For the NIU wrestling program, this past weekend’s University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Tombstone Open was an aptly named invitational.

Drawing sponsorship from Tombstone Pizza, the two-day open meet was just like its namesake for the Huskies. Some of the NIU wrestlers enjoyed larger slices and in the end, coach Ed Vatch was satisfied when Friday’s and Saturday’s results were digested.

“For a first time out, we did just fine. We may be more excited with what our freshman did just because we didn’t know what to expect from them. We expect some of our veterans to do well and they didn’t disappoint us,” Vatch said.

Upperclass championships belonged to Mark Kuehl at 190-pounds and T.C. Dantzler at 158-pounds. In the frosh portion of the meet, Mel Heckman followed a pair of pins with a 15-12 decision to claim the 190-pound division trophy. Chad McCrimmon (heavyweight) and Bill Walsh (134 pounds) notched third in their respective weight classes.