Huskie Wrestling Falls to North Dakota State

By NIU Athletics

DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team fell to Big 12 opponent North Dakota State, 34-3, inside the NIU Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon.

“They wrestled tough,” said NIU head wrestling coach Ryan Ludwig. “They came to compete and we did well in the first period and they stormed back and took control.”

The Huskies were led by Bryce Gorman (Manhatten, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) at 184. The redshirt-junior defeated Cole Witzig of North Dakota State, 8-4. Gorman is 7-6 this season and 3-4 in dual meets.

“I came out this weekend with a chip on my shoulder,” said NIU grappler Bryce Gorman. “I do not feel as if I wrestled my best this weekend, but it is definitely a step up from last weekend.”

At 157, Caden McWhirter (Prattville, Ala./Prattville) lost a highly-contested match to No. 9 Clay Ream, 6-4. The Huskie redshirt-sophomore controlled most of the bout, but Ream scored a third round takedown to win it for the Bison. McWhirter is 4-8 this season and 3-6 in duals.

“Caden did a really good job managing his weight this week and his preparation was intact,” said Ludwig. “He responded well and he had a rough weekend before. He is doing the right things now. If he keeps this trend, he is going to finish really strong.”

At 125, Brock Hudkins (Danville, Ind./Danville) lost a close bout to North Dakota State wrestler Paul Bianchi, 4-3. The Huskie sophomore is 12-7 this season with a dual record of 3-2.

The Huskies now look forward to a date with No. 3 Missouri on Friday.

“They are a tough team and ranked number one in the MAC,” said Ludwig. “We have to strap it on Friday night and we will be ready.”

The Huskie grapplers return to the mat Friday when they host the Tigers. Action starts at 7 p.m. inside Victor E. Court.

North Dakota State 34-NIU 3
125: Paul Bianchi (NDSU) over Brock Hudkins (NIU) (Dec 4-3)
133: Cam Sykora (NDSU) over Alijah Jeffery (NIU) (TF 18-3 5:26)
141: Nicolas Colunga (NDSU) over Anthony Rubino (NIU) (Dec 6-0)
149: Kyle Gliva (NDSU) over Nolan Baker (NIU) (MD 16-3)
157: Clayton Ream (NDSU) over Caden McWhirter (NIU) (Dec 6-4)
165: Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) over Andrew Scott (NIU) (Fall 3:59)
174: Dylan Urbach (NDSU) over Quinton Rosser (NIU) (Dec 9-3)
184: Bryce Gorman (NIU) over Cole Witzig (NDSU) (Dec 8-4)
197: Cordell Eaton (NDSU) over Max Ihry (NIU) (MD 10-2)
285: Daniel Stibral (NDSU) over Caleb Gossett (NIU) (Dec 10-4)