While most of the student body was enjoying time off over winter break, the wrestling squad was hard at work, competing in two tournaments and a double-dual match.
The Wildcats scored 32-12 and 38-12 wins over the University of Chicago and the University of Indianapolis on Dec. 15 and finished third among 27 teams at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 18.
The Cats capped off the stretch by finishing 10th out of 66 teams at the 43rd Midlands Tournament, held on Dec. 29 and 30 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Nine teams ranked in the top 25 of the USA Today/NWCA Coaches’ Poll participated.
The Cats were led by sophomore All-American Jake Herbert, who finished first in the 174-pound division with a 5-0 record and extended his current winning streak to 22 matches.
Herbert, ranked second in the nation in his weight class, became Northwestern’s first back-to-back champion at the tournament. He was named the 2005 Midlands Champion of Champions.
“I felt good, and it was a step in the right direction for me,” Herbert said. “I got to wrestle some of the best kids in the nation and battle it out to see who was best.”
Herbert won all five of his matches in the two-day tournament, but was tested repeatedly, especially by his last three opponents.
After hanging on for tough victories against Pittsburgh junior Keith Gavin in the quarterfinals and Michigan State senior R.J. Boudro in the semifinals, Herbert met Iowa sophomore Mark Perry in the finals.
Neither wrestler scored in the first period, but Herbert jumped out to a 5-0 advantage in the second period with a reversal and a takedown. However, Herbert barely managed to hang on for the 5-4 win after Perry took him down twice late in the third period.
“I was trying to wrestle strong and stay tough,” said Herbert about his match against Perry, the 2004 Midlands champion at 165 lbs. “I had to stay on course because if I let up at all, he’d come back.”
“Coming in as the defending champion, there’s always pressure to do it again,” coach Tim Cysewski said about the challenge Herbert faced. “There was a big build-up to the match with Perry. The score was close, but Jake dominated from start to finish. It showed people that Perry is good but Jake is better.”
Senior Matt Delguyd, seeded second in his division, turned in a fine performance at 197 lbs. Although he lost twice on the second day of competition, including a nail-biting 3-2 defeat to Indiana senior Brady Richardson, Delguyd still finished fourth.
Sophomore Dustin Fox went 1-1 on the final day to earn seventh place at 285 lbs. To do so, he scored a convincing 10-4 victory over American sophomore Adam Lopiccolo in his final match of the tournament.
“Any time you place at a tournament like this, you did a good job,” Cysewski said. “We were wrestling the best kids and teams in the country.”
However, the Cats could not match their seventh-place finish of a year ago, partly due to injuries. Among those affected was 141-pound sophomore Ryan Lang, one of the team’s best wrestlers.
“A lot of kids got injured and you can’t do anything about that,” Herbert said. “We could have won that tournament but we weren’t at full strength.”
Reach Andrew Simon at [email protected].
