With a 7-5 record against five ranked teams, the NIU wrestling team is still having success as both a team and individuals.

The tough schedule that this team has been put up against has allowed many of the wrestlers to be ranked in the Top 20. Josh Wooton at 141 pounds is ranked as high as 15th. Ben Heizer is ranked as high as seventh in the 184-pound class. Scott Owen is second. Coach Dave Grant thinks it will only be a matter of time before 174-pound senior Bill Lowney and 133-pound sophomore Sam Hiatt make an appearance in the Top 20.

“It won’t be too long until we see Sam and Bill and possibly some other guys get in [the rankings],” Grant said.

The high and mighty

The No. 20 ranking that the Huskies received from The Wrestling Mall on Jan. 6 was the highest that NIU has ever been ranked. It finished last season ranked 21st in the country with a 14-4 record.

No. 2 ranking school best

Owen, the school’s all-time leader in wins, is ranked second in the nation in the 157-pound weight class. Although Roy Conrad won the 177-pound title for NIU in 1960, he wasn’t ranked No. 1 in the country. Owen now has 102 wins for the Huskies.

The story of the broken jaw

While Heizer was at home over Winter Break in Arlington, Texas, he was wrestling at his old high school when his opponent landed wrong and hit him on his cheek with his head.

That blow fractured his jaw, which he had to have wired shut for two weeks, causing him to miss five matches and the win over Ohio State University.

“While my mouth was wired shut I couldn’t eat any solids,” Heizer said. “It sucked, I had to drink my meals. My jaw is pretty much healed and I’m ready to go now.”

A long time coming

For the first time this season due to ineligibility and injury setbacks, the Huskies will have their regular lineup. The lineup in order of weight from 125-pounds to heavyweight will be: Marlon Felton, Sam Hiatt, Josh Wooton, Oliver Vazquez, Scott Owen, Jeremy Benesh, Bill Lowney, Ben Heizer, J.D. Oliva and Jack Dennis.

The lineup will be put to work against their final Big Ten opponent of the season, Northwestern, on Jan. 17.