Contact: Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302 

Individual Results
Team Results

Feb. 8, 2018 – Highlighted by first place finishes from freshman Egan Berta at 157 pounds and junior Tyler Vittal at 197, the North Central College wrestling team celebrated a dominant season in appropriate fashion, winning the program's seventh College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) team championship on Thursday on their home mats in Gregory Arena.

North Central won the tournament with 123.5 points, followed by Millikin University with 114.5 points and Elmhurst College with 100. Wheaton College finished fourth with 96 points, followed by Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in fifth (76) and Concordia University-Wisconsin (60). Augustana College finished seventh with 57 points and Lakeland College placed eighth with 9.5. In addition to the team's win, the conference coaches recognized North Central head coach Joe Norton as the Coach of the Year.

The Cardinals saw two wrestlers win individual titles, followed by three second place and two third place finishers. Cameron Hayes placed fifth for North Central at the 165 weight class and Evan Stingily finished sixth at 184 pounds.

Moe Mitchell represented the Cardinals at 125, opening the first round with a win by fall over Mark Niewierowski of MSOE at the 1:50 mark. In the semifinal match, Mitchell earned a commanding 12-3 major decision over Elijiah Diaz of Millikin to advance to the championship match. Despite best efforts, Mitchell dropped a 13-1 major decision to fourth-ranked Carlos Fuentez, finishing second.

Marc Fleenor started the tournament with a bye at 133 and found himself in the consolation round after falling to Brendan Gould of Augustana at 4:07. In the second round of the consolation, he defeated Ramiro Vasquez of Concordia by a 14-2 major decision to face Brandon Muselman of Millikin in the third place match. Fleenor improved on his fourth place finish from last year's conference meet with a 12-5 decision to place third.

At 141, Anthony Rink earned a first round bye, but dropped to the consolation bracket after falling to eventual champion and Outstanding Wrestler of the Year, Jimmy McAuliffe, at 3:50. Rink came back from the loss with an 18-0 win by technical fall over James Cushman of MSOE to advance to the third place match against Dale Charlier of Augustana. The championship match proved to be a battle for both wrestlers, but it was Rink who was able to fight through to a 5-3 decision and place third for the Cardinals.

Ben Williamson was next to take the mats for North Central at 149 pounds and began with a quick pin over Yosep Lee of Wheaton at 1:33. Williamson went on to face Josh Lawson of Elmhurst in a nail-biting semifinal match that forced overtime but went in favor of North Central as Williamson was able to hang on for a 6-4 decision. Williamson unfortunately could not top Bradan Birt from Millikin in the championship match, dropping a close 11-8 decision and taking second.

In the first round of his CCIW championship debut at 157 pounds, Berta defeated Jack Rathburn of MSOE by a 15-0 technical fall before taking an 11-7 decision over John Prieto of Elmhurst in the semi-finals. In the championship match, Berta earned a dominant 12-3 major decision over Jonavan Huggins to claim his first CCIW individual title.

North Central had been in the lead for the majority of the meet and going into the 174 matches, Matt Marcotte knew the team needed big points. He defeated Mason Lind of Lakeland in the opening match by an 18-2 technical fall before taking a 9-4 decision over Jake Tisza of Millikin to advance to the championship match. Marcotte tirelessly battled against Helton Vandenbush of MSOE in the championship match, but ultimately dropped a 6-5 decision to place second.

At 197, tenth-tanked Vittal opened with an 18-2 technical fall over Trystyn Schoonover of Augustana to advance to the semifinal where he would take a 14-3 win by major decision over Timothy Blickle of Wheaton. A win in the championship match could seal the deal for the Cardinals and as he had become accustomed to this season, Vittal stepped up to the mat and knew what to do. Vittal stifled Mitchell Slatton of Concordia in a 3-0 decision that earned him his first individual title and set North Central up for a team victory.

At 285, eighth-ranked Emonte Logan was looking to improve on his third place finish last year. He started off the first round strong with a win by fall over Samuel Olsen of Concordia before fighting to a 5-3 decision over Myron Hamilton of Millikin. Entering the championship match, Logan found himself pitted against ninth-ranked Austin Bellile of MSOE, the wrestler who defeated him at last year's championship. Belille's towering presence was not going to discourage Logan who used his speed and agility to challenge his opponent and limit him to a 3-0 decision and finish second.

North Central travels to Dubuque, Iowa for the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championship, beginning Feb. 24.