No. 12 Central Michigan defeats Northern Illinois 23-12


The No. 12 Central Michigan wrestling team overcame an early deficit to beat Northern Illinois 23-12 on Friday.

The Chippewas lost two of the first three matches, including losses by Tyler Keselring and Scott Mattingly in the 133 and 141-pound matches, respectively. They went on to win five of the next seven matches to win.

CMU has won seven of its past 10 meetings, and also 17 of the past 18 meetings with NIU.

Senior Ben Bennett, ranked No. 2, won convincingly against Bryan Loughlin after a 8-0 first-period lead. Bennett chose bottom to begin the second period, escaped and took Loughlin down at 3:42.

Junior Joe Roth won a 10-1 major decision at 125 pounds to start the night. Senior Donnie Corby won a 7-4 decision at 149 pounds.

No. 6 senior Jarod Trice won a 4-0 decision in the heavyweight division.

The win will put CMU in a good position for its meet at No. 7 Missouri on Sunday. It will be the Chippewas first match against the Mid-American Conference — wrestling only — newcomer.

Mizzou is 7-0 this season, including 3-0 at home. CMU will be the first MAC opponent that Mizzou faces.

The Chippewas match with the Tigers is set to begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

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