As the regular season ends, the focus shifts from team achievements to individual ones.
The significance of this weekend’s Big Ten Championships really depends on who you ask.
For seven of Northwestern’s 10 grapplers who take to the mats this weekend, winning a title might be a pipe dream – a chance to theoretically compete for one of wrestling’s most prestigious titles.
“People in wrestling know that if you win a Big Ten title you’re one of the best in the country – you’re favored to win a national title that year,” coach Tim Cysewski said. “Everybody wishes they wrestled in the Big Ten.”
For high-seeded wrestlers such as Brandon Precin and Jason Welch, No. 1 and No. 2 in their weight classes, it’s a chance to prove they belong among the nation’s elite.
“It’s an honor to have that No. 1 seed,” Precin said. “I’m looking forward to wrestling and competing. My goal is to win.”
But for undefeated, three-time Big Ten champion, No. 1 ranked wrestler, Jake Herbert, who is riding a 58-game winning streak, it’s just another weekend.
“I know I can wrestle, and as long as I wrestle well, I’m going to win it,” Herbert said. “I’d like to go out, have fun, compete, and come back with another championship.”
Herbert will face the second- and third-ranked wrestlers in the country, but he seems more concerned about seeing his family than potentially losing. Herbert grew up in suburban Pittsburgh, two hours away from University Park, Pa., where the tournament is held. When asked whether he was worried heading into the tournament, Herbert’s reply was a simple, “no.”
Herbert twice wrestled the No. 3 wrestler, Iowa’s Phil Keddy, and won both, 15-1 in December’s Midlands Championships, and 3-2 on Feb. 22.
“I can beat him if I wrestle his style, and if I open up and attack, I can win by, like, 15 points,” Herbert said. “So all I have to do is open up and move and I can make it a wrestling match.”
Meanwhile, the No. 2 wrestler, Ohio State’s Mike Pucillo, was supposed to face off against Herbert earlier this year. Instead, the Buckeyes chose to have Pucillo face NU’s 197-pounder, John Schoen, to avoid the confrontation with Herbert.
NU’s other title hopefuls, Precin and Welch, have their work cut out for them. Precin, the No. 3 wrestler in the nation, went 25-2 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten, with both his losses coming in overtime to former national champions. Precin’s main rival for the championship is Indiana’s Angel Escobedo, who has beaten Precin four times over the past two years. The first was a double overtime win that propelled Escobedo to a national title last year. The other was a 3-1 overtime victory in this year’s dual meet between the two.
“It’s just like any other guy I have to wrestle,” Precin said. “But it’s definitely in the back of my mind.”
Precin finished seventh in the Big Ten tournament and nationally last season but, with a No. 1 seeding this year, looks to have a much better finish.
“He’s capable of beating anybody in the country,” Cysewski said. “But he’s got to wrestle well.”
Welch earned the No. 2 seed after a true freshman campaign that saw him rise to No. 14 in the country, with only two Big Ten losses. His chances of winning aren’t as great as Precin’s or Herbert’s, but they’re strong for a first-timer.
“Any one of five guys in that weight class can win, but Jason’s got the most upside,” Cysewski said. “To be No. 2 at his weight class as a true freshman is pretty good.”
NU is one of only five teams to have a No. 1 seed in this weekend’s tournament and one of three to have multiple top seeds. The Wildcats will have competitors in all 10 weight classes in the championships, which start Saturday and continue all weekend. The finals in each weight class will be aired on the Big Ten Network starting at 2 p.m. Sunday.
