Huskies take the Bulls by the Horns

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NIU Opens MAC play with a decisive 30-6 victory over UB

Buffalo, NY - Led by nationally-ranked wrestlers Johnny Galloway, Mike Grimes, Pat Castillo and Duke Burk, the Norhtern Illinois wrestling team dominated the University at Buffalo with a 30-6 victory Sunday.

The "Fantastic Four" led the Huskies with four major decisions over UB wrestlers. The Huskies' only two individual defeats of the day came in close matches that were decided in overtime.

In the opening match, 17th-ranked Pat Castillo of NIU set the tone for the entire meet by notching a 16-6 major decision over BU's Dan Bishop at 125 pounds.

The Bulls got on the board in the second match of the day as 12th-ranked Mark Budd narrowly escaped with a win in overtime against NIU's Chad Vandiver. BU would not score again until the final match of the day.

Mike Grimes, ranked ninth nationally, did not let the Buffalo win stop the Huskies momentum as he picked up the second major decision of the day against Jason Hilliar with a decisive score of 14-5.

NIU kept rolling as ninth-ranked Johnny Galloway improved his overall record to an impressive 10-1 with another major decision victory over BU's Mike Rangusa.

Duke Burk, ranked 16th nationally, picked up the last major decision of the day when he steamrolled Ray Lamb of BU en route to a 14-3 victory.

"We had great performances by our four ranked guys (Castillo, Grimes, Galloway, and Duke Burk)," said NIU Head Coach Dave Grant, "When you have those guys going out and doing what they are capable of doing, we're awfully tough to beat."

The Huskies will host the Ohio Bobcats in their MAC home opener on Friday, January, 19th at 7 p.m. (CST) in the Convocation Center.

Northern Illinois 30, Buffalo 6
125 - #17 Castillo (NIU) maj. dec. Bishop (UB), 16-6
133 - #12 Budd (UB) dec. Vandiver (NIU), 4-1 (ot)
141 - Metcalfe (NIU) dec. by fall Stella (UB), at 4:04
149 - #9 Grimes (NIU) maj. dec. Hilliard (UB), 14-5
157 - Knull (NIU) dec. Hunt (UB), 6-4
165 - #9 Galloway (NIU) maj. dec. Ragusa (UB), 11-4
174 - Da. Burk (NIU) dec. Rock (UB), 8-3
184 - #16 Du. Burk (NIU) maj. dec. Lamb (UB), 14-3
197 - McClone (NIU) dec. Scott (UB), 2-1 (ot)
285 - Parker (UB) dec. Benner (NIU), 4-3 (ot)