BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – After a three-week hiatus, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's wrestling team readies for the historic 59th Annual North Central College Invitational in Naperville, Ill. Saturday, Dec. 9. Opening bouts are set for a 9 a.m. start in the Residence Hall/Recreation Center. 

The Green and White are coming off an extended break after two Titans placed in IWU's most recent competition at the Coe College Invite in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Nov. 18. Junior Bobby Conroy (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis University High) turned in his second runner-up finish of the year at 184-pounds with a 2-1 record at the Coe Invite. Conroy pinned his first opponent of the meet in under two minutes before defeating Benicio Martinez of Millikin in a 4-2 decision. The St. Louis native's only loss on the day came at the hands of the third-regionally ranked Jared Voss of Coe in the championship match. Austin Johnston (Normal, Ill-Normal West) added two more pins to his resume on his way to a fourth-place finish with a 3-2 record in the 133-pound bracket at Coe. 

Conroy and Johnston are expected to compete at North Central's historic invite on Dec. 9 alongside senior Jonathan Rios (Waukegan, Ill.-Waukegan), junior Leonardo Reyes (Manteno, Ill.-Manteno), sophomore Jaxson Roberts (Herscher, Ill.-Bishop McNamara) and freshmen Jeremy Olson (Tremont, Ill.-Tremont) and Evan Sparenberg (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East).

A total of 19 teams are slated to compete at North Central this weekend including five nationally ranked squads. Top-ranked Augsberg, No. 4 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, No. 6 Baldwin Wallace, No. 9 North Central, and No. 10 Wabash each breached the National Wrestling Coaches Association's first regular season top-10 based on team tournament poll and national and regional individual rankings, the organization announced on Nov. 28. Additionally, five College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin schools are slated to compete in Naperville.

Final results will be available on the wrestling schedule of iwusports.com following the conclusion of the meet. FloWrestling will have pay-per-view streaming of all bouts leading up to the championship matches. All championship matches will be available at northcentralcardinals.com/watch at no cost.