DeKALB – Northern Illinois wrestler Trace Engelkes raced back to his apartment after getting out of class on the afternoon of March 8.
Engelkes, who had a chance to make an at-large bit for the 2015-16 NCAA Championships at 174 pounds, eagerly refreshed his phone as the NCAA was preparing to tweet out the field. He waited to see if his 21-12 performance on the year was good enough to nab one of the four at-large bids.
"It felt like I was watching 'the Hunger Games'. They're drawing names and everybody in the crowd is nervous and they go weight class by weight class," Engelkes said.