Dec. 17, 2008
NU Match Notes -- Pittsburgh/Clarion
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Anxious to return to competition for the first time since Dec. 4, No. 20 Northwestern travels to western Pennsylvania for a pair of dual matches. NU takes on 25th-ranked Pittsburgh at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday before a clash with Clarion in a match hosted by senior Jake Herbert's alma mater, North Allegheny High School, at 11 a.m. CT Saturday.
Herbert won a 2003 Pennsylvania state championship and compiled a 141-18 overall high school record while competing for North Allegheny. Now third all-time in career victories at Northwestern, Herbert is off to a 10-0 start in 2008.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
When Northwestern squares off with Pitt at Fitzgerald Field House on Friday, it marks just the third dual competition of the season for the Panthers. Pittsburgh dropped its opener against Lehigh, 27-9, before defeating Bloomsburg by a 27-7 decision. Pitt is coming off a fourth-place showing at the Las Vegas Invitational. Three ranked Panthers headline Pitt's lineup: junior Jimmy Conroy (No. 16, 133 lbs.), redshirt freshman Tyler Nauman (No. 10, 141 lbs.) and senior Zach Sheaffer (No. 6, 285 lbs.). Sheaffer (11-1) and Nauman (14-4) both reached the finals and placed second at the Vegas Invite.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Clarion enters its bout against Northwestern with a 2-2 dual mark coming off a 22-14 loss at Kent State on Sunday. The Golden Eagles held a slim 13-12 advantage through the first seven matches but came up short over the final three. In addition to seeing Wexford's own Jake Herbert at 184 lbs., fans in attendance will also be treated to what should be a tightly contested match at 157 lbs. between NU's 16th-ranked freshman Jason Welch and Clarion's 17th-ranked junior Hadley Harrison. Welch enters the match 7-1 while Harrison is 6-2.
ON THE HORIZON
Just a little over a week remains before the start of one of the most prestigious wrestling tournaments in the nation, the Midlands Championships on the campus of Northwestern. This year's Midlands event takes place on Dec. 29-30.
Among the teams slated to compete are 12 programs currently ranked in the top 25 according to the USAToday/InterMat Wrestle/NWCA poll including three--Iowa, Iowa State and Missouri--ranked in the nation's top five. Herbert is aiming to become the first NU wrestler to win three Midlands tournaments while junior Brandon Precin (No. 3, 125 lbs.), sophomore Keith Sulzer (No. 6, 141 lbs.), junior Dominic Marella (165 lbs.) and Welch are all poised to claim their first Midlands titles.
"We have a number of guys wrestling well right now including Jake, who has his eyes on the Midlands, Big Tens and NCAAs this year," NU head coach Tim Cysewski said. "It's important to see the guys who have had success before come back and improve but it's also important to see younger guys start to step up and fill the openings that are there."
Tickets to Midlands are available by calling 847-491-CATS or by completing and returning the order form in PDF format below:
WRESTLER TO WATCH
This week's wrestler to watch is redshirt freshman John Schoen at 197 lbs. Last time out against Northern Illinois, Schoen earned a hard-fought 5-3 decision over Brad Dieckhaus to help NU put away the Huskies. Schoen held a 2-1 lead after the first period but Dieckhaus managed to tie the score in the second. In the decisive period, Schoen scored another takedown and earned a riding time point to capture the match for the Wildcats. The native of Roselle, Ill., has won three of his last four bouts for Northwestern.