Wrestling Falls to No. 24 Northern Illinois on Senior Night

YPSILANTI, Mich. — The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team dropped a 28-6 Mid-American Conference dual-meet decision to the 20th ranked Northern Illinois University team here Thursday in the Convocation Center in the regular-season finale for both squads. The loss dropped the Eagles to 6-9 overall and 0-5 in MAC action while the Huskies improved to 8-5-2 and 3-1-1 in the MAC.

NIU's Joe Sapp, ranked No. 20 at 285 pounds in the latest NCAA Coaches' Poll, took a 2-0 lead late in the first period, escaping a Jake Wood (Miamisburg, Ohio-Miamisburg) grasp with less than 15 seconds left. Sapp held a 5-1 lead at the start of the third period and took the match over from there, recording an 8-3 win to stake Northern to a 3-0 team lead.

The 125-pound match, between EMU's No. 19 ranked Sean Clair (Turtlecreek, PA-Plum) and Northern Illinois wrestler Pat Castillo, the No. 13th ranked 125 pounder in the country, lived up to its pre-match hype as both wrestlers were aggressive from the start of the match. Clair started off the first period with a two-point takedown boosted the advantage to 3-0 on an escape, but Castillo came right back with a reversal to get back in it 3-2. Clair notched an escape to take a 4-2 lead, but Castillo got yet another reversal to tie at 4-4. In the third period Castillo received a point for a stall on Clair with less then 30 seconds left, but Clair earned one point for riding time to send the match into an overtime session. Castillo then took down Clair for two points and the 7-5 overtime win.

In the 133 pound class, NIU's Chad Vandiver got a quick two points on a reversal on Phillip Plowman (Sunfield, Mich-Lakewood) but Plowman came right back with a takedown to tie the score, 2-2. Holding a 4-2 lead, Plowman then pinned Vandiver at the 2:49 mark to take the match and tie the dual at 6-6.

EMU's Nick Conklin (Milton, Wisc.-Milton) then took on No. 12 ranked Josh Wooten in the 141-pound weight class and Wooten started off with a quick takedown to go up 2-0. Conklin then escaped to cut the deficit to 2-1. Wooten the recorded another takedown for a 4-1 lead and added another late in the first period to go up by five, 6-1, after the first period. Wooten started off the second period with a flurry, notching a reversal 10 seconds into the period to lead, 8-1. Wooton added a takedown with less than a minute remaining in the second period to lead 10-2 . With two more takedowns in the final period Wooten won the match 15-3 for the major decision and a 10-6 Huskies' lead.

In the 149-pound class EMU's Jermain Thompson (Akron, Ohio-Akron) and No. 14 Mike Grimes turned in another exciting match with no scoring in the first period. Grimes changed that scoreless start quickly with a an escape in the first three seconds of the second period for a 1-0 lead. The match remained that way until the third period when Thompson tied it up with an escape of his own at the 1:40 mark. With 30 seconds left, Thompson took down Grimes for a 3-1 lead. Grimes then escaped to get back in it at 3-2 and added a takedown for a 4-3 lead with 15 seconds to wrestle. Grimes warded off a late challenge by Thompson to take a 4-3 win and boost the Huskies' team advantage to 13-6.

EMU's Quinn Guernsey (Horton, Mich-Columbia Central) took on Aaron Owens in the 157-pound class with Owens jumping out to a 2-0 lead with a takedown. Owens then took three points on a near fall and led 5-0 at the end of the first period. Guernsey got his first point of the match with an escape to make it 5-1 with 50 seconds left in the second. A reversal by Owens gave him a 7-1 lead and the NIU wrestler held on through the final period to take the match, 8-2.

Chad Roush (Davison, Mich.-Davison) fell behind early in the 165-pound class as Johnny Galloway took him down for a 2-0 lead. Roush came back quickly with an escape to cut the lead to 2-1. Late in the first Owens took down Roush a second time to go up, 4-1. Another takedown late in the second gave Owens a 6-1 lead until Roush escaped later to cut the lead to 6-2. Roush received a point for stalling to make the final, 6-3, in favor of Galloway.

With the Huskies leading, 19-6, in the dual, Danny Burk of Northern got an early take down of Eastern’s Josh Lewis (West Liberty, Ohio-Salem) to go up 2-0 in the 174-pound weight class. After a Lewis escape, Burk took down Lewis again for a 4-1 lead with less then a minute to go in the first period. A reversal by Burk in the second period gave him a 6-2 lead. Leading 8-3, Lewis was taken down again for a 10-4 lead for Burk and the NIU wrestler went on to record an 11-5 victory, giving Northern a 22-6 lead.

In the 184-pound class, NIU's Nick McClone took a 2-0 lead on an early takedown, but John McClure (Holland, Mich.-West Ottawa) came back with an escape to cut into the lead, 2-1. Leading 4-1 in the second, McClone took down McClure on the edge of the mat to take a 6-1 lead. With two escapes by McClure and a takedown by McClone, McClone took the match, 9-3, and gave NIU a 25-6 lead.

The final match of the night was in the 197-pound weight class between EMU junior Tony Lyssiotis (Oxford, Mich.-Oxford) and NIU's Derek Hunsinger. With a takedown halfway through the first period, Hunsinger grabbed a 2-0 edge until an escape by Lyssiotis cut the lead in half. Leading 5-1 going into the third period, two takedowns by Hunsinger boosted his lead to 9-2. Lyssiotis had a takedown of his own late in the match to cut the lead to 9-6, but Hunsinger held on to win the match, 10-6.

The Eagles are next in action at the Mid-American Conference Championships at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill. The tournament runs March 4-5 and will run all day on both days.

Final score: Northern Illinois 28, Eastern Michigan 6

Wt Class Wrestlers Score
285: #20 Joe Sapp (NIU) def. Jake Wood (EMU) 8-3
125: #11 Pat Castillo (NIU) def. #13 Sean Clair (EMU) 7-5
133: Phillip Plowman (EMU) pinned Chad Vandiver (NIU) 1:25
141: #12 Josh Wooton (NIU) dec. Nick Conklin (EMU) 15-3
149: #12 Mike Grimes (NIU) def. Jermain Thompson (EMU) 4-3
157: Aaron Owen (NIU) dec. Quinn Guernsey (EMU) 8-2
165: Johnny Galloway (NIU) def. Chad Roush (EMU) 6-3
174: Danny Burk (NIU def. Josh Lewis (EMU) 11-5
184: Alex Nelson (NIU) def. John McClure (EMU) 9-3
197: Derek Hunsinger (NIU) def. Tony Lyssiotis (EMU) 10-6

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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