Wrestling travels to Northern Illinois, falls to the Huskies and Cyclones
November 22, 2019
On Nov. 15, the Bison wrestling team faced Northern Illinois for the teams’ first-ever dual. Despite a few solid wins, the team dropped a 24-10 overall decision to the Huskies.
Drew Phipps ’20, Zach Hartman ’22, and Noah Levett ’22 scored individual wins for the Bison. With his most recent victory, Phipps collected his 13th straight win at the 197 lb weight class. Hartman’s 15-7 major decision was fueled by four takedowns and bonus points. Early momentum sparked Levett’s 12-10 win over his opponent.
Darren Miller ’23, Jaden Fisher ’23, and Brandon Seidman ’22 made their first appearances in dual action, also claiming wins.
Looking to rebound from the prior loss, the Bison shifted focus to their next match against No. 12 Iowa State on Nov. 17. This was the second meeting between Iowa State and the Bison, with their first match taking place in 1997. Hartman upset No. 20 Chase Straw, the defending Big 12 champion. This was Hartman’s sixth win over a nationally ranked opponent.
Phipps collected another win for his record, extending his streak to 14 wins after a 4-0 victory.
Miller once again competed in a good performance, being tied 1-1 through two periods. Fighting to a final score of 3-1, Miller collected his first collegiate victory.
“I’m really excited for this year, more than any year since I’ve been here. We have a really good group of leaders on the team paired with some very talented young guys along with some workhorses in the room which raises the level of all of us guys,” Brandon Stokes ’20 said. “My favorite memory from this weekend was wrestling in such an electric atmosphere at Iowa State; the fans, the venue, the team we wrestled were all top-notch. It made it easy to get pumped up to wrestle in an environment like that.”
The team will return to the mat on Nov. 23 when they compete in the Navy Classic in Annapolis, Md.
“This year will be really special in my opinion, because of the guys we have and the work we are all putting in, it’s hard not to be excited to see what we can accomplish,” Stokes said.
