Four members of the Northern Illinois University wrestling program have earned academic recognition from the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) as announced on April 2.

Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee), Jacob Christensen (Durham, Calif./Durham), Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice), and Collin Arch (Palmyra, Mo./Palmyra) have received NWCA Scholar All-American honors. This is the second straight honor for West, Christensen, and Bennett as all three earned the honor in 2024.

West captured the 2025 Mid-American Conference (MAC) title at 125 pounds, the first champion at that weight class for NIU since 2007. West made his second straight appearance the NCAA Championships and claimed wins over wrestlers from Penn and Oregon State. This season, West accumulated a record of 24-7, his fourth straight 20+ win season and went undefeated in MAC duals (7-0).

Christensen competed this season for the Huskies at 285 pounds and claimed two wins in conference action. Christensen was one of two victories for the Huskies at Northwestern in November and had the deciding match in the Huskies first win over conference foe, Rider.

Bennett took fifth place at the 2025 MAC Championships as he bested his finish from a season ago. Bennett went 16-13 this season and claimed four conference wins. Bennett had a four-match winning streak during February and pinned Cal Poly in the Huskies victory.

Arch reached the second day of the MAC tournament as he accumulated three conference dual wins on the year. Arch had a 6-1 win at the conference tournament over then-ranked Billy Meiszner of Kent State and claimed back-to-back wins over Cleveland State and Buffalo.

For an athlete to receive this award, they must meet one of the following criteria: