West Exits NCAA Championships

March 21, 2025
|In NIU Sports
|By Peyton
Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) exited the 2025 NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships today as he represented the NIU University Wrestling program at the Wells Fargo Center.
West opened his day, facing the No. 15 seed from Oregon State, Maximo Renteria. West was down 4-1 before earning a takedown and an escape to lead 5-4 after two periods. West added a second takedown in the third period to secure the 99th win of his career. West now sits at No. 6 in the NIU Wrestling record book.

In the second bout of the day, West took on the No. 9 seed Caleb Smith from Nebraska. West fell in a 4-1 decision to Smith as he was eliminated from the championship. West finishes the season with a record of 24-7.

“As much as we all want it for these guys to get on the stand, at the end of the day, we take great pride in the way they represent NIU Wrestling,” said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. “They train hard, live right, and put it all out there on the mat. We can’t ask for a better leader than Blake. He’s an elite student-athlete. Landen continues to excel and has made his mark in this program. Markel is an electric performer who has been great for us all year. We will celebrate this year’s accolades and look forward to reaching new heights moving forward.”

Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) ended his season on March 20 with a season record of 18-13 in his debut for NIU at the tournament. Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) was selected as an alternate at 133 pounds and did not compete.

Stay up-to-date on all NIU Wrestling news by following the team on Facebook (NIU Wrestling), X/Twitter (@NIUWrestling), and on Instagram (@NIU_Wrestling).

Results

125: Blake West place is unknown and scored 1.5 team points.

  • Champ. Round 1 – Blake West (NIU) won by decision over Max Gallagher (Pennsylvania) (Dec 6-5)
  • Champ. Round 2 – Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) won by tech fall over Blake West (NIU) (TF-1.5 6:53 (19-3))
  • Cons. Round 2 – Blake West (NIU) won by decision over Maximo Renteria (Oregon State) (Dec 10-8)
  • Cons. Round 3 – Caleb Smith (Nebraska) won by decision over Blake West (NIU) (Dec 4-1)
133: Markel Baker place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

157: Landen Johnson place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points.

  • Prelim – Landen Johnson (NIU) won by decision over Richard Fedalen (Columbia) (Dec 5-3)
  • Champ. Round 1 – Tyler Kasak (Penn State) won by fall over Landen Johnson (NIU)  (Fall 1:39)
  • Cons. Round 1 – DJ McGee (George Mason) won by decision over Landen Johnson (NIU) (Dec 3-2)
–NIU–