Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, January 9
Cedar Falls, Iowa
5 p.m. ET
Central Michigan University
14
vs
20
Northern Illinois
CMU's Adrien Cramer (right) has his arm raised after his 8-1 victory at 184 pounds on Friday at Northern Illinois.
Photo by: Madi Younglove/NIU Athletics
Wrestlers Drop MAC Opener at Northern Illinois
1/16/2026 11:15:00 PM | Wrestling
DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois won six of the 10 matches on Friday in handing Central Michigan a 19-14 wrestling loss in the Mid-American Conference-opening dual meet for both teams.
The Chippewas (6-4) go to SIU Edwardsville for a MAC dual on Sunday, Jan. 25. NIU improved to 5-5. SIUE is 8-1, 2-0 MAC after a 25-11 league win over Ohio on Friday.
Friday's CMU-NIU dual unfolded – and ended – much the same as the teams' dual last weekend at the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, when the Huskies won six matches en route to a 20-14 victory.
NIU won the first three matches on Friday for a 9-0 lead before Jimmy Nugent (149 pounds) got the Chippewas on the board with a 2-0 victory and then Mason Shrader, ranked 23rd nationally by InterMat, posted a 13-3 major decision win to pull CMU to 9-7.
The Huskies then won the next two bouts by decision to up their lead to 15-7 before Adrien Cramer (184) notched an 8-1 win and Luke Cochran (197) followed with a 12-1 major to draw the Chippewas to 15-14 and set the stage for the decisive final match of the night at 285.
NIU's Devon Dawson, who is ranked 21st, posted a 15-7 major decision win over Bryan Caves.
• Nugent's 2-0 win came over Lucan O'Brien as he improved to 3-0 against O'Brien on the season and ran his win streak to six in improving to 15-7. He has won nine of his last 11 matches.
• Shrader improved to 16-5 with a 13-3 major decision over Landen Johnson. It was Shrader's second straight major decision victory and his sixth of the season. He has scored bonus points in nine of his wins this season.
• Cramer improved to 11-7 with his third win in his last four bouts.
• Cochran improved to 16-8 with his sixth win in his last seven matches. He leads the Chippewas in both major decision wins (7) and bonus-point victories (10).
Northern Illinois 19, Central Michigan 14
Friday, Jan. 16
At Victor E. Court, DeKalb, Ill.
125: No. 30/UR Blake West (N) dec. Archer Anderson, 15-11, NIU 3, CMU 0
133: No. 29/33 Markel Baker (N) dec. Andrew Austin, 9-5, NIU 6, CMU 0
141: Charles Curtis (N) dec. Nick Blackburn, 8-5 SV, NIU 9, CMU 0
149: Jimmy Nugent (C) dec. Lucan O'Brien, 2-0, NIU 9, CMU 3
157: No. 23/27 Mason Shrader (C) dec. Landen Johnson, 13-3, NIU 9, CMU 7
165: Brett Smith (N) dec. Chandler Amaker, 7-3, NIU 12, CMU 7
174: Tommy Bennett (N) dec. Nick Marienfeld, 15-10, NIU 15, CMU 7
184: Adrien Cramer (C) dec. Caleb Roe, 8-1, NIU 15, CMU 10
197: Luke Cochran (C) major dec. Dominic Heim, 12-1, NIU 15, CMU 14
285: No. 21/20 Devon Dawson (N) major dec. No. 31/UR Bryan Caves, 15-7, NIU 19, CMU 14
*Rankings by InterMat/FloWrestling
The Chippewas (6-4) go to SIU Edwardsville for a MAC dual on Sunday, Jan. 25. NIU improved to 5-5. SIUE is 8-1, 2-0 MAC after a 25-11 league win over Ohio on Friday.
Friday's CMU-NIU dual unfolded – and ended – much the same as the teams' dual last weekend at the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, when the Huskies won six matches en route to a 20-14 victory.
NIU won the first three matches on Friday for a 9-0 lead before Jimmy Nugent (149 pounds) got the Chippewas on the board with a 2-0 victory and then Mason Shrader, ranked 23rd nationally by InterMat, posted a 13-3 major decision win to pull CMU to 9-7.
The Huskies then won the next two bouts by decision to up their lead to 15-7 before Adrien Cramer (184) notched an 8-1 win and Luke Cochran (197) followed with a 12-1 major to draw the Chippewas to 15-14 and set the stage for the decisive final match of the night at 285.
NIU's Devon Dawson, who is ranked 21st, posted a 15-7 major decision win over Bryan Caves.
• Nugent's 2-0 win came over Lucan O'Brien as he improved to 3-0 against O'Brien on the season and ran his win streak to six in improving to 15-7. He has won nine of his last 11 matches.
• Shrader improved to 16-5 with a 13-3 major decision over Landen Johnson. It was Shrader's second straight major decision victory and his sixth of the season. He has scored bonus points in nine of his wins this season.
• Cramer improved to 11-7 with his third win in his last four bouts.
• Cochran improved to 16-8 with his sixth win in his last seven matches. He leads the Chippewas in both major decision wins (7) and bonus-point victories (10).
Northern Illinois 19, Central Michigan 14
Friday, Jan. 16
At Victor E. Court, DeKalb, Ill.
125: No. 30/UR Blake West (N) dec. Archer Anderson, 15-11, NIU 3, CMU 0
133: No. 29/33 Markel Baker (N) dec. Andrew Austin, 9-5, NIU 6, CMU 0
141: Charles Curtis (N) dec. Nick Blackburn, 8-5 SV, NIU 9, CMU 0
149: Jimmy Nugent (C) dec. Lucan O'Brien, 2-0, NIU 9, CMU 3
157: No. 23/27 Mason Shrader (C) dec. Landen Johnson, 13-3, NIU 9, CMU 7
165: Brett Smith (N) dec. Chandler Amaker, 7-3, NIU 12, CMU 7
174: Tommy Bennett (N) dec. Nick Marienfeld, 15-10, NIU 15, CMU 7
184: Adrien Cramer (C) dec. Caleb Roe, 8-1, NIU 15, CMU 10
197: Luke Cochran (C) major dec. Dominic Heim, 12-1, NIU 15, CMU 14
285: No. 21/20 Devon Dawson (N) major dec. No. 31/UR Bryan Caves, 15-7, NIU 19, CMU 14
*Rankings by InterMat/FloWrestling
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