Contact: Sam Fretto, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

Results 

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Dec. 10, 2024)- The North Central College men's wrestling team has extended their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) duals win streak to 54 after taking down the Wheaton College Thunder (0-4, 0-4 CCIW) by a score of 46-3 Tuesday night in Gregory Arena. 

The Cardinals (5-0, 4-0 CCIW) won nine of their 10 matches in the dual, winning most of them in dominant fashion. North Central walked away with five technical fall wins, three pin victories, and one decision win. 

The first match of the night featured Cameron Phillips and Cooper Chapman in the 125-pound weight class. The match went to overtime after Chapman was able to make a late comeback on Phillips, earning a four-point near fall to tie the match. Phillips would walk away victorious, scoring a pinfall in the early moments of overtime. Phillips moves to 5-4 this season, getting his first pin. 

After the opening match fall victory for North Central, the Cardinals went on a run of technical fall victories.

Making his season debut, Julian Valtierrez battled in the 133-pound weight class against Alex Armira. Valtierrez dominated out of the gate, earning a 17-2 technical fall victory. The following 141-pound bout saw Raymond Cavey square off with Cale Coppess. Cavey earned a 19-4 technical fall win, dominating his match down the stretch with multiple takedowns. Cavey moves to 3-2 on the season with his first technical fall win of the year. 

Kayle Bearson continued the run of technical fall wins as he won his match against Aidan Laird in the 149-pound weight class. Bearson's tech fall win was scored 19-4, and he is now 6-2 on the year with two technical fall wins. 

In the 157-pound weight class, Nolan Flores earned his fourth tech fall (18-3) win of the season, downing Nicholas Bittner. Flores is now 8-4 this season.  

Harrison Konder, like his previous four teammates, scored a tech fall victory (19-4). Konder got the win over Cael Palmer, as he now moves to 7-6 on the season with his first win by technical fall. 

The Cardinals streak ended in the 174-pound weight class, however. Jerry Nino, looking to turn the tides on the season, matched up against Garrett Boyd, where he would fall via a 9-6 decision. Nino attempted to make a last-second comeback after getting taken down twice in the first two periods but came up just short. 

Payton Geigner put North Central back on track with a pinfall victory over Sean King in the 184-pound weight class. Geigner got the pin in two minutes and 13 seconds as he moved to a dominant 11-1 record in 2024-25. 

The Cardinals earned back-to-back fall wins with Jon Kratz putting away his opponent, Luke Feddeler, in the 197-pound class, in just one minute and 33 seconds. Kratz, now with double-digit wins this season, is 10-3. 

The dominant night capped off with a 285-pound bout between Aidan Trujillo and Joseph Kruse. Trujillo won by a 4-0 decision, notching his fifth win of the season. Trujillo defended well as Kruse wasn't able to get any offense in. 

The Cardinals wrap up their stretch of wrestling at home Saturday, Dec. 14, for the 60th Annual North Central College Invitational held inside of Residence Hall/Recreation Center. Click HERE for the full schedule. 

Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.