March 12, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In the lead-up to the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships, USA Wrestling and the NCAA have announced the star-studded lineups for the Big Ten-Big 12 Alumni Challenge that will be part of the NCAA Fan Festival in Omaha on Friday, March 19. Northwestern alum Jake Herbert, a two-time NCAA champion and current USA World Team member, will represent the Big Ten at 185 lbs.
The Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge will be Web cast live on NCAA.com/wrestling and available through TheMat.com, with USA Wrestling's Jason Bryant and Kendall Cross calling the action.
Herbert, the 2009 Hodge Trophy winner and Big Ten Conference Male Athlete of the Year, will be paired off with former Oklahoma State competitor Chris Pendleton, who won 174-pound NCAA championships for the Cowboys in 2004 and 2005.
Rather than declaring a winner in each individual match, the format for the all-star dual match will see each conference compile cumulative point totals based on the sum of the technical points scored in each match by the athletes. Each match will consist of two two-minute periods.
Herbert is coming off a strong performance at the Freestyle World Cup in Russia in his most recent outing as a member of the USA World Team. Herbert was 2-0 in the United States' duals against Uzbekistan--which the U.S. defeated 5-2--and Iran. Herbert won a tough three-period match over 2008 Olympic silver medalist Soslan Tiguev of Uzbekistan, 0-2, 7-7, 3-2, and then defeated 2009 Asian champion Ehsan Naser Lashgari of Iran, 1-3, 4-1, 1-0. He was one of only two American wrestlers to go 2-0 at the event.
Complete lineups for the 2010 Big Ten vs. Big 12 Alumni Challenge are listed below.
TENTATIVE BIG TEN VS. BIG 12 CHALLENGE LINEUPS
(Big Ten athlete/school vs. Big 12 athlete/school)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Nick Simmons (Michigan State) vs. Obe Blanc (Oklahoma State)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) vs. Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Andy Simmons (Michigan State) vs. Jared Frayer (Oklahoma)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Mike Poeta (Illinois) vs. Trent Paulson (Iowa State)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Jake Herbert (Northwestern) vs. Chris Pendleton (Oklahoma State)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Andy Hrovat (Michigan) vs. David Bertolino (Iowa State)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Aaron Anspach (Penn State) vs. Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State)
Exhibition bouts
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - J.D. Bergman (Ohio State) vs. Kyle Cerminara (Buffalo)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Tervel Dlagnev (UN-Kearney) vs. Blake Gillis (Wartburg)
Big 10 Coach: Mark Johnson (formerly of Illinois)
Big 12 Coach: Bobby Douglas (formerly of Iowa State)