March 9, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS -- Brandon Precin and Ryan Lang both won seventh-place matches Sunday to clinch bids to the 2008 NCAA Championships and cap a 4-0 start to Session Three of the Big Ten Championships. Four Wildcats have one match remaining, but Northwestern has clinched six spots in the national tournament. Nick Hayes and Keith Sulzer will wrestle for third, while Dustin Fox and Mike Tamillow are gunning for Big Ten titles later today.
For the second-straight year, Precin needed a win in the seventh-place match to clinch a bid to the NCAA Championships. Just like last year, Precin came through in a big way, with a 7-1 decision over Penn State's sixth-seeded Mark McKnight.
The fourth-seeded sophomore pushed the pace from the start, scoring a takedown and then turning McKnight for a three-point near fall. Precin had a tight hold on McKnight and almost picked up the fall, but had to settle for the three points.
With a 5-1 lead heading into the second, Precin used an escape to take 6-1 advantage. No more points were scored and the riding time advantage gave the Wildcat the 7-1 decision.
At 149, the seventh-seeded Lang scored six points in the first period en route to a 9-3 decision over Indiana's Kurt Kinser in his seventh-place match. Kinser and Lang went to overtime on the first day, but Lang would have none of that this time around. He got an early takedown and then turned Kinser for two two-point near falls.
Sulzer advanced to the third-place match when second-seeded Kyle Ruschell injury defaulted out of the consolation semifinal bout. He will face Ohio State's third-seeded J Jaggers later today.
Hayes advanced to the third-place match with a solid 8-1 decision over Indiana's Trevor Perry. The fourth-seeded senior was never in trouble as he scored a takedown with a single leg shot in the first and then rode out the period.
The Wildcat added three more points in the second with an escape and another single leg and he left nothing to chance in the third, scoring a takedown and adding riding time for the 8-1 decision. Hayes faces Iowa's second-seeded Jay Borschel for third this afternoon.
Northwestern Results
Consolation Semifinals
#7 Sulzer (NU) win by default #2 Ruschell (WIS)
#4 Hayes (NU) dec. Perry (IU), 8-1
Seventh-Place Match
#4 Precin (NU) dec. #6 McKnight (PSU), 7-1
#7 Lang (NU) dec. Kinser (IU), 9-3
Sunday Afternoon Matches
Third Place
141: #7 Sulzer (NU) vs. #3 Jaggers (OSU)
174: #4 Hayes (NU) vs. #2 Borschel (Iowa)
Final
197: #1 Tamillow (NU) vs. #2 Davis (PSU)
285: #2 Fox (NU) vs. #1 Bergman (OSU)