To senior Jake Herbert and the Northwestern wrestling team, just winning is boring.

“I don’t just want to win every match,” Herbert said. “I want to completely dominate them. I want my opponent to know that he has absolutely no chance of doing anything on the mat.”

Herbert has the record to back up his claim. He has won every collegiate match he’s competed in since 2006. His obliteration of opponents is representative of a greater trend in NU’s wrestling program: winning, and lots of it.

“We had pretty high expectations going into the year,” coach Tim Cysewski said. “And they’ve done very well. It’s one of the best teams we’ve had.”

That’s quite a statement considering NU has been home to NCAA Champions each of the last two seasons.

Herbert won the title in his 184-pound weight class in 2007, and after taking a year off for Olympic training, he is back to lead the Wildcats and defend his title.

“After going up against the best men in the world, going to the best college kids in the country is like going from one level to another,” Herbert said.

Herbert is off to an 18-0 start and is ranked first in his weight class. Over Winter Break, he dismantled the competition at the Midlands Championship, a double-elimination nationwide invitation tournament held in Evanston, which attracted 370 wrestlers.

Cysewski said Herbert came back from his year off with more resolve and determination than he had ever shown before, crediting it to the fact that he had spent most of the year training on his own as opposed to in a team atmosphere. It makes coaching somewhat easier for Cysewski.

“I tell him, ‘Don’t change much,'” Cysewski said.

But the team does not end with Herbert. Junior Brandon Precin, who competes in the 125-pound weight class, has started the season 18-1. Like Herbert, Precin won a Midlands title and is currently ranked 2nd in the nation. Despite his success this season, he is haunted by a double-overtime loss in the quarterfinals of last year’s NCAA Tournament. Precin’s defeat at the hands of Indiana’s Angel Escobedo, who beat Precin three times and went on to win the national championship, has given him increased motivation and focus in training.

“I just need to win those close matches,” Precin said. “I need to work on getting myself in those types of situations.”

NU boasts two more wrestlers ranked in the top 25: sophomore Keith Sulzer, ranked 16th in the 141-pound class, and Jason Welch, a true freshman who is ranked 17th in the 157-pound class.

Welch came to NU as the No. 1 recruit in the country after an undefeated senior year of high school. He is just one of the many talented young wrestlers who comprise Cysewski’s roster. Last year, the squad graduated five seniors, including Dustin Fox, the 2008 national heavyweight champion. Herbert praised the new group of freshmen.

“We have a lot of young guys with tremendous athletic talent,” Herbert said. “They just need to make sure they crack down on the little things, and they’ll reach the levels they’ve been going for.”

While the team stands at 7-3 at the beginning of the Big Ten season, the focus is on the team’s two NCAA Champion-hopefuls, Herbert and Precin.

As for Herbert, he has a sole focus – winning one last championship. Still, he feels that the people who should be most worried are his adversaries.

“My opponents should completely dread having to wrestle me,” Herbert said. “I want them to be afraid of even setting foot on the mat.”

rodgersherman2007

@u.northwestern.edu