Contact:
Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302
Results
WHEATON, Ill. (Jan. 16, 2018) – Another commanding victory over a ranked opponent was only made sweeter after the No. 14 North Central College wrestling team defeated No. 25 Wheaton College on Thursday evening and improved to 3-0 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) duals.
The Thunder began the dual with a huge win from No. 4-ranked Carlos Fuentez at the 125-weight class. Fuentez defeated
Moe Mitchell by a 20-5 technical fall to give Wheaton the early 5-0 lead.
Knowing a five point deficit was not enough to cause the team to unravel,
Michael Bikulcius clinched a 9-1 win by major decision over Josiah Fitzjerrels at 133 to put four points on the board, followed by a 21-5 win by tech. fall for
Anthony Rink at 141 and a 15-7 win by major decision for
Rafael Roman over Yosep Lee to give North Central a 13-5 lead.
North Central wanted to extend the lead to a more comfortable margin and
Egan Berta was ready to make that happen. Berta defeated Jonavan Huggins at 157 pounds by a 26-10 tech. fall to add five more team points and leave Wheaton trailing 5-18.
But the Thunder put a halt to the Cardinals' run after No. 5-ranked Frank Aiello defeated
Danny Harris at 165 pounds with a 10-1 major decision to close the gap on North Central's lead.
The four points from Aiello were going to be the last for the Thunder as
Matt Marcotte brought North Central's lead to 21-9 with a 6-1 win by decision at 174 pounds.
Josh Bouie sealed the deal for his team with a grueling overtime win by decision over Isaac Odell at 184 pounds, adding three points to the team score.
At 197 pounds,
Tyler Vittal proved why he is the No. 8-ranked wrestler in the country, pinning Timothy Blickle in 5:54.
Emonte Logan added the team's final three points with a 9-6 win by decision at 285 to make the final score 33-9.
North Central (10-2, 3-0 CCIW) will split the squad on Saturday, Jan. 20, traveling to Whitewater, Wis. for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Invitational, beginning at 9 a.m., and a non-conference dual against No. 23-ranked University of Chicago at 1 p.m. on the Maroons' home mats.
