Derek Hunsinger was feeling a little rusty. He was only a few weeks removed from eye surgery and he hadn’t wrestled competitively in three weeks.

But with the NIU wrestling team trailing 10-6 to Northern Iowa Sunday afternoon, Hunsinger knew he was under pressure to deliver a win. Armed with an intimidating protective black mask that hid any facial expression, the 197-pound sophomore strode onto the mat and scored an 8-4 decision.

Sunday was a statement victory for Hunsinger on his long road back to the starting lineup. After sustaining multiple serious injuries in the past year, the El Paso, Ill. native is just happy to be wrestling again.

The unforgettable match

The 21-year-old Hunsinger was the picture of health until Jan. 22, 2005. In a home match against Ohio, a head butt broke Hunsinger’s right orbital eye socket bone. Despite being half blind and in pain, he finished the match with an 8-0 major decision.

Surgery ended his season soon after. But it was just the beginning of more complications.

“This year’s been bad,” Hunsinger said. “I had that groin injury after the Northwestern match. Then I was feeling really tired and sluggish. So I went home and saw my doctor and he said I had viral pneumonia and probably had it for a while. It seemed like one thing after another.”

The final straw was when his surgically-repaired bone became infected, forcing another surgery in late January. Watching his teammates face elite competition while he sat on the sideline was difficult for Hunsinger.

“A few times, I didn’t know if I could go on,” he said. “Now I’m getting it back in perspective. I know I could have beaten some of those guys we faced earlier in the year.”

With his injury woes hopefully behind him, the sophomore is getting used to wrestling with his new protective headgear. The mask’s mouth hole makes breathing a chore at times, and his full range of vision is blocked frequently. While his unusual new fashion statement may look intimidating to some, Hunsinger joked his opponents probably just laugh at it.

“With my previous mask, my teammates called me the Phantom of the Opera,” Hunsinger said. “Now they call me Darth Vader.”

Hunsinger added he was supposed to wear goggles along with his new “Dark Side” image as a precaution, but the mask is cumbersome as it is.

Better days ahead

With the season-ending MAC Tournament only a month away, NIU coach Dave Grant is confident he will be in shape in time.

“He’s playing catch up right now,” Grant said. “He had a great finish to his match and showed a lot of heart. It was a great come-from-behind win. I thought his shape was good.”

The matches don’t get any easier for Hunsinger. Still sporting a swollen eye from the surgery, he will travel to Central Michigan to take on the nation’s No. 1 wrestler in the 197 weight class, Wynn Michalak.

“I’m trying to treat it like any other match,” Hunsinger said. “He’s tough, but beatable. The odds are against me. I just have to stay focused.”

After finishing second to CMU at the MAC Championships the last four years, Grant is pushing his team hard in practice to constantly improve and hopefully peak in March.

Hunsinger added that Grant is determined to send all 10 starters to the NCAA Championships and is pushing them to do so.

As far as Grant is concerned, he’s just happy to have Hunsinger active and back in the fold.

“It’s good that he’s resolved that situation with his eye,” the 10th-year coach said. “It’s probably a big relief to him. He’s been training hard. It’s huge to keep the team at full strength right about now.”