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Wrestling places five at MSU Open

November 11, 2013
Andrew Morse

Andrew Morse

The Northern Illinois University wrestling team faced some of the region’s best programs Saturday inside Jenison Fieldhouse, where the Huskies got five placewinners at the MSU Open.

Sophomore Andrew Morse took second place at 157 pounds, while freshman Jordan Northrup won the fresh/soph 133 bracket.

“The field of competition was outstanding and we had some guys perform very well,” said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. “(Andrew) Morse, (Tyler) Argue and (Shawn) Scott really got after it and won some key matches today. I think we made strides as a team and the guys can feel it.”

After taking second place last weekend in South Dakota, Northrup continued his impressive redshirt season with two pins and a technical fall in his first three matches, sticking Notre Dame (Ohio)’s Jonas Gaytan and Lindenwood’s Wesley Lancaster before routing Chris Caton of Indiana, 16-1. In the semifinals, the Machesney Park, Ill., native defeated Michigan’s George Fisher, 9-6, before squeaking past Indiana’s Kyle Springer, 6-4, in the finals.

At 157, Morse defeated MAC rival Andrew Romanchik of Ohio, 2-0, before taking a win by injury default over Ohio State’s Randall Languis. In the quarterfinals, Morse tallied a 13-4 major decision against Johnny Greisheimer of Edinboro, then handily defeated Michigan State’s Ryan Watts, 9-2, to punch his ticket into the finals. The sophomore’s day ended when he was pinned by two-time NCAA Championships qualifier Taylor Walsh.

Tyler Argue

Tyler Argue

Fellow sophomore Tyler Argue found his way onto the podium with a third place finish at 141. The Mt. Carmel High School product won his first three matches, including a 24-9 tech fall of Ohio’s Jacob Rockloff and a pin of Indiana’s Ethan Raley. After getting pinned in the semifinals by Columbia’s Matt Bystol, Argue capped the day with a win by medical forfeit against Edinboro’s Mitchell Port.

Taking fourth place at 197 pounds was Shawn Scott. He began the day with a 5-0 shutout of Andrew Simpson of Olivet before registering a 13-3 major decision against Michigan State’s Nick McDiarmid to get to the semifinals. However, Scott fell by major decision to Ohio’s Phil Wellington before losing to Michigan State’s Luke Jones in the third-place match.

Despite dropping his first match of the day, Nick Harrison ran off four-straight wins in the wrestlebacks. The native of Stillman Valley, Ill., pinned Kristopher McKinley of Indiana Tech, then got a 9-1 major decision over Calumet College of St. Joseph’s Anthony Hawkins, an injury default win over Notre Dame (Ohio)’s Brian Hauser and an 8-2 decision over Columbia’s Penn Gottfried. In the fifth-place match, Harrison fell to Ohio State’s Nick Roberts to finish sixth.

The Huskies get their first taste of dual action next weekend, when they take on Michigan, Oregon State, Clarion and Findlay at the EMU Duals Nov. 16.

For more information on NIU wrestling and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.