NIU wrestling coach Dave Grant called this year’s recruiting class the best he has had in his five years at the school.

In May, Intermat Wrestling News Service ranked NIU’s recruiting class 18th in the nation as it projected three NIU recruits to eventually become All-Americans, but didn’t disclose the names of those recruits.

Freshmen wrestlers Seth Livingston, Alex Nelson and Josh Wooton, who won a combined five state wrestling championships in high school, are among five NIU freshmen wrestlers to be recognized by Intermat while in high school.

“I think once this class gets in with all the upperclassmen, it’s going to help us to be top ranked in the MAC and in the country,” he said.

Fellow freshmen wrestlers Matt Kucala and Mike Boyd won Illinois State Championships in high school and also were recognized by Intermat. Both, however, already have been redshirted and won’t compete this season.

Nelson is the team’s 149-pound starter, so he likely won’t be redshirted. A decision to redshirt Livingston and Wooton won’t be made until January.

Livingston, a heavyweight wrestler, won an Illinois State Championship at Bloomington High School his senior year and was a finalist his junior year. Among the things Grant liked about him were his high school record and desire to wrestle.

Livingston will wrestle behind incumbent heavyweight Jon Lovrich.

“He’s a good wrestler,” Lovrich said. “He’s willing to learn, he’s always asking questions, he wants to get better.”

The chance to work with Lovrich is one of the reasons why Livingston came to NIU.

Nelson won back-to-back Wisconsin High School State Championships at Turner High School and didn’t lose a match his final two seasons.

Wooton, a 141-pounder, won two Ohio High School State Championships at St. Paris Graham High School. Grant says Wooton has won a lot of matches in NIU’s wrestling room this year.

“High school is more laid back, but when you get to college it’s go go go,” Nelson said. “Moves in high school don’t work in college. There’s little things you need to adjust to to put you over the edge.”

With all the work he was getting, Livingston was looking forward to getting down to business at the Steven’s Point Open back on Sept. 10.

“We’re just finishing our sixth week of hard practicing without a meet,” Livingston said before the tournament. “It’s pretty hard not competing.”

At the tournament, Livingston placed fifth in the heavyweight class.

Wooton who said he would approach the tournament like any other he had participated in. He made it to the championship match in the 141-pound weight class before losing 7-4 to University of Wisconsin wrestler Grant Hoerr, who was ranked third in the nation.

With their collegiate careers ahead of them, Livingston, Nelson and Wooton have goals of winning national championships.

“Anybody that’s wrestling Division I level — that’s what they want to do,” Livingston said. “If they don’t want to, then their not serious about wrestling in college.”