Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis primed for run at 2nd NCAA title

NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern has won his last 37 matches. Tony Rotundo photo.


EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern sophomore Jason Tsirtsis was an NCAA champion before a Midlands champion.


And capturing his first Midlands title was no easy feat.


Tsirtsis won three straight overtime matches to earn the 149-pound championship in his home arena at the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30.


The top-seeded Tsirtsis rolled to major decision victories in his first two bouts before posting a 2-1 quarterfinal win over No. 8 seed B.J. Clagon of Rider. He followed with a 3-2 semifinal win over No. 4 Brody Grothus of Iowa.


In the finals, Tsirtsis edged No. 2 David Habat of Edinboro 2-1.


Tsirtsis wrestled a total of 29 minutes in his final three matches.


“In all three of those overtime matches, I was close to getting takedowns and close to maybe opening up the match a little bit,” Tsirtsis said. “I didn’t quite get to the finishes I need to because time was running out, or because of bad technique or execution on my part. I had to gut it out and wrestle tough the whole match.


“Managing my matches, I know what I need to do in those tight matches. I just have to execute it perfectly to come out on top.”


Tsirtsis is off to an unbeaten start this season and is ranked No. 1 nationally at 149. He is 21-0 this season and has won his last 37 matches.


“It’s easy to coach a kid who wants to be the best, and Jason Tsirtsis wants to be the best,” Northwestern coach Drew Pariano said. “He wants to do it all and wrestle at the highest level. And he wants to succeed at every level.”


Tsirtsis came on strong in the 2014 postseason, capturing Big Ten and NCAA titles this past March as a freshman. He finished 32-3 and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.


Tsirtsis entered the 2014 NCAA tournament in Oklahoma City as the No. 5 seed at 149. He was on a tough side of the bracket, but he knocked off returning NCAA champion Kendric Maple of Oklahoma 2-1 in the quarterfinals.


He followed by edging No. 1 seed Drake Houdashelt of Missouri 2-1 in the semifinals before scoring a takedown in sudden victory to defeat Oklahoma State’s Josh Kindig 3-1 in the finals.


Tsirtsis won his five NCAA matches by a total of eight points. His final three wins all came in overtime.


“I’ve said it multiple times, it’s what you set your goals for as a kid,” he said. “It was definitely a great feeling. To have it come this quickly in my career was a blessing, yet trying to repeat is going to be twice as hard. I just have to keep improving.”


Tsirtsis was seeded only fifth at the 2014 NCAAs despite winning the Big Ten title.


“None of Jason’s matches were easy at NCAAs,” Pariano said. “His whole road to the finals was very difficult. If a guy ever earned an NCAA title, he earned it by going through the gauntlet that he did. He did an amazing job and won some very tough matches.”


Tsirtsis said he needs to work on building leads during his matches.


“It’s challenging, and it’s frustrating a little bit with how some guys approach matches and try to keep it close and maybe hope to pull out a takedown at the end to win a match,” he said. “I need to figure out how to open those matches up and score more points.


“I have to work on it in the practice room where guys try to keep it close. I just have to keep working on it and attack it every day in the room. It all comes down to my execution. It’s all on me to do it.”


Tsirtsis, a 2013 U.S. Junior National Team member in freestyle, has benefited by being mentored by his older brother Alex.


Alex Tsirtsis was an All-American for Iowa.


“Alex has helped me so much throughout my career,” Jason Tsirtsis said. “He has kind of the same outlook on my style as I do, so it works well. He is always giving me advice, leading me along the right path and putting the right things in my head. He’s had a huge impact on my career.”


Tsirtsis is pushed in the room by All-American teammate Pierce Harger (165) along with past Northwestern All-American Jason Welch, who is now competing internationally in freestyle. He also trains with Olympian and NCAA champion Matt Gentry.


Tsirtsis, a four-time Indiana state champion in high school, is part of a Northwestern team that has a number of talented young wrestlers in its room.


“It’s exciting,” he said. “We have a good young team. We had two redshirts make the semifinals at Midlands. I didn’t even make it to the semis as a true freshman, so if that’s any indication we’re going to be a real tough team in the years to come.”


Tsirtsis and Missouri’s J’Den Cox (197 pounds) won NCAA titles as freshmen in 2014. Just three wrestlers – Oklahoma State’s Pat Smith, Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson and Cornell’s Kyle Dake – have captured four NCAA crowns.


“Jason just has to think about winning No. 2 and put all his focus on that this year,” Pariano said. “He just needs to try to get better every day and not think about four titles. It’s about the process and it’s about getting better.”


Tsirtsis is a top prospect in freestyle. He went 2-1 at the 2013 Junior World Championships and placed seventh.


“Jason’s very committed to freestyle,” Pariano said. “He loves freestyle, and I believe he has an extremely bright future ahead of him in freestyle.”


Being the returning national champion has provided new and different challenges for Tsirtsis.


“You have a target on your back,” Pariano said. “His opponents are gunning for him and coming up with strategies to slow him down. We need to get a takedown in the first period and then open up the match. We need to widen the gap.”


Pariano said Tsirtsis has provided a blueprint for his teammates to follow.


“Jason is a great kid who is very enjoyable to coach,” Pariano said. “There isn’t a day that goes by where he doesn’t think about making himself better. He stays after practice and he’s open to new concepts. He’s very knowledgeable, and he’s someone people want to be around. He leads by example and he’s been a great mentor to some of our younger guys. He’s really had a big impact on our program.”