Brad Dieckhaus
After a month away from home, members of the Huskie wrestling team will host their annual Showcase Meet Thursday when they face the Purdue Boilermakers.
The meet, which is the 25th meeting between the two schools since 1969, begins at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center. The dual will also be the first meeting between the Huskies and Boilermakers since 2008 and the first in Illinois since 2004.
“The Showcase Meet is a great tradition here at Northern, and the guys always look forward to competing in this first-class event,” said Huskie head coach Ryan Ludwig. “It’s a nice homecoming after being on the road the last couple of weeks.”
The Huskies are coming off a 2-1 performance at the Hoosier Duals. The team claimed wins against Campbell (22-14) and SIU-Edwardsville (25-7), while dropping a close 22-12 decision against host Indiana. Individually, Nick Smith, Tyler Loethen and Brad Dieckhaus each went a perfect 3-0 in their matches, while Rob Jillard, Shawn Fayette and Jared Torrence each took two victories.
Purdue, meanwhile, enters Thursday’s dual with a 2-4 record.
Yet, all four of the Boilermakers’ losses have come at the hands of No. 9 Missouri, No. 10 Lehigh, No. 14 American and No. 16 Rutgers. Purdue’s starting ten features a wealth of experience, with 2010 All-American Chase Quiroga and 2011 NCAA qualifiers Camden Eppert and A.J. Kissel headlining.
“This should be an intense dual meet and there are some matches throughout the night that will have national ranking implications,” Ludwig said. “We are excited about having a packed house and the home crowd providing a great atmosphere for our wrestlers.”
This year’s edition of the Showcase Meet will be the 10th held inside the Convocation Center. Since the meet moved to the Convo in 2002, the Huskies have gone 2-7. Yet, the program has also won two of their last four, with both wins coming against Northwestern in 2007 and 2009.
For more information on NIU wrestling and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
