After one of the most successful wrestling seasons in recent memory, NIU and the community have to wait to see what it will do for an encore.

For the first time in school history, the Huskies had two All-Americans in the same season; 157-pound sixth-year senior Scott Owen and 184-pound junior Ben Heizer.

Coach Dave Grant has said time and time again that Owen was, and is, going to be the definition of NIU wrestling for years to come.

The reason is because of his work ethic and leadership skills, Grant said.

When it comes to leadership skills, Grant also talked about how Heizer is going to help fill the void that Owen and six other seniors have left.

“We expect the same out of Ben again next season,” Grant said. “Scott is passing the torch, and Ben is ready to run with it. Ben was very instrumental this season as a team captain. Next season, he will carry the leadership role.”

The Huskies will return three guys that went to the NCAA Championships, including Heizer, who was an All-American. Both Sam Hiatt and Josh Wooton did good at the NCAAs and coach Grant said they were both “also close to being All-Americans as well.”

Grant is excited about where this program is about to go. He understands that a lot of seniors were lost, but this team is very capable of big things.

“We are going to be very young, but we will be very competitive,” Grant said. “We’ve got probably the most talent we have ever put on the mat at one time. We are going to be tough and aggressive.”

When Grant says young, he means young as one definite senior-to-be, Heizer, is going to start.

The incoming freshmen class is also impressive. He said that since the program has done so well, there have been many state champions that have verbally committed to NIU. But the Huskies were able to sign some big names too.

Already signed are Kalen Knull, who was a high school teammate in Ohio with Wooton and DeKalb High’s John Giuliano.

NIU also was able to keep it in the family by signing Owen’s little brother, Aaron, who hails from Carlsbad, N.M.

The redshirts this season may play huge roles next season.

Next year’s lineup isn’t set in stone, but Grant said this is likely what the lineup should be:

Jeremy Ryerson (Clinton) and Landon Foy (Thornwood) will help fill the void left by Marlon Felton in the 125-pound weight class.

DeKalb’s Hiatt has a lot of experience, along with 25 wins last season, and will stay at 133 pounds.

Another Hiatt, Sam’s little brother Andy, who redshirted last season, will fill the need for a 141-pounder as Josh Wooton likely will move up to 149 pounds to fill in for graduating Oliver Vazquez.

Andy talked about how these underclassmen are going to step in next season.

“We want to fit in as much as the seniors did last season,” the younger Hiatt said. “It will be a pretty hard task, but it is something that can be done. We will do better than a lot of people expect us to do.”

Grant said a bunch of people will try to fill Owen’s shoes. Moline native Tony Catour and Wisconsin’s Joe Henning will apply for the 157-pound job.

Jeremy Benesh (Oregon) will wrestle in the 165-pound class. George Kirgan (Granite City) is also capable of wrestling in the 165 and 174-pound classes.

Wisconsin’s Alex Nelson and Indiana’s Bryce Hasseman will have to wait to find out who will see time in the 174-pound class.

Hasseman thinks that the team will be fine next year and has high expectations.

“We want to be in the Top 10 in the nation,” Hasseman said. “What we need is for some of the freshmen and redshirts to step up for us.”

Heizer is set in stone at 184 pounds. Brandon Check (Lake Zurich) and Dustin Doctor (Sycamore) both will compete for the 197-pound spot. Minnesota’s Zac Jensen and Seth Livingston (Bloomington) will both try to be “big timers” in the heavyweight division.

“If we are going to build this into a Top 10 team, we are going to have to do it from within,” Grant said.