Contact: Sam Fretto, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Jan. 20, 2026)- Honoring six seniors on senior night, the North Central College men's wrestling team defeated the Millikin Big Blue 28-12 inside of Gregory Arena on Tuesday night. The win over Millikin extends the Cardinals College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) dual win streak to 63. 

Starting off the night with a win was Joey Sikorsky wrestling at 125-pounds. Sikorsky, named the CCIW Wrestler of the Week, defeated Mason Franklin in a 10-6 decision to give North Central a 3-0 lead. 

Following Sikorsky was top-ranked 125-pound wrestler and senior Chip Guzman, who wrestled in the 133-pound match in the dual. Taking on Charlie Armstrong, Guzman won the match by a 15-0 technical fall in 1:11. Guzman scored a takedown on Armstrong and proceeded to earn three separate four-point nearfalls while having control. Guzman's technical fall gave North Central an 8-0 advantage. 

The Cardinals won the next two matches as Aboo Assaf pinned Colin Claffey in the 141-pound match and Tyler Starr scored an 8-2 decision victory over Sabri Sino at 149 pounds. Daniel Ward suffered a loss in the 157-pound bout as he dropped a 5-0 decision to Chase Mirelez. 

Mekhi Cave returned North Central to the win column in the 165-pound match with a 5-2 decision over Michael Hutchison to give the Cardinals a 20-3 lead. Jake Luce followed with an 18-1 technical fall over Joey Jens. In the 184-pound bout, AJ Frescura faced off against Kody Marschner which ultimately ended in a Millikin pinfall victory. Senior Casey Aikman took on 13th-ranked Mateo Casillas at 197 pounds as Aikman dropped a close 10-6 decision, which came down to a last-second Casillas takedown. 

The 285-pound bout featured Will Erberck taking on Tylahn Ladd. Erberck and Ladd wrestled defensively with the only points being scored coming by escapes. At the end of regulation and a sudden victory period, the score was tied 1-1. Erberck opted to the ground and quickly escaped Ladd's hold to take the 2-1 lead, and sealed the match with a takedown in the late stages of the first tiebreaker period, to secure a 5-1 victory. 

Senior Cameron Phillips wrestled in an extra match against Nicholas Walker and came away with a 9-4 decision victory to cap off senior night. 

The Cardinals (9-3, 6-0 CCIW) handed the Big Blue (14-4, 6-1 CCIW) their first conference loss of the season as they came away with the 28-12 win. 

North Central remains at home when they host the No. 12-ranked University of Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 24, with a 1 p.m. start inside of Gregory Arena.