Big Ten Wrestling Championships Pre-seeds announced, with Penn State and Ohio State each with three No. 1 seeds

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced the preliminary seeds for the 2017 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 4-5 at Indiana. Six schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Ohio State and Penn State leading the way with three apiece.


Penn State and Wisconsin will bring a seeded wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes, while Minnesota, Nebraska and Ohio State each boast a seeded grappler in nine classes.


The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference’s coaches, rank the top eight wrestlers in five weight classes, along with all 14 starters in five weight classes due to the Big Ten receiving nine or more NCAA Championships qualifier allocations in those classes.


Ohio State boasts three top-seeded wrestlers, with 133-pounder Nathan Tomasello, 174-pounder Bo Jordan and 285-pounder Kyle Snyder claiming the top spot in their weight classes. Penn State also holds three No. 1 seeds, with 149-pounder Zain Retherford, 157-pounder Jason Nolf and 184-pounder Bo Nickal earning top billing in their weight classes. The Fighting Illini’s Isaiah Martinez (165), the Hawkeyes’ Thomas Gilman (125), the Golden Gophers’ Brett Pfarr (197) and the Scarlet Knights’ Anthony Ashnault (141) round out the group of top-ranked grapplers.


Six of this year’s top seeds claimed titles at last year’s Big Ten Championships, with Tomasello (125), Ashnault (133), Retherford (149), Martinez (157), Nickal (174) and Snyder (285) earning top honors a year ago.


For more information on the 2017 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, visit the Big Ten Championships Central page on Indiana’s website HERE.


The complete list of Big Ten Championships pre-seeds can be found below.

125 lbs.

1. Thomas Gilman, IOWA

2. Nick Suriano, PSU

3. Tim Lambert, NEB

4. Ethan Lizak, MINN

5. Conor Youtsey, MICH

6. Johnny Jimenez, WIS

7. Elijah Oliver, IND

8. Jose Rodriguez, OSU

133 lbs.

1. Nathan Tomasello, OSU

2. Eric Montoya, NEB

3. Cory Clark, IOWA

4. Zane Richards, ILL

5. Stevan Micic, MICH

6. Billy Rappo, MD

7. Mitch McKee, MINN

8. Luke Welch, PUR

9. Scott Delvecchio, RU

10. Eli Stickley, WIS

11. Jason Ipsarides, NU

12. Austin Eicher, MSU

13. Garrett Pepple, IND

14. Triston Law, PSU

141 lbs.

1. Anthony Ashnault, RU

2. Jimmy Gulibon, PSU

3. Tommy Thorn, MINN

4. Colton McCrystal, NEB

5. Luke Pletcher, OSU

6. Topher Carton, IOWA

7. Javier Gasca III, MSU

8. Cole Martin, WIS

9. Salvator Profaci, MICH

10. Alec McKenna, NU

11. Cole Weaver, IND

12. Kyle Ayersman, PUR

13. Ryan Diehl, MD

14. Mousa Jodeh, ILL

149 lbs.

1. Zain Retherford, PSU

2. Brandon Sorensen, IOWA

3. Micah, Jordan, OSU

4. Alfred Bannister, MD

5. Kenny Theobald, RU

6. Andrew Crone, WIS

7. Eric Barone, ILL

8. Chris Perez, IND

157 lbs.

1. Jason Nolf, PSU

2. Michael Kemerer, IOWA

3. Tyler Berger, NEB

4. Jake Short, MINN

5. Kyle Langenderfer, ILL

6. Brian Murphy, MICH

7. John Van Brill, RU

8. Jake Danishek, IND

9. TJ Ruschell, WIS

10. Alex Griffin, PUR

11. Jake Ryan, OSU

12. Austin Thompson, MSU

13. Justin Alexander, MD

14. Ben Sullivan, NU

165 lbs.

1. Isaiah Martinez, ILL

2. Logan Massa, MICH

3. Isaac Jordan, WIS

4. Vincenzo Joseph, PSU

5. Joey Gunther, IOWA

6. Nick Wanzek, MINN

7. Dustin Williams, NEB

8. Drew Hughes, MSU

174 lbs.

1. Bo Jordan, OSU

2. Mark Hall, PSU

3. Zach Brunson, ILL

4. Myles Amine, MICH

5. Alex Meyer, IOWA

6. Jordan Pagano, RU

7. Jacob Morrissey, PUR

8. Devin Skatzka, IND

9. Micah Barnes, NEB

10. Chris Pfarr, MINN

11. Ryan Christensen, WIS

12. Drew Barnes, MSU

13. Josh Ugalde, MD

14. Braxton Cody, NU

184 lbs.

1. Bo Nickal, PSU

2. Sammy Brooks, IOWA

3. Nate Jackson, IND

4. Myles Martin, OSU

5. TJ Dudley, NEB

6. Emery Parker, ILL

7. Nick Gravina, RU

8. Hunter Ritter, WIS

9. Mitch Sliga, NU

10. Bobby Steveson, MINN

11. Tanner Lynde, PUR

12. Ernest Battaglia, MICH

13. Shwan Shadaia, MSU

14. Idris White, MD

197 lbs.

1. Brett Pfarr, MINN

2. Kollin Moore, OSU

3. Aaron Studebaker, NEB

4. Matt McCutcheon, PSU

5. Ricky Robertson, WIS

6. Jacob Berkowitz, NU

7. Cash Wilcke, IOWA

8. Christian Brunner, PUR

285 lbs.

1. Kyle Snyder, OSU

2. Connor Medbery, WIS

3. Nick Nevills, PSU

4. Michael Kroells, MINN

5. Collin Jensen, NEB

6. Brooks Black, ILL

7. Youssif Hemida, MD