DeKALB — The wrestling season came to an abrupt end Friday as two Huskie grapplers competed in the NCAA Championships.

Redshirt junior Bryce Gorman and sophomore Brock Hudkins represented NIU at the NCAA tournament at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland Thursday and Friday.

“The NCAA Championship is an amazing experience,” said Head Coach Ryan Ludwig. “It’s the pinnacle of collegiate competition. It’s difficult to describe the dedication it takes to earn a place among the best wrestlers in the nation.”

This is Gorman’s first NCAA Championship appearance at the 184-pound weight class. He faced off against the No. 2 seed Myles Martin of the Ohio State University Buckeyes in his first match on Thursday. Martin defeated Gorman 24-9 by technical fall.

In Gorman’s second match of the day, he faced rival conference wrestler Catten Marriott of the University of Missouri Tigers. Gorman defeated Marriott earlier in the season but couldn’t defeat him this time around, losing 6-0.

Gorman was eliminated and finished with an overall record of 11-10 on the season.

“This experience was important to Bryce because he is able to see where he wants to be and what it takes to get there,” Ludwig said.

Hudkins appeared in his second NCAA wrestling tournament during his collegiate career. He was named to the round of 12 last season after notching three wins at the national level.

Hudkins fell to No. 7 seed Taylor LeMont of Utah Valley, 3-2. Both grapplers recorded escapes in the second and third periods. LeMont notched a takedown in the third period, and Hudkins couldn’t fight back. Hudkins fell into the consolation bracket following the loss.

The sophomore came back, making quick work of Ibrahim Bunduka of George Mason University. Hudkins recorded a pinfall victory over Bunduka in the first period. With the win, Hudkins moved on to day two of the tournament.

On the second day of the tournament, Hudkins’ run came to an end as he lost in the second round of the consolation match. He suffered a loss to No. 8 seed Ethan Lizak of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

“Brock wrestled well, but is far from satisfied,” Ludwig said. “[Hudkins] wrestled the returning national runner-up in the second round of the consolation matches and gave him a tougher match than anyone else has on the backside.”

The Huskies have no seniors on the roster. The Huskies are adding five new grapplers for the 2018-2019 season to the young team. The current group features nine current freshmen and eight redshirt sophomores.

“We have a lot to build on moving forward,” Ludwig said. “We’ve seen some great growth in our team culture and skills. We aim to chase down NCAA titles, All-American honors and Academic All-American recognition.”