It was a first for the NIU wrestling team.

For the first time this season the Huskies suffered a MAC defeat. On Friday night

Kent State came to the Convocation Center and left with a 20-16 win.

“We fought hard, the duel went back and forth quite a bit,” NIU head coach Dave Grant said. “Our guys went out there and wrestled hard and that’s what we ask them to do.”

The Golden Flashes (10-4 overall, 1-0 MAC) featured four wrestlers ranked in the top 25, although one wasn’t able to wrestle because of injury. The Huskies (8-5, 2-1) opened up with a win at 157 pounds, as freshman Brian O’Connor defeated

Kent State’s Nick Dierkes 4-2.

But Kent State’s Kurt Gross, ranked No. 15 in the nation, evened the score by defeating Jesse Linczmaier 16-11.

NIU’s Duke Burk, ranked No. 13 in the nation followed with a 15-4 major decision

over Chris Estep. Burk improved his season record to 17-3 on the season.

“I’ve been working on a lot of new things,” Burk said. “I kind of struggled at Midlands so since then I’ve kind of had a new mindset.”

Kent state went on to win the next three matches which put the score at 14-7 and set the stage for the 125 pound match between NIU’s T.J. Wunnicke and Kent State’s Nic Bedelyon. Both wrestlers are currently ranked No. 3 and No. 2 in the MAC, respectively.

Bedelyon entered the third period with a 3-2 lead before Wunnicke tied it up with an escape 6:23 into the match.

However, it wasn’t enough to send the match into overtime as Bedelyon gained a fourth point on the riding time advantage. The time advantage is awarded if

a wrestler has one minute or more of net accumulated time in the advantage

position.

“We just let the guy get in on our legs too much” Grant said. “Those things you

got to go back and watch the tapes and analyze how you can start hitting your

wrestling moves instead of him hitting them on you.”

The 133 pound match was supposed to be between two wrestlers ranked in the top 25, No. 11 Pat Castillo of NIU and No. 16 Dan Mitcheff of Kent State. Mitcheff

wasn’t able to go because of an injury and Castillo won on a forfeit, bringing the score to 17-13.

Kent State clinched though when No. 18 Drew Lashaway defeated Huskie Tristen DeShazer 8-3.

“Kent State’s tough” Burk said. “I think for the MAC tournament we’ll be able to adjust to some things they do because they do a lot of the same things at each weight.”