Mike Grimes could see it all unfold. The fans in the stands. The anticipation in the air. A MAC championship within his grasp.

Saturday afternoon, NIU wrestling teammates Grimes and Danny Burk found themselves sitting in the Convocation Center bleachers, watching the IHSA Wrestling Duals together. As they looked around, they were reminded that in one week’s time, their home arena would be the spot for the MAC tournament and would determine who advances to the NCAA Championships.

“It’s huge,” Grimes said. “You looked around and just imagined the place with a whole bunch of people there and the mats and picture the whole atmosphere. When it’s in your own backyard, it’s a great feeling.”

The NIU wrestling team (10-5-2 overall, 3-1-1 MAC) will host this year’s tournament starting at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. today at the Convocation Center. The finals are set for noon Saturday. All 10 weight class winners get automatic berths into the NCAA Championships, with possibly nine additional spots given to runner-ups.

In a season where the Huskies wrestled seven top 25 ranked programs, NIU coach Dave Grant thinks the experience against top flight competition only benefited his team.

“We’ve gone through a great season,” Grant said. “We’ve wrestled a lot of quality opponents this year and we’ve been in the fire before. We’re tapering at the right time and our guys will be ready to go.”

Though NIU reached at least 10 victories for the fifth-straight year, perennial favorite Central Michigan is still the team to beat. Last year, the No. 4-ranked Chippewas won a MAC-record eight of the 10 weight class championships and outscored second place NIU 119.5-59 in team scoring.

Despite losing four previous champions to graduation, CMU has defeated all MAC opponents this season. But Burk said the home court will be a significant advantage for the Huskies this time around.

“We can sleep in our own beds and have the comforts of home,” the 174-pound junior said. “Every time I’ve gone to the Convo since last March, that’s been in my mind that the MAC tournament is going to be there. I have confidence that I’ve paid my dues all year long, and it all comes down to this weekend and I’ll be ready.”

Several marquee rematches could be possible this weekend. At 197 pounds, the nation’s No. 1 Wynn Michalak of CMU may face No. 3 Kyle Cerminara of Buffalo. Michalak defeated Cerminara 3-2 in their previous meeting Feb. 5.

Other possible rematches include NIU’s No. 12 Pat Castillo vs. CMU’s No. 10 Luke Smith at 125 pounds and NIU’s No. 14 Mike Grimes vs. CMU’s No. 5 Mark DiSalvo at 149 pounds.

For Grimes, the two week layoff between the end of the regular season and the MAC tournament is just what he needed.

“This is the best time of the year,” the junior said. “The long and tense grinding part of the year has passed. Your body will be fresh and then it’s time to perform better than we have performed yet.”