March 7, 2009
End of Day One--Complete Brackets and Standings
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Northwestern's recent run of success at the Big Ten Championships continued in Session Two on Saturday as three Wildcats--senior Jake Herbert, junior Brandon Precin and true freshman Jason Welch--wrestled their way into Sunday's finals in the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State. Fans can catch all the action on the Big Ten Network's live broadcast of the finals beginning at 1 p.m. CT.
The Wildcats held steady in sixth place in the team standings at the close of the second session with 69.5 team points, just 2.0 points behind fifth-place Penn State. Iowa and Wisconsin each landed four wrestlers among the final 20 while Michigan and Northwestern checked in with three apiece. Northwestern last had three individual conference champions in the 2007 season when Herbert, Ryan Lang and Mike Tamillow all brought titles back to Evanston.
Herbert is attempting to become the first NU wrestler to win three Big Ten titles in his career and will try to do so against third-seeded Phil Keddy of Iowa, who ousted the No. 2-seeded Mike Pucillo of Ohio State in the semis. Herbert is 2-0 against Keddy so far this season.
Precin and Welch are contending for their first league championships after both registering impressive wins on Saturday night. Top-seeded Precin pinned No. 4 Brad Pataky of Penn State to earn a date with 2008 NCAA champion Angel Escobedo of Indiana on Sunday, while Welch must take on last year's NCAA runner-up, top-ranked Mike Poeta of Illinois.
In the 157-pound semifinal, Welch was faced with the prospect of overcoming Indiana sophomore Kurt Kinser, the No. 3 seed, who had two wins this season against Welch under his belt. Kinser took a 2-0 lead late in the first before Welch proceeded to ride Kinser through the entire second frame. A stalling point against Welch gave Kinser a 3-0 lead but the NU freshman regained the point on an escape early in the third.
Kinser warded off Welch's first few attempts to tie the match but with just under 30 seconds remaining, Welch finally got a hold of Kinser's leg and sent him to his back, keeping him there long enough to earn two back points as time expired.
Earlier in the evening at 125, Precin gained control to take a 2-0 lead before Pataky broke free to draw within one. Precin looked to be gaining another advantage but Pataky took a 3-2 lead on a reversal. NU's All-American managed to ride Pataky through the entire second frame and escaped from his down position to start the third, tying the score at three.
A rise could then be heard coming from the home Penn State crowd as Pataky nearly had a hold of Precin's right leg, but Precin ended up in control to take a 5-3 lead. Seconds later, Precin had brought Pataky to his back and held on for a remarkable pin at 6:12, his seventh fall of the season.
Herbert faced fourth-seeded Jordan Blanton of Illinois, who wrestled up at 197 during NU's dual in Champaign earlier this season. Herbert easily picked up a two to begin the match and rode Blanton through to the second period, where he scored again on an escape to begin the session. He scored once more on a takedown and secured his spot in Sunday's final. A win over Keddy would extend his collegiate winning streak to 60 matches.
Coming off his upset of third-seeded Lance Palmer in Session One, Andrew Nadhir squared off with Penn State's No. 2-seeded Bubba Jenkins, keeping the match scoreless through the first. The Wildcat escaped from bottom position with 50 seconds remaining in the second, a feat Jenkins matched to start the third. Jenkins' riding time advantage stood at 1:06 through much of the third--meaning Nadhir had to come up with a score to stay in the match--but Jenkins held him off and won by the narrow 2-1 decision.
Nadhir is slated to face Purdue's fifth-seeded Jake Patacsil in the consolation semifinals on Sunday and is still fighting for one of five automatic qualifier spots available in the Big Ten at the 149-pound weight class.
At 141, Keith Sulzer picked up the first takedown in the opening minute but was soon reversed as Michigan State's Collin Dozier evened the match at two. A pair of second-period escapes gave Sulzer a 4-2 lead, which remained the score into the third. Dozier again drew even with a reversal before Sulzer claimed a 5-4 lead on the ensuing escape, a lead he protected to advance and face Illinois' Ryan Prater.
In the consolation quarterfinal, Prater rode Sulzer throughout the second until the final 10 seconds when Sulzer took a 2-0 lead on a reversal. Sulzer remained in control and picked up a clutch three-point near-fall, going ahead 6-0, which proved to be the winning margin. Sulzer, a 2008 NCAA qualifier, is set to face Ohio State's national champion from a year ago, fifth-seeded J Jaggers, in his attempt to secure a return to the NCAA Championships. Seven 141-pound wrestlers from the Big Ten will be guaranteed a spot in St. Louis.
In other consolation action, Eric Metzler (133) matched up with third-seeded Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois. Even at two in the second, Kennedy took control and managed to score the next seven points to earn the decision.
Junior Dominic Marella (165) was locked in another low-scoring bout with Illinois' Roger Smith-Bergsrud, who is ranked 15th in the most recent InterMat/NWCA polls. Smith-Bergsrud notched the early takedown, but Marella escaped from his grasp and managed to do so once again to start the second period. Marella took a two-point lead on a successful shoot but Smith-Bergsrud came right back with an escape and aggressive takedown to take a one-point lead. Marella endured a knee injury early in the third but could not score on his in-state foe again, losing 6-4.
Over on mat one, redshirt freshman Robert Kellogg (174) met Minnesota's Matthew Everson in the 174-pound wrestlebacks where he was pinned in 4:32, ending his weekend of competition in State College.
Fellow first-year starter John Schoen (197) faced Ohio State's Cody Gardner in a match that was scoreless until one minute into the second period when Gardner escaped Schoen's single-leg hold to go ahead 1-0. In the final period, Schoen started in the bottom and earned a technical violation point after Gardner locked his hands illegally, knotting the score at one.
With 55 second remaining Schoen broke free from Gardner's grasp--preventing the Buckeye from gaining the one-minute riding time advantage--and took a 2-1 lead. He held on down the stretch for his first career win at the Big Ten Championships. Despite his eventual 5-3 loss, Schoen on Sunday will wrestle for seventh place in his weight class against Indiana's sixth-seeded Matt Powless, who fell to Purdue's Logan Brown by major decision.
Freshman heavyweight Paul Rands wrapped up his conference tournament in a match against Purdue's eighth-seeded Chris Kasten. Rands fell victim to three back points in the second but limited Kasten's scoring the rest of the way, dropping a 5-0 decision.
Fans can continue to check the official Web site of the 2009 Big Ten Wrestling Championships for continuously updated brackets.
Northwestern Decisions
Semifinals
125: #1 Brandon Precin (NU) FALL #4 Brad Pataky (PSU), 6:12
149: #2 Bubba Jenkins (PSU) dec. #6 Andrew Nadhir (NU), 2-1
157: #2 Jason Welch (NU) dec. #3 Kurt Kinser (IND), 6-3
184: #1 Jake Herbert (NU) dec. #4 Jordan Blanton (ILL), 6-1
Saturday's Wrestlebacks
133: #3 Jimmy Kennedy (ILL) dec. Eric Metzler (NU), 9-2
141: #6 Keith Sulzer (NU) dec. Collin Dozier (MSU), 5-4
165: #4 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (ILL) dec. Dominic Marella (NU), 6-4
174: Matt Everson (MINN) FALL #7 Robert Kellogg (NU), 4:32
197: #8 John Schoen (NU) dec. Cody Gardner (OSU), 2-1
285: Chris Kasten (PU) dec. Paul Rands (NU), 5-0
141: #6 Keith Sulzer (NU) dec. #7 Ryan Prater (ILL), 6-0
197: #4 Gordon Bierschenk (MINN) dec. #8 John Schoen (NU), 5-3