Millikin Wrestlers Score Dual Victory over Cardinals

  The Millikin wrestling team defeated North Central College 24-19 in a dual meet at the Griswold Center in Decatur, Illinois on February 4. It was the Big Blue's first dual meet against an opponent from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) since returning to competition this year.
          Millikin opened the match with a 13-8 decision by freshman Dustinn Brown at 125 over Jeffrey Cook.
          North Central scored wins at 133 and 141 to pull ahead 11-3.
          Blake Tisza pulled Millikin to 11-6 with a 3-1 decision over Ben Williamson.
          North Central's Danny Harris won in a technical fall to make it 16-6 Cardinals.
          Millikin would begin a major comeback at 165 when Dylan Knisley defeated Eric Kirkman in overtime 6-4 to make 16-9. Millikin then turned the match around with back-to-back wins by fall from Stephan Birt and Keajion Jennings. Birt won over Matt Marcotte 1:26 into the match at 174 to make it a 16-15 contest. Jennings gave Millikin the lead for good at 184 pinning Vincent Pizzo at 1:54 making it 21-16.
          North Central's Tyler Vittal answered the Big Blue rally winning in overtime at 197 7-3.
          Millikin's James Buss remained undefeated on the year winning at 285 3-0 over Emonte Logan to seal the Millikin victory.
          Millikin is now 9-5 on the season while North Central goes to 4-8.
          The Big Blue will get some wrestlers some mat time on Saturday, February 6 at the Jim Fox Invite hosted by the University of Dubuque.
          The full Big Blue squad will be back in action for its final dual meet on February 11 against Cornell College. The match will be held on the stage at Millikin's Kirkland Fine Arts Center. The evening starts at 6 p.m. with a talk from wrestling legend Dan Gable. The match starts at 7 p.m.   The evening will also include music from Millikin's Percussion Ensemble. Tickets for the event at $10 and can be purchased at the Kirkland Box Office or online at http://www.millikin.edu/kirkland.

Millikin 24 North Central 19
125-Millikin's Dustinn Brown defeated Jeffrey Cook 13-8 3-0
133-North Central's Brandon Malone defeated Millikin's Zach Whitsel Fall 4:33 3-6
141-North Central's Leyten Binion defeated Millikin's Kerin Ramirez (TF 16-0) 3-11
149-Millikin's Blake Tisza defeated Ben Williamson 3-1 6-11
157-North Central's Danny Harris defeated Millikin's Austin Hedrick (TF 17-2) 6-16
165-Millikin's Dylan Knisley defeated Eric Kirkman (SV-1, 6-4) 9-16
174-Millikin's Stephan Birt defeated Matt Marcotte by Fall 1:26 15-16
184-Millikin's Keajion Jennings defeated Vincent Pizzo by Fall 1:54) 21-16
197-North Central's Tyler Vittal defeated Millikin's Myron Hamilton (SV-1,7-3)          21-19
285-Millikin's James Buss defeated Emonte Logan 3-0 24-19

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Players Mentioned

Stephan Birt: Junior; 174

Dustinn Brown: Freshman; 125

James Buss: Junior; 285

Myron Hamilton: Junior; 197

Austin Hedrick: Sophomore; 165

Keajion Jennings: Freshman; 174

Dylan Knisley: Freshman; 157-165

Kerin Ramirez: Junior; 141-149

Blake Tisza: Junior; 149-157

Zach Whitsel: Freshman; 125

Players Mentioned

Stephan Birt
: Junior; 174

Dustinn Brown
: Freshman; 125

James Buss
: Junior; 285

Myron Hamilton
: Junior; 197

Austin Hedrick
: Sophomore; 165

Keajion Jennings
: Freshman; 174

Dylan Knisley
: Freshman; 157-165

Kerin Ramirez
: Junior; 141-149

Blake Tisza
: Junior; 149-157

Zach Whitsel
: Freshman; 125