Contact: Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Nov. 10, 2026) – Propelled by eight wins in 10 bouts, the North Central College men's wrestling team fought its way to a 40-10 win in what served as both the season-opening and conference-opening bout against Illinois Wesleyan on Tuesday night inside Gregory Arena at Merner Fieldhouse. Ethan Spacht won by pin for the fifth straight time, while newcomers Maguire Hoeksema, Billy Meiszner and Jack Strezo brought home victories by technical fall, pin and decision, respectively.
Joey Sikorsky set the tone for No. T25 North Central (1-0, 1-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) in the 125-pound bout. The senior dominated to a 21-5 technical fall. Sikorsky executed an early takedown before his opponent rode out the rest of the period. He then dominated the second period before performing a takedown early in the third to end the match 21-5, putting the Cardinals up 5-0 in the dual.
Spacht, who won the top 133-pound bracket this past weekend at the Pointer Open by winning four straight bouts by pin, continued that trend on Tuesday night, earning six team points for the Cardinals by pinning his opponent, Brady Mouser, at the 2:37 mark. Spacht led 9-3 prior to his pin of Mouser, getting a takedown and a reversal in the first period before holding on for a four-point nearfall just before finishing the match with his fifth consecutive pin.
Illinois Wesleyan (0-2, 0-2), trailing 11-0, got its first team points of the match in the 141-pound bout. Austin Johnston pinned Matthew Maldonado in the third period at the 4:30 mark to bring the Titans to within five (11-6).
Strezo extended North Central's team lead from the 149-pound spot in the lineup. The freshman made his Gregory Arena debut to boisterous applause, going the distance with Charlie Wittmer of Illinois Wesleyan. An early takedown by Wittmer was followed by an escape by Strezo, putting the freshman down 3-1 in the bout. He responded later in the period with a takedown of his own, and Wittmer countered with an escape to even the bout at four apiece. An escape from referee's position by the Titan student-athlete gave him an early 5-3 advantage in the second period, but Strezo remained undaunted and responded with a takedown shortly after, riding out the rest of the period on the back of Wittmer to take a 7-5 advantage in the third period.
Strezo, who started from referee's position after deferring his decision at the conclusion of the first period, earned an escape point early in the third period and tacked on another takedown to extend his lead to 11-5, a score that would hold after the final buzzer rang. The decision victory put North Central up 14-6 going into the 157-pound bout.
Meiszner, another newcomer by way of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, grabbed North Central's second pin of the night in the second period of his match, after dominating the first period, putting up 10 points on a pair of takedowns and a four-point nearfall. Meiszner pinned his opponent at the 4:57 mark, giving the Cardinals a 14-point cushion (20-6).
Hoeksema, a transfer from Harper College, nabbed five more team points for his new squad in his duals debut with the program. He took a three-point lead into the second period prior to putting up one of the most dominant stretches by any wrestler in the dual. Hoeksema scored 11 points in the second period alone, executing three takedowns and an escape to go along with a stalling penalty. Hoeksema finally reached the scoring limit by performing two more takedowns in the third period to win 21-5 and extend the Cardinal lead to 25-6.
In the 174-pound match, the Titans forfeited, allowing Collin Conley to claim the win.
Up 31-6 entering the 184-pound bout, North Central brought home another victory, this time by decision (11-4) on the back of PT Schoolman. The Somonauk native allowed just four points, all on escapes. Schoolman took a 3-1 lead into the second period, tacking on a point with an early escape after starting "down." He later performed a takedown in the second half of the period to give himself a 7-2 advantage into the third period. He added on a takedown and a riding point to win 11-4 and give North Central a 34-6 lead going into the penultimate bout.
The 197-pound match went the way of the Titans by virtue of a major decision (17-3). Trey Dunning defeated AJ Hernandez to give Illinois Wesleyan its final four points of the match.
The 285-pound bout was forfeited by the Titans, giving Luke Chrisse a win and the Cardinals six more points to bring the dual to its final score of 40-10.
The Cardinals are now 3-0 all-time against Illinois Wesleyan, outscoring them 138-19. They've outscored the Titans 95-10 inside Gregory Arena.
Strezo and Hoeksema both improved to 6-1 on the year, respectively; Maldonado and Sikorsky both earned their fourth win of the season (4-1) and Conley's victory via forfeit moved him to 5-1 on the young campaign.
North Central is back on the mat on Thursday. It plays host to Carthage College at 7 p.m. inside Gregory Arena in another CCIW clash.
