March 7-8 | 2020 MAC Championships
DeKalb, Ill. | NIU Convocation Center

How to Watch
Saturday's first round and quarterfinal matches will be streamed on NIUHuskies.com, with links to each individual mat available.  Starting with the semifinals on Saturday night, full broadcasts will also be available on ESPN+.  All video links are available on this preview.

Quick Shots

• The Golden Eagle wrestling team will compete in its first-ever Mid-American Conference Championships this weekend, when they head to Northern Illinois for the 2020 championship tournament
• Clarion enters the weekend fresh off of a dual meet victory against Edinboro, capping off a fantastic first season in the MAC for the Golden Eagles
  • Clarion went 10-6 overall and 7-4 in the conference, besting all three of their in-state rivals – Edinboro, Bloomsburg, and Lock Haven – for the first time since the 1991-92 season
• At 10-6 overall, Clarion posted their third straight season with a dual match record at or over .500, their first such run since a nine-year stretch from 1978-79 to 1986-87
• The Golden Eagles have five wrestlers pre-seeded in the top-8 in their respective weight classes, including top-seeded Greg Bulsak (197) and second-seeded Brock Zacherl (149)
• Three Golden Eagles enter the weekend in the national rankings:
  • Brock Zacherl is 11th in the NCAA coaches' panel rankings, 11th in the Intermat rankings, and 12th according to FloWrestling
  • Greg Bulsak ranks 12th in the NCAA coaches' panel rankings,  11th by FloWrestling and 13th by InterMat
  • Ty Bagoly is currently ranked 28th in the NCAA coaches' panel rankings
• Brock Zacherl won his 112th varsity match at Edinboro, moving him into sole possession of 16th on Clarion's all-time wins list 
  • Earlier this year, Zacherl took seventh place at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
  • Zacherl finishes his career with a 59-2 dual match record
• Greg Bulsak leads the Golden Eagles with nine wins by fall on the season, as well as 15 total bonus victories
  • Bulsak was a three-time MAC East Wrestler of the Week over the course of the regular season
  • Bulsak took sixth place at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational earlier this year
• Jake Gromacki (125) has won eight of his last nine matches as he builds momentum for the conference tournament
  • Gromacki was a 2017 NCAA qualifier at 125 pounds, and was sidelined for nearly two full years due to a knee injury suffered in the 2017-18 season
• Senior Mike Bartolo has also been on a roll of late, winning four of his last five matches
• Earlier this year the Golden Eagles enjoyed an eight-match win streak, their longest single-season dual match win streak since the 1993-94 season

The Lead
After a successful 10-6 season, the Clarion wrestling team looks to settle scores and produce upsets at the MAC Championships. This year's Championships will be hosted at Northern Illinois.

Competition kicks off at 11 a.m. ET, with four mats rolling for the first round and quarterfinals.  Video links for those mats are available on NIUHuskies.com.  Semifinal action begins at 5 p.m. ET.  Full broadcasts will be available on ESPN+.

Schedule of Events (All times CT)

Saturday, March 7, 2020
9:00am Doors open to Public
9:57am National Anthem
10:00am Opening Round (70 Matches, 4 Mats)
12:30pm Championship Quarterfinals (40 Matches, 2 Mats)
Consolation Round 1 (40 Matches, 2 Mats)
4:00pm Championship Semifinals (20 Matches, 2 Mat)
Consolation Round 2 (40 Matches, 2 Mats)
(Consolation Round 2 moves to all three mats once Championship Semifinals are concluded)

Sunday, March 8, 2020
11:00am Doors Open to Public
11:57am National Anthem
12:00pm Consolation Quarterfinals (20 Matches, 4 Mats)
12:45pm Consolation Semifinals (20 Matches, 4 Mats)
1:30pm Championship Finals Parade & Face Off Introductions
1:40pm Championship Finals, 3rd Place, 5th Place 
and 7th Place Matches (4 Mats)

NCAA qualifying spot matches to follow if necessary

NCAA Allocations for MAC Championships
125 – 3
133 – 5
141 – 5
149 – 5
157 – 6
165 – 2
174 – 4
184 – 3
197 – 4
285 – 4
Total - 41

Golden Eagles Pre-Seeded at MAC Championships
Jake Gromacki - 125 - 6th
Brock Zacherl - 149 - 2nd
Mike Bartolo - 165 - 6th
Greg Bulsak - 197 - 1st
Ty Bagoly - 285 - 6th

Last Time Out
The Golden Eagles defeated Edinboro in their final dual match of the season, riding five victories to a 17-16 decision. Brock Zacherl scored a late takedown in a 3-1 victory over Tyler Vath, while Mike Bartolo won a 9-6 decision over Derek Ciavarro in a back-and-forth bout. Greg Bulsak overcame an early deficit to take a 8-4 decision over Dylan Reynolds, and Jake Gromacki won his seventh straight match in characteristically tight fashion, pulling out a 3-1 win over Lucas Rodriguez.

Three Golden Eagles in Third NCAA Rankings
The NCAA released its third batch of Coaches' Panel rankings, as well as its second RPI listing, on Feb. 27, with three Golden Eagles appearing in both sets of rankings.  They are two of the rankings the NCAA will use in determining automatic qualifier allocations for conference championships, as well as determining the final field for the NCAA Championships in March.

Brock Zacherl - 11th coaches, 14th RPI
Greg Bulsak - 12th coaches, 8th RPI
Ty Bagoly - 28th coaches, 23rd RPI

Consistent Stars
Brock Zacherl and Greg Bulsak are both All-American contenders, and their consistant performances have been the catalyst for Clarion's solid season. Zacherl and Bulsak are a combined 27-3 in dual matches and 21-1 in MAC duals, providing key team points in every Clarion win. All eight of their combined losses have come to ranked wrestlers.  

On the national level, both Zacherl and Bulsak have placed at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in each of the last two years.  Zacherl placed fourth in 2018 and seventh in 2019, while Bulsak took sixth place in each of the last two years there.

Bulsak MAC East Wrestler of the Week
Greg Bulsak received his third MAC wrestler of the week award of the season after wins over Kent State and Rider. On February 14 he recorded a 6-1 decision over Kent State's Colin McCracken, helping the Golden Eagles to a 30-8 win over the Golden Flashes. That snapped a nine-match losing streak to Kent State and represented Clarion's first win over the Golden Flashes since the 2000-01 season. He followed that up with a virtuoso performance on February 16 against Rider's Ethan Laird, who entered the weekend ranked 12th in the previous NCAA coaches' panel. Bulsak dominated Laird in an 8-1 decision.

• Bulsak previously won the MAC East Wrestler of the Week award two other times this season.  He took the award on Nov. 6 after winning the Clarion Open 197-pound bracket, and again on Dec. 6 after taking sixth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Climbing Up the Ladder
Brock Zacherl recorded his 112th career varsity win on February 23 against Edinboro, passing Dan Payne and Ken Haselrig for sole possession of 16th place on the all-time wins list. Zacherl is the 21st member of the 100-win Club at Clarion, and the first Golden Eagle to top 100 wins since James Fleming.  Zacherl now boasts a record of 112-16 all-time, including a 59-2 mark in dual matches dating back to the 2015-16 season. Zacherl is now closing in on Kurt Angle and Frank Edgar, two of Clarion's most iconic grapplers.

• Here is a look at who lies immediately ahead for Zacherl.

12. Frank Edgar (120-55)
13. Kurt Angle (116-10-2)
T-14. Paul Clark (113-26-1)
T-14. Ken Nellis (113-28-5)
16. Brock Zacherl (112-16) 

Jake's Surge
It was a slow start to the season for Jake Gromacki, but the sixth-year senior has been at his best over the last few weeks.  Gromacki has won eight of his last nine matches, including a fifth-place finish at the Edinboro Open.  Gromacki went 5-1 in the MAC this year, including a 5-0 mark at 125 pounds.

His Best to Date
Mike Bartolo has been consistent over the course of his career, but 2019-20 has been thus far his best season yet. The senior set a career-high in wins this season with an 10-9 record, including wins in his last three MAC matches.

Golden Eagles on the Rise
With their win over Bloomsburg earlier this year, the Golden Eagles clinched a .500 or better season for the third straight year. With a recent history of ups and downs and little prolonged success, Clarion's three-year run is an encouraging sign for the program. Next season, Clarion is set to retain seven of their ten starters.

Expanded #MACtion
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced a historic membership expansion last March, with the seven former Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) programs joining the MAC as affiliate members starting in 2019-20.  Now with 15 members, the MAC is the second-largest Division I wrestling conference in the country. Clarion has had a tremendous first season in the MAC, going 7-4 in the conference. 

Postseason Histories
• Brock Zacherl is the lone former conference champion on the Golden Eagles' roster, winning the EWL Tournament at 141 pounds in 2016. He followed up his title with two consecutive runner-up finishes in the next two seasons before missing most of last season with an injury. A three-time NCAA qualifier at 141 pounds, Zacherl's best performance at NCAA's was in 2018, when he came just one win shy of the podium.

• Greg Bulsak is a two-time NCAA qualifier, making the tournament at 184 pounds as a redshirt freshman and at 197 pounds as a sophomore.  He earned his spot in the former by beating Bloomsburg's Trevor Allard at the EWL Championships in 2018, and last year was an at-large selection.

• Jake Gromacki qualified for the 2017 NCAA Tournament after finishing second at 125 pounds in the EWL Tournament to eventual All-American Sean Russell (Edinboro). Gromacki went 1-2 at NCAA's, losing to current Clarion assistant coach Nathan Krassier in the first round.

• Taylor Ortz earned an at-large bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament at 149 pounds after a strong stretch run, including a second-place finish at the EWL Championships to Ronnie Perry, who went on to reach the national final that year.  Ortz was off to a good start last year before suffering a season-ending injury at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Hitting the Books
Head coach Keith Ferarro has prioritized the academic performance of his athletes, and the results speak for themselves. Last season, Clarion wrestling earned a public recognition from the NCAA for placing in the top 10 percent of NCAA wrestling squads in terms of academic progress rate (APR). Under Ferraro, Clarion wrestling has achieved a perfect 1000 APR score in two of four seasons with data, and the team's multi-year APR score increased from a NCAA bottom-ten 941 to a NCAA top-ten 993 during his time in charge. 

Kings of the Keystone State
For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Golden Eagles went undefeated against their former PSAC/EWL rivals in the state of Pennsylvania.  Clarion went 3-0 against the triumvirate of Bloomsburg, Edinboro and Lock Haven in 2019-20, the first time they did that since the 1991-92 season.

• The Golden Eagles' 20-16 win over Lock Haven on December 21 was the first victory over the Bald Eagles since the 2013-14 season, and represented the first MAC win for Clarion since they joined the conference.

• Clarion beat Edinboro 17-16 on February 23, marking their second straight win over the Fighting Scots.  The Golden Eagles had not beaten Edinboro in back-to-back seasons since the 1990-91 and 1991-92 campaigns.

Proud History
Clarion wrestling enjoys a long, proud history, both on the regional and national levels.  The Golden Eagles have produced eight national champions and 46 All-Americans throughout history.  Two of those national champions were recognized on the NWCA/NCAA 75th Anniversity All-Time Collegiate Team in 2005 - Kurt Angle (1988-92) and Wade Schalles (1971-74). 
 
In addition, former head coach Bob Bubb was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2005 after a 26-year coaching career that ended in 1992 with 322 career dual wins and a seven individual national champions.  Bubb also served as the Secretary Rules Editor of NCAA wrestling from 1989-2011, Executive Director of the NWCA from 1995-99, and Chair of the NCAA Wrestling Committee from 1987-89.
 
"The Little Giants of Wrestling"
Clarion wrestling first rose to national prominence in the early 1970's, when the Golden Eagles combined for five individual titles in two years.  Gary Barton and Wade Schalles won individual titles in 1972, while the trio of Schalles, Don Rohn and Bill "Elbows" Simpson all won in 1973. 
 
Barton's title in 1972 was significant in that he entered the bracket as an unseeded entry and proceeded to defeat the #1, #2, #4 and #5 seeded entries in the 134-pound bracket to claim the national championship.  Rohn's national championship came when he was a true freshman.

About the Coach
Keith Ferraro is in his sixth year as Clarion's head wrestling coach in 2019-20. He was named head coach on December 16, 2014, after serving as interim head coach on September 25th.  He is only the eighth head wrestling coach in school history.

The Golden Eagle program has made tremendous strides under Ferraro's tutelage, with perhaps no more telling figure than the number of NCAA qualifiers the Golden Eagles have produced.  The team that Ferraro took over in 2014-15 went 1-16 in dual matches and sent no wrestlers to the NCAA Championships.  The Golden Eagles have produced multiple NCAA qualifiers in every year since then, including four in 2017-18, tied for the most in a single season since the Golden Eagles sent five wrestlers to the 2004 Championships.

Clarion has enjoyed dual match success as well as individual, with the Golden Eagles turning into a formidable presence in a dual setting.  They improved by six wins from Ferraro's first year to his second, and in 2017-18 the Golden Eagles recorded their first winning dual season since the 2002-03 season.  With a 7-7 dual match record in 2018-19, Clarion had their first back-to-back seasons of .500 or better since 1994-95.  With a 10-6 mark this year, the Golden Eagles have hit the standard in three straight years for the first time since the 1980s.