No. 19 Northwestern (9-7, 1-7 Big Ten) begins postseason wrestling Saturday and Sunday in Madison, Wis., for the Big Ten Championships. The Wildcats enter the tournament with six pre-seeded wrestlers, as voted by the Big Ten coaches. 

Juniors Mike McMullan and Pierce Harger, as well as redshirt freshman Jason Tsirtsis, lead the Cats’ championship charge. All three hold No. 3 Big Ten seeds in their weight classes. 

McMullan held the No. 1 ranking at 285 pounds in February but enters the weekend ranked No. 4. The two-time All-American faces a stacked field with the Big Ten holding seven of the nation’s top-eight heavyweights.  

McMullan performed well against Big Ten competition this season. The junior compiled a 7-1 record in conference duals with the only loss coming to No. 2 seed Adam Chalfant of Indiana. McMullan knocked off No. 1 Bobby Telford of Iowa to steal his ranking and Minnesota’s Tony Nelson, the reigning NCAA champion. Telford and Nelson are seeded right behind McMullan at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

McMullan could potentially renew a long-lasting rivalry with Nelson at Big Tens. Nelson eliminated McMullan in the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons. McMullan upset Nelson on Jan. 10 in their most recent meeting.  

Harger and Tsirtsis face slightly easier competition at 165 and 149 pounds, respectively, but it will be no cakewalk.

Harger has three other top-10 wrestlers in his field, but he was wrestling his best toward the end of the season. The junior won his last four matches, and coach Drew Pariano said after the team’s last match against Duke he thought Harger was finally wrestling to his full potential.

Tsirtsis could be at a disadvantage due to his inexperience. The redshirt freshman’s main competition this weekend are juniors Jake Sueflohn and Nick Dardanes, who have both wrestled on this stage before.

The Cats were bogged down in many Big Ten duals by sophomores Garrison White and Dominick Malone. The two wrestlers finished a combined 3-13 in conference. But each recorded victories in their final match of the regular season. 

Malone enters the tournament as the No. 10 seed at 133 pounds. 

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