With the Huskies’ wrestling season kicked into full gear, head coach Ed Vatch is driving the NIU wrestling team straight ahead to three dual meets in just four days. A tough enough task made even more impressive because none of the matches are at home.

But the schedule doesn’t seem to phase Vatch in the least as NIU begins the four day venture at arch-rival Marquette University Thursday.

Then the Huskies head east and north to Michigan to meet Central Michigan University in a Saturday contest. The Huskies then continue their Michigan wrestling trek when they take on Lake Superior State University on Sunday.

“This will be a good test for us. We beat Marquette University (32-12) earlier this year but neither team had all their wrestlers,” Vatch said. “(CMU) beat us up pretty good last year but we’re a lot more prepared for them now. They had a new coach who pulled a lot of surprises on us that we’ll be ready for.”

On paper, Lake Superior appears to be NIU’s biggest challenge. LSU stands at 6-1 in duals compared to the Huskies’ 4-5 record.

“The loss they (LSU) had come against Drake by about the same amount of points that we lost to them by,” Vatch said. “It should be a really tough dual but everyone is ready for it.”

According to Vatch, four of his wrestlers are already proving to be some of the best in their class. Gene Marino (118), T.C. Dantzler (158), Jim Kossakowski (167), and Freshman Mel Heckman (190) are gaining respect locally and have received national recognition as well.

Heckman remains undefeated while Dantzler has been rated as high as 16th, with Kossakowski seeded at 20th. Recently the team veteran, senior Mark Kuehl, placed sixth in the 190-pound division at the 28th Annual Midlands Championships.

“The ‘Midlands’ is the most prestigious Christmas tournament in the nation,” Vatch said. “If you place there, it’s almost a sure thing to place at nationals.”