The Northern Illinois University wrestling team had strong results across the board at the Cougar Clash Sunday. The open, hosted by SIUE, featured some of the top talents from across the nation. The Huskies squared off against wrestlers from Missouri, Northern Colorado, Lindenwood, Little Rock and SIUE at First Community Arena.
Redshirt seniors Anthony Gibson and Izzak Olejnik led the way for NIU, winning the 157 and 165 titles, respectively.
"Really proud of the dominant performance from [Izzak] Olejnik and [Anthony] Gibson today," said head NIU coach Ryan Ludwig. "It was good to see some of our depth compete today. We are making strides as individuals,"
Gibson started his day with a 17-0 tech fall win over Grant LaDuke in the quarterfinal round. He followed with a 5-4 triumph over Matthew Bianchi of Little Rock to advance to the 157-championship bout. In the title match, Gibson pinned Jerrdon Fisher of Mizzou to be crowned champ.
Olejnik's path to the 165-title began with a major decision win over Kodiak Cannedy of Little Rock before earning a 4-1 win over Cam Steed of Missouri. In the semifinal bout, Olejnik pinned SIUE's Hayden Shepherd at 1:29 to earn a spot in the title match. Finally, Olejnik beat Cardi Wilson of SIUE 5-0 to win the title.
Along with Gibson and Olejnik, multiple other Huskies cashed in solid performances at the Cougar Clash.
Redshirt freshmen Blake West and Jacobi Jackson plus redshirt junior Jaivon Jones finished second in their respective weight classes.
West beat Jeremiah Remo of Little Rock and Austin Kegley of Lindenwood to advance to the 125-title match but later lost to Stevo Poulin of UNC.
At 285, Jackson logged a sudden victory win over Josiah Hill of Little Rock before beating Mizzou's Seth Nitzel 5-2 to go 2-0 on the day.
Jones battled UNC's Andrew Alirez in the 141-bracket title after beating Korbin Shepherd of Missouri and Caine Tyus of SIUE but fell 17-0.
Freshman Jacob Brya took third at 141 after blanking SIUE's Caine Tyus 7-0. At 157, junior Tulga Zuunbayan also took third with a 9-5 win over Matthew Bianchi of Little Rock.
"It's good to see the persistence of the guys that fought their way back through their respective bracket. We need to continue to get closer to firing on all cylinders as a team."
NIU will look to start 2-0 in Mid-American Conference action Sunday, Dec. 18 when the squad travels to Kent State.
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