DeKALB – Redshirt sophomore Blake West earned his second third-place medal of the year on Saturday as NIU finished fifth as a team at the Cougar Clash. NIU has had seven or more wrestlers place through the first three tournaments this season.

Replicating the third place title he clinched at the MSU open on Nov. 11, West found the same success on Saturday. In a 5:41 fall time, West pinned SIUE redshirt sophomore Davian Guanajuato in the third place match at 125 pounds to secure the top spot among all Huskies. 

The Huskies’ junior Jacob Christensen earned the second-highest placement with a fourth-place nod at 285 pounds. The match was ruled a 2:40 fall time with Christensen dropping the third-place consolation match against University of Minnesota redshirt sophomore Bennett Tabor.

Leaving undefeated at the Boilermaker Duals on Nov. 19 and earning MAC West Wrestler of the Week honors, redshirt freshman Tommy Curran was the seventh-place winner at 149 pounds. Curran won by forfeit over University of Northern Colorado freshman Kilian Shultz.

NIU’s senior Matt Zuber secured the third and final spot for the Huskies within the top-5 after a flawless victory in the fifth-place bout at 184 pounds. Zuber defeated Little Rock University redshirt junior Brooks Sacharczyk in a 17-0 technical fall.

Freshman Brett Smith was pitted against teammate and fellow 157-pounder redshirt sophomore Kavan Troy to decide the seventh-place winner. Smith defeated Troy but both earned a title designation with Troy earning eighth. 

UP NEXT

The Huskies return home to the Convocation Center at 6 p.m., Dec. 15 for a matchup against California Baptist University. A livestream will be available via ESPN+.