For the second time in two weeks, the NIU wrestling team squared off against a team in the top five.

This Saturday, the Huskies competed in the Rochester Duals in Minnesota and beat Northern Colorado while losing to North Dakota State and No. 1 Minnesota.

NIU started the day off by taking on the top-ranked Golden Gophers and lost 35-12. Jake Smith and David Benner picked up wins for the Huskies in the 197-pound and heavyweight class by pinning their opponents. Benner’s win marks the first time a Golden Gopher has lost in the heavyweight class in two years.

Arguably the best two matches of the meet came in the 133-pound and 174-pound classes. Senior and 10th-ranked Pat Castillo lost to second-ranked Mack Reiter at 133, while 12th-ranked Duke Burk dropped a 3-2 decision to sixth-ranked Gabe Dretsch.

“Pat’s wrestled two guys that are in the top eight and he’s lost each by only a point,” head coach Dave Grant said. “With Duke, it came down to us finishing a takedown. These one-point losses can be turned around by the end of the year.”

In the second meet of the day, the Huskies lost 21-17 to NDSU. Four Huskies – Castillo, Burk, T.J. Wunnicke and Kalen Knull – picked up wins, but it wasn’t enough for the win.

“We had them but we let them catch up,” Grant said.

In the final meet of the day, the Huskies beat Northern Colorado 29-5. Castillo, Pat McLemore, Michael Smith and Nick McClone each won by major decision.

In the end, Grant was pleased at the way his team competed, especially the freshmen.

“We gotta get them up to speed and we’re doing it against the best competition,” Grant said of his freshman. “After we faced Iowa State, we had problems not holding the center of the mat. Minnesota pushed much more than Iowa State did and we did a much better job of staying in the center.”

Box Score:

Minnesota 35, NIU 12

125: No. 3 Jayson Ness (MN) fall TJ Wunnicke (NI) 4:13

133: No. 2 Mack Reiter (MN) dec no. 10 Pat Castillo (NI) 4-3

141: No. 6 Manuel Rivera (MN) dec Patrick McLemore (NI) 9-4

149: No. 1 Dustin Schlatter (MN) tech fall Kalen Knull (NI) 16-1

157: No. 4 C.P. Schlatter (MN) fall Michael Smith (NI) 2:42

165: No. 13 Scott Glasser (MN) dec Bryan Deutsch (NI) 6-2

174: No. 6 Gabe Dretsch (MN) vs no. 12 Duke Burk (NI) 3-2

184: No. 2 Roger Kish (MN) forfeit (NI)

197: Jake Smith (NI) fall Yura Malamura (MN) 2:33

Hwt: David Benner (NI) fall Joe Nord (MN) 2:32

North Dakota State 21, NIU 17

125: TJ Wunnicke (NI) fall Andy Hackenmueller (NDSU) 1:35

133: No. 10 Pat Castillo (NI) maj. Eric Sanders (NDSU) 18-4

141: Gabriel Mooney (NDSU) dec. Patrick McLemore (NI) 7-5

149: Kalen Knull (NI) dec. Vince Salminen (NDSU) 5-2

157: Adam Aho (NDSU) dec. Michael Smith (NI) 7-5

165: Mike Quamme (NDSU) dec. Bryan Deutsch (NI) 8-7

174: No. 12 Duke Burk (NI) maj. Kenny Moenkedick (NDSU) 20-7

184: Matt Wetterling (NDSU) dec. Nick McClone (NI) 3-2

197: Justin LaGosh (NDSU) fall Jake Smith (NI) :35

Hwt: Jacob Bryce (NDSU) dec. David Benner (NI) 7-4

NIU 29, Northern Colorado 5

125: Tony Mustari (NC) dec. TJ Wunnicke (NI) 4-2

133: No. 10 Pat Castillo (NI) maj. Blayze Bahe (NC) 14-4

141: Patrick McLemore (NI) maj. Dick Lohr (NC) 12-2

149: Kalen Knull (NI) dec. Daniel Prater (NC) 8-2

157: Michael Smith (NI) maj. Justin Gaethje (NC) 13-4 (-1 team pt.)

165: Devan Lewis (NC) dec. Bryan Deutsch (NI) 9-4

174: No. 12 Duke Burk (NI) dec. Ryan Johnson (NC) 11-5

184: Nick McClone (NI) maj. Vince Mendez (NC) 11-0

197: Jake Smith (NI) dec. Patrick Carey (NC) 7-4

Hwt: No. 17 Reece Hopkin (NC) maj. David Benner (NI) 10-0