DeKALB | This is what every practice, match and drill comes down to: A chance to win a conference title and advance to the NCAA tournament.

After a two-week layoff, the NIU wrestling team will travel to Buffalo to compete in the MAC Championships. The two-day tournament will start Saturday at 11 a.m. and end with the finals and consolation finals late Sunday afternoon.

With six MAC teams and 10 weight classes, 60 wrestlers will compete for a chance to go to the NCAA tournament in Detroit, Mich. There will be 19 NCAA bids on the line. The winner of each of the 10 weight classes will earn an at-large bid, while the coaches will vote on the other nine wild card selections.

“This is what we train for, and our guys are ready,” said NIU head coach Dave Grant.

This year’s MAC tournament will feature a total of 26 wrestlers who earned recognition in at least one of the four wrestling national ranking polls. Central Michigan and Kent State come into this weekend’s action ranked fifth and 25th, respectively, in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division 1 coaches poll. The Chippewas and Golden Flashes are the only two MAC teams the Huskies have lost to this season.

CMU will present five wrestlers individually ranked among the top 20 and is considered the favorite to win its sixth consecutive MAC Championship title.

“No one expects us to beat Central Michigan,” said NIU junior Pat Castillo. “But I think we’ll give them a run for their money.”

As a team, NIU has received votes in the national polls all year, but has yet to crack the top 25. Despite its lack of recognition, NIU will bring its star-studded quintet of Pat Castillo, Mike Grimes, Johnny Galloway, Danny Burk and Duke Burk to the championships.

In the 125-pound class, Castillo, ranked 16th nationally and seeded No. 1 in the tournament, will have to go through nationally ranked grapplers Luke Smith of CMU and Chad Sportelli of KSU to claim his title.

Grimes (ranked 11th) and Galloway (9th) are also No. 1 seeds in their respective weight classes, while the Burk brothers will be seeded second behind Brandon and Christian Sinnott of CMU in the 174 and 184-pound classes.

For senior Mike Grimes, this weekend will be especially important after losing in last year’s MAC championships, due in part to an illness.

“I can’t wait for this weekend to come,” Grimes said. “I’ve been waiting for over a year and I can’t wait to redeem myself.”