LITTLE ROCK - After two weeks off the mat and nearly a month since its last dual, Little Rock wrestling has been patiently awaiting the next challenge. That challenge is near: the Trojans will face Northern Illinois this Friday, Jan. 17 for its first away dual of the inaugural season, with the first bout scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
The match will be streamed through NIU All-Access, while live results will be posted on the team's Twitter account (@LittleRockWRES) and final results on TrackWrestling.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE TWITTER UPDATES
"We have had a tough couple weeks of training, and our guys have significantly improved since the Southern Scuffle." said head coach Neil Erisman. "We have gotten a lot of quality individual work in and our conditioning has significantly increased. I'm very excited to see us in action again."
The Northern Illinois Huskies (7-3 overall, 3-1 MAC) welcome the Little Rock Trojans to their house on a three-straight win streak: NIU bested both Kent State and formerly ranked Central Michigan at home as well as took down PAC-12 members Cal Poly on the road with ease in its latest outing.
Despite their recent success, the Huskies are not ranked as a team, but are receiving votes in the NWCA coaches' poll. Northern Illinois does have an individual in the top 25 via FloWrestling, #18 redshirt freshman Izzak Olejnik at 165 pounds (4-3 dual record, 10-7 overall), while The Open Mat places 184-pound teammate Brit Wilson (6-1 dual record, 10-2 overall) 13th within its top 25. Regardless, the rest of the team is deep and has talent to challenge Little Rock.
"Northern Illinois is a tough team," said Erisman. "They have had some good wins against some very good teams, so we have to be prepared for a hard-fought battle at their place. We train to compete wherever we are and no matter who the opponent is, and as you can tell by our schedule we are not afraid to compete against the best. A match is a match, whether it's the national championship or a dual in the middle of the season, and I don't expect our guys to react any other way than to put their foot on the line and fight."
Little Rock Probables
125 - Jayden Carson
133 - Paul Bianchi
141 - Conner Ward
149 - Tyler Brennan OR Tommy Lisher
157 - Jose Champagne
165 - Will Edgar OR Tristan Tadeo
174 - Cash Jones OR Tristan Tadeo
184 - Matthew Muller
197 - Dylan Johnson OR Drake Barbee
HWT - Dylan Johnson OR Drake Barbee
Northern Illinois Probables
125 - Bryce West
133 - Caleb Brooks
141 - Anthony Gibson OR Nathan Swartz
149 - McCoy Kent
157 - Mason Kauffman OR Dylan Thurston
165 - #18 Izzak Olejnik
174 - Kenny Moore OR Caden McWhirter OR Allen Swanson
184 - Brit Wilson
197 - Gage Bruan
285 - Max Ihry
For the latest information on Little Rock Wrestling, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockWRES on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
#LittleRocksTeam
