Wrestling

Central Michigan, Rider Pull Off #MACtion Divisional Upsets

Friday Wrestling results
Rider 29, Lock Haven 12
Northern Illinois 29, Buffalo 11
Kent State 20, Ohio 19
Central Michigan 21, SIUE 14
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Bonus-Points Barrage Lifts Rider Past Lock Haven Ahead of MAC East Finale
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Four straight bonus-point victories to open the night powered the Rider wrestling team to an early 20-0 advantage, as the Broncs used five bonus-point wins,  including two pins,  to roll past Lock Haven, 29-12, on Friday night in Alumni Gym. The dominant performance sets the stage for Saturday's dual with Bloomsburg, with the MAC East title on the line.

No. 16/20 Tyler Klinsky wasted no time getting Rider on the board at 125 lbs., overwhelming Curtis Nelson with a relentless attack. Klinsky piled up five takedowns and 20 total points en route to a 20-4 technical fall, improving to 15-0 in duals this season and extending his win streak to 12 to give the Broncs an early 5-0 lead.

At 133 lbs., Will Betancourt delivered a momentum-shifting result against Patrick O'Keefe. After a tight bout that featured a pair of escapes and forced overtime, Betancourt capitalized during a scramble, locking in a cradle to earn the fall and push Rider's lead to 11-0.

Rider kept rolling at 141 lbs. as No. 14/20 Elijah Griffin took control against No. 24/30 Wyatt Henson in a rematch from the season-opening Princeton Open. Unlike the narrow 4-3 decision earlier this year, Griffin asserted himself with a takedown in each period, highlighted by a last-second go-behind, to secure a 12-2 major decision and extend the lead to 15-0.

Lock Haven picked up its first win at 157 lbs., trimming the margin, but the Broncs quickly answered back. At 165 lbs., Brendon Abdon delivered the night's biggest highlight. Trailing 6-3 late,
Abdon launched a throw and locked in a tight headlock to earn the pin over Ousamane Duncanson, sending the crowd into a frenzy and extending Rider's lead to 26-3.

The Bald Eagles claimed decisions at 174 and 184 lbs., but No. 15/19 Brock Zurawski shut the door at 197 lbs. Zurawski used two takedowns to defeat returning NCAA qualifier Tucker Hogan, 6-1, pushing the team score to 29-9.

Lock Haven added a decision at heavyweight, but Rider had already secured the 29-12 victory. With the win, the Broncs now need just a victory in Saturday's dual against Bloomsburg to clinch the MAC East Division title.

The Broncs return to the mat on Feb. 7, squaring off with Bloomsburg with the MAC East title and an unblemished conference record on the lin


Early Bonus Point Wins Lead NIU Past Buffalo | Results 
BUFFALO, NY—Winning the first three bouts with bonus points, the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling team (8-6, 4-1 MAC) defeated the Bulls of the University at Buffalo (3-10, 2-4 MAC). The Huskies posted a 29-11 victory over the Bulls, with seven of the ten bouts going NIU's way.
 
Tonight's bout featured four ranked wrestlers. NIU had three ranked wrestlers in Blake West, Markel Baker, and Devon Dawson. West holds the No. 31 ranking via Intermat, while Dawson sits at No. 20. Baker holds the No. 28 ranking via Intermat and is the highest-ranked Huskie via WrestleStat at No. 15. The Bulls had one ranked grappler in Kaleb Burgess, who sits at No. 22 via Intermat.
  
West got his second major decision of the season, defeating Zachery Belverio, 12-1. West extends his win streak to five and moves to 114 career wins, ranking second in the NIU Wrestling record book.
 
Baker moves to ten straight wins as he claimed his fourth technical fall victory of the season. Baker defeated Troy Guerra 17-2 in just over three minutes as he remains undefeated in MAC action.
 
At 141 pounds, Charles Curtis took the mat against Tyler Roark. Curtis earned his sixth straight victory on the mat and his fifth major decision of the season, posting a 14-4 victory.
 
Collin Arch and Landen Johnson took the mat at 149 and 157, dropping a pair of decisions to the Bulls. Johnson faced Burgess, falling 9-5.
 
Brett Smith won via injury default at 165 pounds before Tommy Bennett earned an 8-6 decision at 174 for the Huskies.
 
Ian Smith stepped onto the mat at 184 pounds for the Huskies and got his first conference win. Smith added his first major decision of the season with an 11-0 win over Connor Scuilla.
 
The Huskies dropped the bout at 197 before Dawson took the mat in the heavyweight bout. Dawson earned his ninth straight win, defeating Magnus Bibla in a 5-1 decision.
 
NIU wrestling takes a break from conference action next week as it travels to Northwestern on February 13. Dual time is set for 7 p.m. in Evanston. The Huskies will conclude the regular season on February 20 as they host SIUE in the annual "Beauty and the Beast" dual.


Kent State Takes Home the Grudge Match Trophy for the First Time in Five Years with Win Over Ohio
Kent, OHIO - With a big home crowd in the MAC Center for Alumni Night, the Golden Flashes delivered by beating long-time rival Ohio in "The Grudge Match" by a score of 20-19. With the win, Kent State reclaimed The Grudge Match Trophy for the first time in five years.

After 10 bouts, the Blue and Gold were tied with the Bobcats by a score of 19-19, but won the dual on second criteria thanks to a Nick Molchak(133) pin in the first round of his match with Ryan Meek(Ohio).

Chris Earnest(165) made his mark by scoring a 9-0 Major Decision against a nationally ranked wrestler in Jack Lledo. Nico Calello started the dual out with a close 6-4 victory over Brayden Teunissen.

Nate Roth(149) was able to grab a 4-1 win over Paul Woo, while Brentan Simmerman won the dual for the Golden Flashes with a 10-3 win over Evan Wingrove(Ohio) as he tied it up giving his team a win by criteria.

The Golden Flashes will gear up for their third straight home meet next Friday when they host Central Michigan and Mercyhurst starting at 6 P.M.


Central Michigan Upends SIUE | Results
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Central Michigan got off to a fast start and never trailed, winning six matches on Friday in taking a 21-14 victory from SIU Edwardsville in a Mid-American Conference dual meet at the Cougars' First Community Arena.

The win lifted the Chippewas to 8-5, 2-2 MAC as they handed the Cougars (9-2, 3-1) their first conference dual loss. SIUE is ranked 17th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Mid-Major Poll; the Chippewas are 17th.

CMU, which goes to Kent State on Friday, Feb. 13 and then entertains George Mason on Sunday, Feb. 15, rebounded from a disappointing 19-14 loss to Buffalo last weekend.

Freshman Archer Anderson set the tone with a pin of Drew Davis in the night's opening bout at 125 pounds. Anderson trailed, 13-3, when he caught Davis – a sophomore who finished third in the MAC Championships last season – in a headlock, leading to the pin and giving the Chippewas a jolt.

It was Anderson's first career pin.

The Chippewas then got decision victories from Nick Blackburn (141) and Mason Shrader (157), and took losses at 133, 149 and 165, leaving the Chippewas holding a 12-11 lead heading into 174, where Tyler Swiderski got a third-period takedown and then held on for a gritty 5-4 win over Dominic Lopez in a hotly contested matched.

It was just the second match of the season for Swiderski (2-0), a redshirt senior who has battled through an injury that prematurely ended his season a year ago.

Swiderski's win upped CMU's lead to 15-11, but an SIUE victory at 184 drew the Cougars back to within a point, 15-14.

That set the stage for the final two bouts, both of which went to CMU. Luke Cochran posted a dominant 9-3 win at 197, and then Bryan Caves closed the dual with a 5-0 victory.