Northwestern
NCAA Championships
NU Wrestlers Extend Stay at NCAA Championships in St. Louis
3/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 19, 2009
Official 2009 NCAA Championships site
Complete Brackets Through Session Two
Team Scores Through Session Two
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- All four of Northwestern's 2009 NCAA qualifiers are still alive heading into the second day of competition after going 3-1 collectively Thursday night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. It was a successful night on college wrestling's biggest stage for both Brandon Precin and Jake Herbert, who moved into a tie for second on the school's career wins list with 146.
Both Herbert and Precin are ready to compete in Friday's quarterfinal round, which will be broadcast live by ESPNU in high definition beginning at 10 a.m. CT.
"Jake and Brandon are both experienced wrestlers who know how to take care of business in these tournaments," said head coach Tim Cysewski. "Jake has done a good job of being consistent and letting the other guy self-destruct, which is what veterans should do. Brandon's been competing very well and he just needs to continue raising his level each day."
True freshman Jason Welch was tripped up in the championship bracket at 157 by Edinboro senior Gregor Gillespie, a 2007 NCAA champion and the fourth seed in this year's tournament, losing narrowly 3-2. Welch joins Keith Sulzer, who defeated Central Michigan's Anthony D'Alie during Session II, in the consolation bracket.
For the second time on Thursday, Herbert was explosive right from the opening whistle in his bout against Northern Iowa's Alex Dolly. He took Dolly down in the first 10 seconds and rode his way through the first period before executing a similar strategy in the second period. Dolly staved off Herbert's continued attempts to get the tilt but eventually lost by major decision, 8-0.
Herbert (31-0), who extended his collegiate winning streak to 62 matches, is slated for a quarterfinal contest against Wyoming redshirt freshman Joe LeBlanc.
Late in the first period of the 125-pound second-round bout, Wyoming's Michael Martinez nearly put Precin (29-3) in a headlock but Precin quickly freed himself and turned the tide by planting Martinez on his back for a takedown and three back points. Precin extended his lead to 6-1 by escaping to start the second and defended well the remainder of the match, never finding himself in danger of being taken down.
Precin, a 2008 All-American, needs just one more victory to become the 12th member of Northwestern's 100-career wins club, which would mark the third consecutive year that a Wildcat wrestler has reached that total. The native of Orland Park, Ill., is set for a quarterfinal match against Arizona State's 12th-seeded Anthony Robles, who upended fifth-seeded Charlie Falck of Iowa in the second round.
Welch (25-9) put forth a superb effort in his 157-pound match against Gillespie, who scored in only one short flurry in the second period and did not register a takedown through the seven-minute bout. Gillespie notched three back points midway through the second period off a scramble, which remained the only scoring into the third. Welch began the period on the bottom and drew to within 3-2 on a reversal to take control of the action. He rode out the match to eliminate Gillespie's riding time advantage but could not tilt the Fighting Scot down the stretch in his attempts to take the lead.
Welch now faces fellow freshman standout and 10th-seeded Scott Winston of Rutgers on Friday.
Sulzer (20-13) concluded the day's action for Northwestern in his consolation bout against D'Alie. It was a typically low-scoring match for Sulzer, who led 1-0 after an escape midway through the second period. But Sulzer distanced himself from D'Alie late in the period with a takedown and a two-point near-fall, going ahead 5-0. He worked hard from the top position in the third to hold on for the decision.
Sulzer's next consolation draw is against top-seeded Kellen Russell of Michigan, who was pinned in stunning fashion by Ryan Prater of Illinois early in Session II.
Northwestern sits in a tie for 20th place (12.0 points) in the team standings entering Friday's competition. Iowa and Iowa State are in a tie for first with 33.0 points apiece.
Northwestern Results
Thursday -- Session II
Championship Bracket
125: No. 4 Brandon Precin (NU) dec. Michael Martinez (WYO), 6-1
157: No. 4 Gregor Gillespie (EDIN) dec. Jason Welch (NU), 3-2
184: No. 1 Jake Herbert (NU) MD Alex Dolly (UNI), 8-0
Consolation Bracket
141: Keith Sulzer (NU) dec. Anthony D'Alie (CMU), 5-0
Session III Schedule
Championship Bracket
125: No. 4 Brandon Precin (NU) vs. No. 12 Anthony Robles (ASU)
184: No. 1 Jake Herbert (NU) vs. No. 9 Joe LeBlanc (WYO)
Consolation Bracket
141: Keith Sulzer (NU) vs. No. 1 Kellen Russell (MICH)
157: Jason Welch (NU) vs. No. 10 Scott Winston (RUTG)
