Two years ago, the NIU wrestling team defeated Central Michigan 16-15 at home in a meet that was decided in the final weight class match.

On Friday night, the last match was merely a formality as the defending MAC champion Chippewas defeated the Huskies 30-7.

A full house at Victor E. Court saw No. 10 Central Michigan (10-4 overall, 1-0 MAC) halt the No. 23 Huskies (11-3, 3-1) win streak at 11.

With six wrestlers ranked in the top 15 of their individual weight classes, the Chippewas used their size and quickness advantages to score early in the first periods and build large leads. In eight of the 10 matches, CMU scored first and never trailed while accumulating three major decisions and a pin.

“I think we hurt ourselves in the first period a lot,” NIU coach Dave Grant said. “In quite a few matches we got down, and it’s hard to catch back up. I think when we went out and wrestled hard right away, those matches turned out well.”

The Huskies began strong at 141 pounds as Josh Wooton improved his conference record to 4-0 with a 11-3 major decision over CMU’s Brandon Carter. But CMU proceeded to win the next seven matches to take a commanding 27-4 lead.

Despite the loss, Grant said 125 pounder Chad Vandiver was a bright spot. The NIU freshman improved his record to 18-9 on the season with a 6-5 decision over CMU’s Luke Smith, who was ranked No. 11 nationally at 125 pounds.

The partisan crowd, silenced for most of the evening, erupted as Vandiver’s winning takedown, with less than 10 seconds remaining, sealed his match.

“I just was aggressive from the start and I had nothing to lose,” Vandiver said. “I think a lot of our guys didn’t get their stuff going right away, and Central got a lot of early takedowns and just got good position and sat on their leads.”

The Huskies were without 197-pound starter Derek Hunsinger for the meet. The NIU freshman had outpatient surgery Friday to repair a broken left orbital bone and will miss 4 to 6 weeks of action.