March 19, 2011
Event: 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships -- Session V
Site: Philadelphia, Pa. Wells Fargo Center (19,500)
Final Session V Brackets
Updated Team Standings (NU: T-12th/73)
Championships Website: NCAA.com
NWCA Live Scoring: NWCA.com
Next NU Event: Season Complete
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Northwestern's three leaders on the mat this season put the finishing touches on an outstanding showing at the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia Saturday morning. Senior and three-time All-American Brandon Precin (125) won back-to-back decisions to claim third place at nationals for the second time in his career, concluding his four-year varsity tenure with a record of 138-30.
With only the 10 championship matches left to be contested, Northwestern sits in a tie for 12th place with 39.0 points. Barring point deductions or disqualifications, Penn State has clinched the NCAA team championship with 103.5 team points and three finalists.
Despite coming up short in his quest for an NCAA championship, Precin -- one of five three-time All-Americans in NU history -- took care of business against two tough opponents on Saturday to secure third place.
"I was here to wrestle for my family, my friends, my coaches, my girlfriend, everyone who's been supporting me," Precin said after his final match. "I would have liked to have won a national championship but I wasn't going to just let everyone down by giving up today."
After five years at NU and four trips to the national meet, Precin reflected on his career and his first NCAA Championships in 2007 when NU finished a program-best-tying fourth as a team.
"I was a freshman tripping over my own feet and still somewhat pudgy," Precin said. "But I feel that was a turning point for Northwestern wrestling, we started getting even more high-quality recruits, high-quality people, (changing) the culture; (everyone in the program) is working hard right now."
Precin's final day began against No. 5 Zach Sanders of Minnesota in the consolation semifinals. Precin scored first with a takedown with 12 seconds left in the opening period and added an escape in the second period to make it 3-0. Sanders was able to score a takedown later in the frame but Precin immediately escaped and maintained a two-point edge in the third.
Sanders continued to battle, however, and tied Precin with a takedown in the final minute. But he was no match for Precin from the top position as the NU senior darted free for the winning point with 15 seconds left.
That sent him into the third-place bout against Utah Valley's unseeded Ben Kjar, who upset the fourth, fifth and seventh-seeded entrants on his way to the consolation finals. But Kjar never truly got near Precin's legs in the entire seven-minute bout as Precin used takedowns in the final 30 seconds of both the first and second periods to put away a 5-0 decision and clinch third place.
In his consolation semifinal round match vs. American's Ganbayar Sanjaa, Nadhir fell behind 2-0 early and was turned for two back points to make it 4-0. Sanjaa was tough on top but Nadhir managed to escape at the outset of the second period. That was all the scoring he could muster as he dropped the 5-1 decision and moved into the fifth-place match.
Nadhir also was prevented from getting his offense going against Oklahoma State's fifth-seeded Jamal Parks, who used a two-minute rideout in the third period to protect his three-point advantage and ultimately win, 6-2.
At 157, Welch squared off with St. John for the second time this year in a match that featured a host of exciting scrambles and action. Welch eluded several promising shot attempts by St. John but on other occasions could only ward him off for so long, surrendering a takedown in the second and third periods in a 6-1 defeat to the Hawkeye.
That set up a rematch of Welch's quarterfinal upset win over top-ranked Adam Hall of Boise State in the bout for fifth place. Hall led 1-0 on an escape when Welch seemed to gain control of the action, but after almost 30 seconds was never awarded the two-point takedown. That would be Welch's best scoring opportunity of what turned out to be a 5-1 Hall victory.
Saturday night's NCAA Championship bouts will be aired live by ESPN beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Northwestern completes a season in which it won 18 of 20 dual matches and finished the year ranked No. 14 in the final NWCA/USA Today Coaches poll.
NCAA Championships -- Session V Results
Consolation Semifinals
125: #3 Brandon Precin (NU) dec. #5 Zach Sanders (MINN), 5-4
149: #8 Ganbayar Sanjaa (AMER) dec. #11 Andrew Nadhir (NU), 5-1
157: #6 Derek St. John (IA) dec. #8 Jason Welch (NU), 6-1
Third-Place Match
125: #3 Brandon Precin (NU) dec. Ben Kjar (UVST), 5-0
Fifth-Place Matches
149: Jamal Parks (OKST) dec. #11 Andrew Nadhir (NU), 6-2
157: #1 Adam Hall (BOISE) dec. #8 Jason Welch (NU), 5-1
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