George Kirgan transferred to NIU from the University of Nebraska two years ago. After going 8-11 last season, the 174-pound junior is 15-8 this season with a team-high six pins. Northern Star: Out of all the sports, why wrestling? George Kirgan: I guess...

One might think an athlete gaining weight would be a bad thing, but in the case of Josh Wooton, things are starting to fall into place. Last year, during Wooton’s freshman season, he competed at the 141-pound weight class and went on to the NCAA Championships...

With the NIU wrestling team trailing 17-16 going into the final match against Ohio on Sunday, the fate of the Huskies fell on the shoulders of a freshman. The freshman, heavyweight Joe Sapp (9-13), came through with a 5-4 decision over Jeremiah Beltran,...

Out to prove a point, the NIU wrestling team is looking to take down one of the giants of the MAC: Ohio. In the preseason MAC coaches poll, Ohio (6-2 overall, 1-0 MAC) was voted to take second, while the Huskies (7-3, 1-0) were picked to finish third...

Every year, there’s a time where sports hits its low point and it seems like there’s nothing around to keep an eye on. It may come at different times for different locations across the country. Two weeks before the most anonymous Super Bowl in NFL...

The NIU wrestling team won its MAC opener against Kent State 25-12 in front of 246 people Sunday at the Convocation Center. After dropping the conference opener to Kent State last season, NIU didn’t want the same letdown to happen this season. “All...

After opening up the conference schedule with a loss against Kent State last year, the NIU wrestling team will try to start the year with a win when it takes on the Golden Flashes at 2:05 p.m. Sunday at the Convocation Center. While this is the first...

NIU wrestler Ben Heizer, with the highest preseason ranking in school history, almost didn’t come to NIU. In fact, he didn’t even know it existed. “I’d never even heard of Northern before,” Heizer said. “I was getting looked at by Oklahoma,...

For the second season in a row, the NIU wrestling team started its season by dropping its first meet to a Big Ten opponent. Last year, it was two-time defending NCAA champion Minnesota. This year, it was Wisconsin, who came out on top with a 27-9 victory....

After placing six wrestlers, including four freshmen, at the Michigan State Open, the NIU wrestling team is trying to place more at the Missouri Open this weekend. The Huskies will travel to take on some of the best teams in the country this weekend,...

NIU’s 24th-ranked wrestling team had six wrestlers and two coaches place at the Michigan State Open over the weekend. Josh Wooton, at the 149-pound level, wrestled in his first tournament at his new weight. He took home first in his weight division....