DeKALB – Coming to Northern Illinois after his final two wrestling seasons in high school, Steve Bleise forgot what it felt like to lose a match – going a combined 94-1 as a junior and a senior.
Now Bleise has emerged as a top 20 grappler in the nation for the Huskies as a freshman after undergoing bumps and bruises – and the inevitable losses – as a redshirt last year.
"It was one of the biggest things I had to get used to," Bleise said of losing matches. "My senior year, I didn't have any other kids that wrestled me at all – that pushed me through the year.