March 5, 2011
Event: 2011 Big Ten Wrestling Championships -- Session I
Welsh-Ryan Arena
Evanston, Ill.
Team Standings: Northwestern: 7th/11
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Championships Central Page: NUsports.com (Schedule, Ticket Info, Updated Brackets, Standings)
Tickets: Available at the Welsh-Ryan Arena ticket window
EVANSTON, Ill. -- A trio of highly ranked Northwestern wrestlers are set to compete in the semifinals of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships Saturday evening in their home arena. Senior Brandon Precin (125) and sophomore Jason Welch (157) advanced easily with shutout victories while senior Andrew Nadhir (149) outlast Michigan State's Dan Osterman, 4-3, to remain in the championship bracket.
The host Wildcats sit in seventh place in the team standings with 28.0 points, while Iowa leads comfortably with 79.0 points and nine of their 10 entrants still alive in the championship semifinals.
A 2009 Big Ten finalist, Precin cruised past Purdue's Camden Eppert in his opening match, 8-0, and must now face Minnesota's Zach Sanders, the fifth-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds in the nation. Precin and Sanders last met during the 2009 dual season when Precin won by an 8-7 decision.
Nadhir, meanwhile, will be challenged in the semifinals by Michigan's sixth-seeded Eric Grajales, who dealt Nadhir his only defeat of the Big Ten dual regular season when he won an 11-5 decision in Ann Arbor. However, a staple of Nadhir's season thus far has been his ability to avenge earlier defeats, which he did twice during the Big Ten dual season against ranked opponents in Illinois' Eric Terrazas and Wisconsin's Cole Schmitt.
Welch will have a similar opportunity as he, too, is facing the only opponent he lost to during the Big Ten regular season on Saturday night in Iowa's Derek St. John. Welch had little difficulty in his early match Saturday, downing Michigan's Brandon Zeerip, 7-0.
Northwestern nearly landed a fourth semifinalist as sophomore Levi Mele took on Illinois' B.J. Futrell in the 4-5 matchup. Mele led 3-2 at the end of the first period before Futrell was able to seize the lead in the second with a three-point near-fall, holding off Mele in the third to win by 6-4 decision.
Mele remains alive in the consolation bracket and will take on either Akif Eren of Purdue or Ian Paddock in the evening session.
Two eighth-seeded Wildcats were knocked into the wrestlebacks with losses to a pair of top-seeded opponents, beginning with Kevin Bialka at 165 pounds. Bialka came up against Wisconsin's Andrew Howe, who was making his return to the mat after an extended absence due to a leg injury. But Howe appeared to knock off the rust quickly, pinning Bialka in the first period.
Junior heavyweight Ben Kuhar was locked in a 0-0 battle with top-seeded and sixth-ranked Cameron Wade of Penn State in the second period, but Wade soon collected back points and went on to win by 7-0 decision.
Senior Aaron Jones also was denied a minor upset when he surrendered a late takedown against seventh-seeded Cody Magrum of Ohio State.
Northwestern is attempting to send three wrestlers into the Big Ten finals for the first time since 2007, when NU brought home three Big Ten championships.
Big Ten Championships -- Session I Results
Pigtail Round
174: #6 Ben Jordan (WIS) maj. dec. Brian Roddy, Jr. (NU), 12-4
184: #7 Cody Magrum (OSU) dec. Aaron Jones (NU), 3-1
197: #2 Luke Lofthouse (IA) maj. dec. John Schoen (NU), 12-4
Quarterfinal Round
125: #2 Brandon Precin (NU) maj. dec. #7 Camden Eppert (PU), 8-0
133: #4 B.J. Futrell (IL) dec. #5 Levi Mele (NU), 6-4
141: #3 Michael Thorn (MN) FALL #6 Kaleb Friedley (NU), 4:11
149: #2 Andrew Nadhir (NU) dec. #7 Dan Osterman (MSU), 4-3
157: #3 Jason Welch (NU) dec. Brandon Zeerip (MI), 7-0
165: #1 Andrew Howe (WIS) FALL #8 Kevin Bialka (NU), 2:03
285: #1 Cameron Wade (PSU) dec. #8 Ben Kuhar (NU), 7-0
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