Pat Castillo Castillo won his first two matches, but then lost in his third. The senior earned a 9-2 decision over Cal Poly's Borislav Novachkov in the preliminary round and a 12-4 major decision over Christian Smith of Liberty in the first round. The...

The average wrestling meet at Victor E. Court features about 300 spectators. This weekend at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, the Scottrade Center will be packed with about 20,000 screaming fans. "It's probably the greatest thing I've ever...

Entering the MAC Wrestling Championships, NIU senior Pat Castillo was a favorite for the title. The same couldn't be said about Pat McLemore. The redshirt freshman had only wrestled in three matches since November. Additionally, McLemore would have to...

It's unusual for a team to have a month off between competitions. However, that's what the NIU wrestling team faces as it travels to Kent State for the MAC wrestling championships, which begin Saturday. NIU was scheduled to have two weeks off between...

With the NIU campus closed after the Feb. 14 shootings, NIU suspended all athletic competitions until Feb. 25. Twenty-seven contests in men's and women's basketball, gymnastics, baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, wrestling, women's track and...

NIU senior Aaron Owen came to NIU in 2003 with high hopes after winning two state wrestling championships in New Mexico. Unfortunately, Owen didn't expect shoulder injuries to wipe away almost three years of his college career. Owen redshirted the 2004...

King of the Hill NIU wrestler Pat Castillo now stands alone. The senior is now the top wrestler at 133 pounds according to the new MAC wrestling rankings, which were released Feb. 28. Castillo was previously tied at first with Kent State's Dan Mitcheff...

Two NIU athletes recently were named MAC players of the week. After going 4-0 and picking up two major decisions along the way, NIU wrestler Pat Castillo was named MAC wrestler of the week Feb. 12. The two major decisions gave Castillo a total of 15 on...

After a rough loss to No. 5 Central Michigan Thursday night, the NIU wrestling team was able to bounce back by going 3-0 against Eastern Michigan, Gardner-Webb and Clarion Saturday in Ypsilanti, Mich. "The true test for main character is when you come...

Central Michigan is a man among boys when it comes to MAC wrestling. Thursday night the Chippewas improved their MAC winning streak to 27 consecutive dual meets with a 41-3 victory over NIU in front of 859 fans in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Central Michigan...

NIU 8-6, 2-1 Coach's Take-Dave Grant The Huskie wrestling team faces its biggest challenge in the MAC tonight against No. 5 Central Michigan. The Chippewas defeated the Huskies 27-9 last season in DeKalb. "We should go in with the same kind of attitude...

NIU sophomore Duke Burk is 19-3 this season and is ranked No. 13 in the nation. The Peoria native talked with the Northern Star about his name, DeKalb and the Super Bowl. Northern Star: First of all, how did you get the nickname "Duke"? Duke Burk: When...