Match Ten
Date/Time: Friday, Jan. 19 | 7:00 PM
Teams: Cleveland State (3-6, 1-1) vs. Northern Illinois (8-2, 2-1)
Location: Cleveland, Ohio | Woodling Gymnasium
Follow: Video | Scoring
Projected Matchups
125: Ben Aranda (6-8) vs. Blake West (19-5)
133: Nick Molchak (8-10) vs. Nathaniel Genobana (9-7)/Lucian Brink (6-6)
141: Dylan Layton (12-6) vs. Jacob Brya (6-2)
149: Douglas Terry (10-7) vs. Jaivon Jones (8-3)
157: Shane Heil (10-11)/Nick Abounader (2-5) vs. Tulga Zuunbayan (4-4)/Kavan Troy (2-5)
165: Tate Geiser (13-10)/Daniel Patten (5-8) vs. Tommy Bennett (7-12)/Jake Evans (2-6)
174: DeAndre Nassar (5-7)/Ronald Dimmerling (1-9) vs. Hayden Pummel (7-7)/Ricardo Salinas (9-9)
184: Joey Lyons (2-13) vs. Matt Zuber (14-5)/Devonjae Hudson (1-4)/Shane Moran (1-3)
197: Ben Smith (12-5) vs. Sean Carroll (8-9)/Carter Grewe (4-3)
285: No. 23/25 Daniel Bucknavich (14-2)/Mason Cover (5-5) vs. No. 31/32 Jacobi Jackson (9-3)/Jacob Christensen (10-7)
Last Time Out
Cleveland State is coming off a 2-2 performance at the two-day Davidson Duals this past week. The Vikings dropped both matches on day one, Gardner Webb, 22-18, and Little Rock, 41-3, before winning both on day two versus Presbyterian, 37-5, and Citadel, 22-12.
About Northern Illinois
The Huskies enter with an 8-2 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the MAC. NIU last wrestled on January 12, defeating Ohio University at home, 24-15. Blake West was named the MAC Athlete of the Week after he improved to 19-5 on the season at 125-pounds. Jacobi Jackson is the lone ranked wrestling at 285-pounds coming in at No. 31/32 of the Intermat and Flo rankings.
Series History
This will be the ninth meeting of all time, with NIU holding a 7-1 advantage. The Huskies have won the last three meetings, with two of them coming in Cleveland in 2019 and 2020.
Vikings in the Rankings
Daniel Bucknavich (285 Pounds) - No. 23 FloSports | No. 25 Intermat | No. 20 TCWR
Ben Smith (197 Pounds) – No. 27 TCWR
Preseason Poll
Cleveland State was chosen to finish third in the MAC for the 2023-24 season after receiving 86.5 points. Lock Haven was picked to claim its third straight title with 126.5 points, and Central Michigan was second with 119 points.
Welcome Back, Placers
The Green and White return four placers from last season: Ben Aranda (125 Pounds), Jake Manley (133 Pounds), DeAndre Nassar (184 Pounds), and Daniel Bucknavich (285 Pounds).
The Return of the Champ
Ben Smith returns to the Cleveland State lineup after taking this past season off to focus on school. In 2022, Smith became the Vikings first-ever MAC Champion, winning at 197-pounds. This season, he will start the year as the favorite to win his second MAC title in the same weight class.
Purchase Tickets to Home Matches
Individual and season tickets to watch the Vikings are on sale now. Click here to purchase.
Up Next
The Vikings remain at home to face Ohio University on Friday, January 26 for Youth Night at 7 p.m.
