Huskies muzzle the cougars in 42-0 shutout routing of SIU-Edwardsville

Publish Date:02/01/2010

By Patrick Tretina

Complete domination is the only phrase that can describe NIU’s wrestling performance Friday. The Huskies bounced back from three-straight losses with a huge 42-point shutout win against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville at the Convocation Center. Redshirt junior Pat McLemore kicked things off at the 141-pound weight class with a solid 6-3 win over SIUE’s Dillon Pousson. From there, the rout was on. Redshirt senior Dan Ruettiger exploded in the second match defeating Kyle Lowman 13-1 at the 149-pound weight class and ignited the packed crowd alongside him. Redshirt junior Bryan Deutsch would follow and push his match win-streak to six with a 7-3 win over Cougars’ sophomore Steve Ross. NIU’s John Odeen would follow suit with a dominate performance of his own, winning 17-2 over SIUE’s Lenny Kuspa. “It felt really good to get out there and not only win individually, but as a team,” Odeen said. “We have been working pretty hard with some bumps in the road, so it’s good to get a win like this.” The Huskies would also grab wins by pin fall from sophomore Izzy Montemayor and redshirt junior Scott Penny in 3:52 and 4:17, respectively. “I liked the way Izzy Montemayor came out and wrestled hard,” said NIU head coach Dave Grant. “I was really pleased.” NIU would round out the night with wins by Mason True, Zach Benzio, Dakota Greenhaw and Tristen DeShazer to complete the 10-match sweep of the Cougars. “Overall, it was a good performance from all our guys,” Grant said. “I was [also] very happy with Zach Benzio, he’s making strides and just getting better and better each week. It’s something we can build for next weekend when we go into Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan.”

NIU Wrestling Article 1/25/10

NIU loses early lead to KSU

Publish Date:01/25/2010

By Patrick Tretina

NIU wrestling suffered another defeat Friday evening at the hands of No. 17 Kent State at the Convocation Center. The Huskies looked sharp out of the gate by grabbing three straight decisions to take a commanding 9-0 lead. Vince Castillo and Dan Ruettiger got NIU to a 6-0 lead quickly with 8-0 and 6-1 wins respectively before redshirt junior Bryan Deutsch kept his win streak alive by surviving a last second takedown effort to defeat No. 28 ranked Mallie Shuster 3-2 at the 157 weight class. “[Deutsch] has been giving solid hard-nosed performances,” said NIU head coach Dave Grant. “There’s nothing real flashy about him.” Grant also had much praise for Ruettiger. “Dan’s really made a big change in his style this year, just being grittier and going after guys from the start,” Grant said. NIU’s impressive start would come to an abrupt halt at the grip of Kent State’s Obie Simpson. “I was very concerned after the first three matches,” said Jim Andrassy, Kent State head coach. “We were wrestling very badly at that point, until Obie turned things around.” Simpson recorded a first period pin of NIU’s John Odeen, which would start Kent State on a seven-match 29-point rally to cement a 29-9 loss for the Huskies. The loss drops NIU to .500 for the year. “I was a little disappointed at how we wrestled at 197,” Grant said. “I thought we got sloppy and we didn’t keep our intensity up, but it was very encouraging to see our guys being physical and just getting after people.” Despite the Huskies recent struggles, Deutsch believes redemption is just around the corner . “These duals are important and will set you up for an easier MAC Tournament,” Deutsch said. “We wrestled well [Friday], but we lost. The MAC Tournament is where we will get them.”

NIU Wrestling Article 1/22/10

NIU returns to Convo against No. 17 Kent State

Publish Date:01/22/2010

By Patrick Tretina

NIU wrestling is back in action tonight at 7 p.m. at the Convocation as it matches up against Mid-American Conference contender No. 17 Kent State. NIU (7-6 overall, 0-1) finally returns home after a long weekend tour that included a trip to Ohio last Thursday and a series of bouts against Finday, Michigan State and Stanford at the Spartan duals last Saturday. But NIU’s homecoming is no cupcake against No. 17 Kent State (11-3). “They have a pretty good team,” said NIU head coach Dave Grant. “Their tough guys are at the 133, 184, and they have a top 30 guy at the 157 [weight class].” NIU’s Bryan Deutsch will be the one matched up against Kent State’s “top 30 guy” in No. 28 Mallie Shuster. Despite facing a tough opponent, the match will likely not be one-sided. Deutsch’s won a MAC Championship last season, has a 14-3 record this year, and he’s coming off a runner-up selection for the MAC Wrestler of the Week after going undefeated (4-0) at both the Ohio and the Michigan State Duals last week. “Bryan has beaten a lot of ranked guys,” Grant said. “He’s a solid, hard-nosed wrestler. He’s one of our better conditioned guys. We’re really pleased with him.” Redshirt junior Tristen DeShazer will be back in action tonight at the 133-pound weight class after a series of meets where he did not compete for undisclosed reasons. “Tristen’s looking good at 133 [tonight].” Grant said. The Huskies are looking to rebound quickly after opening the MAC with a loss. The team understands the importance of each meet within conference. “There are a lot of good teams in the MAC,” Grant said. “Its always very competitive [with] some heated battles. This is where we qualify for the State Championships.”

NIU Wrestling Article 1/19/10

NIU's struggles continues

Publish Date:01/19/2010

By Patrick Tretina

NIU wrestling continued its slide with a 1-2 performance Saturday. The Huskies (7-6) continued their recent struggles with a loss to both Michigan State, 28-6, and Stanford, 22-18, at the much anticipated Spartan Duals. Despite a losing effort, the Huskies had two impressive undefeated performances from juniors Vince Castillo at the 141-pound weight class and Bryan Deutsch in the 157 pound-weight class. Castillo knocked off Findlay’s Chris Andrews by pin in just over four minutes and followed up with two win-by-decision’s over Stanford’s Bret Baumbach and Michigan State’s Dan Osterman. Deutsch kicked off his impressive day by pinning Findlay’s Michael Lybarger in 6:43 followed by a dominant 6-0 win over Stanford’s Michael Kent and 10-9 over Michigan State’s Anthony Jones. “Our guys wrestled well,” said NIU head coach Dave Grant. “Our young guys really stepped up.” Redshirt sophomore Zach Taylor did exactly that with a solid 9-5 win-by-decision over Findlay’s Jan Steven Ulinski after suffering a 9-0 loss to Ohio’s Quentin Keyes on Jan. 14. “It was a real gutsy performance by our boys,” Grant said. This past weekend’s road trip drops the Huskies wrestling team to fifth place (7-6) in the MAC, just behind rival Eastern Michigan. The Huskies will be looking for redemption when they take the mat again Friday, Jan. 22 and play host to No. 14 Kent State at the Convocation Center. Kent State is coming off a 47-0 blowout win against Ashland College.

NIU look to pin a win against SIUE 1/29/10

Publish Date:01/29/2010

By Patrick Tretina

DeKALB | Conference meets haven’t gone well for the Huskies. NIU wrestling takes a break from MAC action tonight as it hosts Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center. In light of their recent struggles, the Huskies (7-7, 0-2 MAC) couldn’t be facing a better opponent in winless SIUE (0-11, 0-0 MVC). “We’ve got to concentrate and put out solid performances,” said NIU head coach Dave Grant. “We have to bring that same intensity as we would with MAC meets regardless.” The Huskies will look to rebound after three-straight losses to MAC rival No. 17 Kent State, Michigan State and University of Findlay. “We wrestled hard [in practice] this week,” Grant said. “We saw a glimpse of what we can do early in the Kent State duals.” Redshirt juniors Vince Castillo (15-3) and Bryan Deutsch (10-4) have been holding things together in the 141 and 157 pound weight classes, respectively, for the Huskies as of late. Castillo is on a four-match win-streak that started with a 4:05 pin against Findlay’s Chris Andrews and followed that up by out-scoring his remaining opponents 16-4. Deutsch brings his five-match win-streak to the table tonight, out-scoring his recent opponents 22-13 with an impressive last second holdout win against No. 28 ranked Mallie Shuster of Kent State last Friday. “Deutsch has been wrestling tough, and he really works hard,” Grant said. “He’s got a great attitude [and] we can really count on him to lead the team.” Despite the Cougars’ winless record, Grant isn’t concerned about the team’s past performances becoming a factor. “Our guys need to wrestle to the best of their ability,” Grant said. “We need to set the tempo for the rest of the meet early.”

Top Chicago Performance Shop Gives Back to Its Customers.

July 2, 10:02 AM-Downtown Chicago Events Examiner-Patrick Tretina

     Widely regarded as one of the top vehicle performance shops through out the Chicago land area, RC Autoworks held its 3rd annual customer appreciation meet last Sunday June 28th.

     Located just minutes outside of the city, RC Autoworks has been providing Chicago with superior quality in both vehicle performance upgrades and standard vehicle maintenance. The shop has been in operation since 2006 and is run by two local Chicago friends Brandon Hunter (Broadview, IL) and Robert “Bob” Reese (Bridgeview, IL). When asked what the purpose of the event was co-owner Brandon Hunter responded with “it’s to show our customers we value their business on a personal level. Plus it’s a lot fun to see our finished work months or even years after we have completed it.”

     The all day event included a showing of over 100 cars, 300 plus visitors, and a few sponsors taking much deserved pictures of both past and present work. When asked what the highlight of the event was, co-owner Bob had this to say “it was great, we had an excellent turn out. Good food, good people, and fast cars. What else could you ask for?” The event was clearly a great success with an array of import tuners from a burnt orange Honda NSX to a 300 horsepower Acura RSX.

     Long time customer and friend of the shop, Jamis Nelson (Chicago, IL) recalls the days events “it felt like a mini hot import nights, it was great. I can’t wait for next year.”

     RC Autoworks is located just off of Harlem Avenue right down 90th street. They specialize in everything from custom manifolds to full turbo setups and even your basic oil changes. Be sure to check out the real Hot Import Nights Saturday July 11 from 4PM to Midnight at Soldier Field, located just off the lake front.