Central Michigan @ Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois topped Central Michigan 22-11 in DeKalb, Illinois on January 27, 2024, as the Huskies collected just enough bonus and decision points to pull away in the dual meet.

Central Michigan’s most dominant result came at 174 pounds, where Alex Cramer exploded for a 20-5 technical fall over Ricardo Salinas. That tech fall alone supplied Central Michigan with five team points and was the match’s biggest single scoring swing in CMU’s favor.

Northern Illinois answered in the upper weights, most notably at 184 pounds. Matt Zuber earned a 10-2 major decision over Adrien Cramer, adding four crucial team points to Northern Illinois’ total. Between Zuber’s major and Cramer’s technical fall, those two bouts accounted for nine team points and represented the clear bonus-point story of the night.

The dual was decided by those bonus points and Northern Illinois’ ability to pick up the remaining decisions needed to reach 22 team points. Central Michigan’s tech fall gave them a momentum boost, but NIU’s major at 184 provided the swing that tilted the team score in the Huskies’ favor and ultimately produced the 11-point margin.