-2

157 
Seth Larson, 0-2
Mason Shrader, 1-2

165 
Chandler Amaker, 2-2

174 
Brayden Gautreau, 1-2
Nick Marienfeld, 1-2

184 
Cody Brenner, 2-2
Adrian Cramer, 1-2
Wyatt Ferguson, 0-2

197 
Luke Cochran, 4-2

285 
Aidan Fockler, 2-2
Bryan Caves, 4-2
Simon Lato, 2-2