For the first time in 10 years, Northwestern will host some of the nations’ best competitors for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships this weekend.
The Wildcats have seven wrestlers ranked in the preliminary seedings released by the Big Ten on Monday. The seedings were determined based on a vote of the conference’s coaches, who will meet in Evanston on Friday to debate and set the final bracket for the event on Saturday and Sunday.
Although no Wildcat is a top seed, redshirt seniors Brandon Precin (125) and Andrew Nadhir (149) were both given No. 2 seeds in their divisions. Redshirt sophomore Jason Welch (157) was given a No. 3 seed while sophomore Levi Mele (133) was awarded the fifth seed. Redshirt junior Ben Kuhar (Hwt.) and sophomore Kevin Bialka (157) were both given No. 8 seeds.
John Schoen is not seeded at the 197-pound division, but coach Drew Pariano said to keep an eye out for him over the weekend. The redshirt junior is currently ranked No. 30 in the country, according to the latest coaches’ poll and said he is hoping not just to qualify for the NCAAs but to do it in style.
“I definitely know what I have to do (to qualify for the NCAAs),” Schoen said. “But I’m not shooting just to finish sixth. I want the opportunity to place top three. I don’t want to qualify for the sake of qualifying.”
One of NU’s best shots at winning an individual Big Ten title will be Precin. He enters the tournament 7-1 in Big Ten matches with his only loss being to top seeded Matt McDonough of Iowa on Jan. 28. Despite being pinned in that match, Precin was dominant for most of it, leading 3-0 when McDonough got the takedown for a pin.
The other wrestler with a good shot at being a Big Ten champ is Nadhir. Nadhir is also 7-1 in Big Ten matches. His only loss was to Eric Grajales on Jan. 21 against Michigan in Ann Arbor. Nadhir beat the wrestlers seeded three through five and did not wrestle top-seeded Frank Molinaro of Penn State this season. Nadhir faced Molinaro last season during the team’s dual, losing a 9-0 major decision.
“I feel like I’m finally wrestling well,” Nadhir said. “You just wrestle who is put in front of you. Obviously you want to wrestle the best during the season, but I faced (Molinaro) last year. I’ve watched film of him and I know what he is going to do, and he probably knows what I’m going to do.”
Fitness becomes a key issue for wrestlers during the prominent tournaments, especially as Sunday rolls around and the final matches are set to begin. Wrestlers can compete in as many as five matches in a matter of two days at the Big Ten Championships. Fitness should not be an issue for NU; it wrestled as many as three times in one day earlier this season. They also participated in the strenuous, and at times unique, fitness program instituted by assistant coach Matt Storniolo prior to this season. The fitness program entailed runs – with twists. One run had the wrestlers carrying one-gallon jugs of water, forcing them to run back to the wrestling room if they dropped the jugs on the one-mile circuits.
“It all starts with our preseason fitness program with Storniolo,” Nadhir said. “The coaches are doing an awesome job recognizing our bodies and knowing when we’ll peak.”
The Cats only wrestle eight conference duals per season, meaning they do not face two Big Ten teams each season. This season they did not face No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Minnesota, meaning wrestlers like Precin and Nadhir have not faced some of the stiffer competition at their weight divisions this season. Pariano said he is not concerned about it because, in this conference, all the competition is stiff.
“Psychologically, you want to wrestle the best teams,” Pariano said. “But it’s Big Ten wrestling, and there is nothing like it in all of college sports.”
