B1G Championships Preview: Tomasello, Martinez seek fourth title; Penn State-Ohio State Part II
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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
Photo: 141-pound Big Ten favorites Ohio State's Joey McKenna and Penn State's Nick Lee pictured at Rec Hall during the regular season clash between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions (Richard Immel/USA Wrestling).
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University is set to host the 2018 Big Ten Championships at Jack Breslin Student Events Center this weekend, and it is expected to go down as one of the best in conference history.
Of the 14 programs competing in East Lansing, 11 boast top-25 rankings in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll entering the postseason. This includes No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Ohio State, who are expected to duke it out for postseason supremacy once more.
In total, 25 wrestlers competing at the Big Ten Championships have previously earned NCAA All-America honors, with nine being past NCAA champions. Seven individuals return to defend Big Ten titles won last year. Additionally, 69 wrestlers expected to compete hold top-20 individual rankings on Flowrestling.com.
With 80 automatic qualifiers, the Big Ten will send more wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Championships than any other conference.
FOUR-TIME POTENTIAL
Two athletes competing in this year's tournament have the opportunity to become four-time Big Ten champions.
Ohio State's three-time NCAA All-American and 2015 NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello earned Big Ten titles in 2015 and 2016 at 125 before bumping up to take the 133 title last year. He is positioned as the No. 3 pre-seed at 125 following a 7-1 regular season.
Two-time NCAA champion and three-time NCAA finalist Isaiah Martinez of Illinois enters the competition as the No. 1 pre-seed at 165 after going 11-0 during the regular season. Martinez won his first two conference crowns at 157 prior to taking the 165 honor last season.
Only 14 individuals have accomplished the feat of becoming four-time Big Ten champions. Michigan's Kellen Russell, Penn State stars Ed Ruth and David Taylor, and Ohio State's Logan Stieber are the only wrestlers to do so in the past two decades.
BATTLE OF THE B1G'S
Following his third-straight Olympic/World gold medal, Ohio State heavyweight Kyle Snyder was expected to see little challenge from the NCAA ranks during his senior campaign. Enter Adam Coon, Michigan's towering two-time All-American, to shake things up.
Coon, a successful international competitor in his own right, stunned Snyder in early February to cap off a highly-entertaining Ohio State-Michigan dual meet. Coon snuffed out Snyder's potent offense, and scored a masterful toss of his own, on his way to the 3-1 win.
After snatching the No. 1 ranking away from Snyder, it remains to be seen if Coon can duplicate his performance.
THE BURNING QUESTION
Reigning 157-pound NCAA champion Jason Nolf of Penn State is expected to return this weekend after being sidelined for the past month due to injury. During Penn State's dual against Rutgers on January 28, Nolf visibly injured his knee in a scramble with John VanBrill and has not seen the mat since.
It is unclear which version of Nolf will take the mat on Saturday. Should the dynamic NCAA champion version fans have come to love arrives in East Lansing, Penn State will be in pole position for the title. However, given Penn State's recent track record, there is a chance Nolf injury defaults out of the tournament and saves his strength for the NCAA Championships.
CLASS OF THE CONFERENCE
From top to bottom, 125 and 165 are the most anticipated and intriguing brackets to follow this weekend. Both weight classes lead the Big Ten with 10 automatic qualifiers advancing to the NCAA Championships.
The triumvirate of Rutgers' Nick Suriano, Iowa's Spencer Lee and Tomasello are the power players at 125 pounds. Each man holds proven high-end potential, but there are certain question marks that must be addressed this weekend.
The currently undefeated Suriano has faced neither Lee nor Tomasello this year and has not wrestled a match since February 2 for undisclosed reasons. Lee holds a win over Tomasello but struggled in a loss at the Midlands Championships to Oregon State's Ronnie Bresser. Tomasello has only competed in eight matches this year and was ridden out for a full-period in the loss to Lee.
NCAA finalist Ethan Lizak of Minnesota and newcomer Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern are the likely spoilers at 125.
The rematch of NCAA champions Martinez and Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State is the desired final at 165, but several landmines stand in the way of the blood match. No landmine is more potent than undefeated freshman Alex Marinelli of Iowa.
Marinelli grabbed a 9-6 win over Joseph at the Bryce Jordan Center on February 10 to give the returning NCAA champion his only loss of the year. Marinelli and Joseph sit on the bottom side of the bracket as the Nos. 2 and 3 pre-seeds opposite No. 1 Martinez.
Be on the lookout for returning All-American Logan Massa of Michigan to reestablish himself as a contender at 165. Massa was a Big Ten finalist and third-place finisher at the NCAA's last season. He sits at No. 7 in the pre-seeds after taking some unexpected losses, setting up a potential quarterfinal against Marinelli.
FOLLOW B1G'S ON THE GO
The Big Ten Championships will be streamed online in its entirety on BTN Plus with the first-place matches being televised live on Big Ten Network at 3 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. Every round except the finals can also be viewed live on Flowrestling.com. Brackets and updated results will be posted on Trackwrestling.com.
EVENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 3
10 a.m. (ET) - Session I (Preliminaries, Quarterfinals)
6 p.m. (ET) - Session II (Semifinals, Consolations)
Sunday, March 4
12 p.m. (ET) - Session III (Consolations)
3 p.m. (ET) - Session IV (Finals)
ALLOCATED NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (80)
125 (10), 133 (7), 141 (8), 149 (9), 157 (8), 165 (10), 174 (7), 184 (8), 197 (6), 285 (7)
BIG TEN TEAM CAPSULES
No. 16 Illinois
Record: 7-4 Overall, 6-3 Big Ten
Head Coach: Jim Heffernan (Ninth Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (165), No. 7 Emery Parker (184), No. 11 Michael Carr (141), No. 19 Travis Piotrowski (125)
Key Wins: No. 13 Nebraska, No. 17 Northwestern, No. 19 Rutgers, No. 21 Purdue
Indiana
Record: 6-11 Overall, 0-9 Big Ten
Head Coach: Duane Goldman (26th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 13 Cole Weaver (141)
Key Wins: Bloomsburg, Eastern Michigan
No. 7 Iowa
Record: 12-3 Overall, 6-3 Big Ten
Head Coach: Tom Brands (12th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (149), No. 2 Michael Kemerer (157), No. 2 Alex Marinelli (165), No. 3 Spencer Lee (125), No. 5 Sam Stoll (285), No. 8 Cash Wilcke (197), No. 18 Vince Turk (141), No. 20 Mitch Bowman (184)
Key Wins: Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Illinois, No. 17 Northwestern, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 19 Rutgers
Maryland
Record: 5-12 Overall, 0-9 Big Ten
Head Coach: Kerry McCoy (10th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 9 Youssif Hemida (285)
Key Wins: Ohio, Campbell, George Mason, Stanford
No. 4 Michigan
Record: 11-3 Overall, 7-2 Big Ten
Head Coach: Joe McFarland (19th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 1 Adam Coon (285), No. 2 Stevan Micic (133), No. 4 Domenic Abounader (184), No. 5 Myles Amine (174), No. 6 Alec Pantaleo (157), No. 11 Drew Mattin (125), No. 11 Logan Massa (165), No. 14 Kevin Beazley (197), No. 18 Malik Amine (149)
Key Wins: No. 7 Iowa, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 13 Nebraska, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 20 Central Michigan, No. 21 Purdue, No. 22 Wisconsin
Michigan State
Record: 6-11 Overall, 1-8 Big Ten
Head Coach: Roger Chandler (Second Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 16 Rayvon Foley (125)
Key Wins: Indiana, Clarion, Buffalo
No. 18 Minnesota
Record: 8-6 Overall, 4-4 Big Ten
Head Coach: Brandon Eggum (Second Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 8 Ethan Lizak (125), No. 10 Nick Wanzek (165), No. 12 Mitch McKee (133), No. 15 Tommy Thorn (141), No. 19 Steve Bleise (149)
Key Wins: No. 12 South Dakota State, No. 16 Illinois, No. 19 Rutgers
No. 13 Nebraska
Record: 10-4 Overall, 7-2 Big Ten
Head Coach: Mark Manning (17th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 8 Taylor Venz (184), No. 10 Colton McCrystal (149), No. 10 Tyler Berger (157), No. 12 Isaiah White (165), No. 14 Chad Red (141), No. 17 Jason Renteria (Nebraska)
Key Wins: No. 14 Wyoming, No. 17 Northwestern, No. 19 Rutgers, No. 21 Purdue, No. 22 Wisconsin
No. 17 Northwestern
Record: 11-4 Overall, 5-4 Big Ten
Head Coach: Matt Storniolo (Second Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 7 Ryan Deakin (149), No. 10 Sebastian Rivera (125), No. 17 Conan Jennings (285)
Key Wins: No. 18 Minnesota, No. 21 Purdue, No. 22 Wisconsin
No. 2 Ohio State
Record: 14-1 Overall, 8-1 Big Ten
Head Coach: Tom Ryan (11th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 2 Myles Martin (184), No. 2 Kyle Snyder (285), No. 3 Luke Pletcher (133), No. 4 Nathan Tomasello (125), No. 4 Joey McKenna (141), No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes (149), No. 6 Bo Jordan (174), No. 6 Kollin Moore (197), No. 7 Micah Jordan (157), No. 14 Te'Shan Campbell (165)
Key Wins: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 North Carolina State, No. 7 Iowa, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 19 Rutgers, No. 21 Purdue
No. 1 Penn State
Record: 14-0 Overall, 9-0 Big Ten
Head Coach: Cael Sanderson (Ninth Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 1 Zain Retherford (149), No. 1 Jason Nolf (157), No. 1 Bo Nickal (184), No. 2 Mark Hall (174), No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (165), No. 3 Nick Nevills (285), No. 7 Shakur Rasheed (197), No. 8 Nick Lee (141)
Key Wins: Southern Scuffle, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan, No. 7 Iowa, No. 8 Lehigh, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 19 Rutgers, No. 21 Purdue
No. 21 Purdue
Record: 9-7 Overall, 3-6 Big Ten
Head Coach: Tony Ersland (Fourth Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 11 Dylan Lydy (174), No. 12 Nate Limmex (141), No. 18 Luke Welch (125), No. 18 Jacob Morrissey (165), No. 18 Shawn Streck (285)
Key Wins: No. 22 Wisconsin, No. 24 North Carolina
No. 19 Rutgers
Record: 8-7 Overall, 3-6 Big Ten
Head Coach: Scott Goodale (11th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 1 Nick Suriano (125), No. 5 Richie Lewis (165), No. 9 Nick Gravina (184), No. 11 Eleazar DeLuca (149), No. 18 Scott DelVecchio (133), No. 19 John Van Brill (157)
Key Wins: No. 17 Northwestern, No. 22 Wisconsin, No. 24 North Carolina
No. 22 Wisconsin
Record: 7-5 Overall, 4-5 Big Ten
Head Coach: Barry Davis (23nd Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 7 Evan Wick (165), No. 10 Ricky Robertson (184), No. 16 Andrew Crone (157)
Key Wins: No. 16 Illinois, Pittsburgh
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-SEEDS
125 pounds
1. Nick Suriano, RU
2. Spencer Lee, IOWA
3. Nathan Tomasello, OSU
4. Sebastian Rivera, NU
5. Ethan Lizak, MINN
6. Luke Welch, PUR
7. RayVon Foley, MSU
8. Drew Mattin, MICH
9. Travis Piotrowski, ILL
10. Elijah Oliver, IND
11. Mitch Maginnis, NEB
12. Johnny Jimenez, WIS
13. Brandon Cray, MD
14. Carson Kuhn, PSU
133 pounds
1. Stevan Micic, MICH
2. Luke Pletcher, OSU
3. Mitch McKee, MINN
4. Jason Renteria, NEB
5. Scott Delvecchio, RU
6. Corey Keener, PSU
7. Dylan Duncan, ILL
8. Ben Thornton, PUR
141 pounds
1. Joey McKenna, OSU
2. Nick Lee, PSU
3. Michael Carr, ILL
4. Chad Red, NEB
5. Nate Limmex, PUR
6. Tommy Thorn, MINN
7. Cole Weaver, IND
8. Eli Stickley, WIS
149 pounds
1. Zain Retherford, PSU
2. Brandon Sorensen, IOWA
3. Ryan Deakin, NU
4. Colton McCrystal, NEB
5. Ke-Shawn Hayes, OSU
6. Eleazar Deluca, RU
7. Alfred Bannister, MD
8. Malik Amine, MICH
9. Steve Bleise, MINN
10. Cole Martin, WIS
11. Austin Nash, PUR
12. Eric Barone, ILL
13. Jwan Britton, MSU
14. AJ Raya, IND
157 pounds
T1. Michael Kemerer, IOWA
T1. Jason Nolf, PSU
3. Alec Pantaleo, MICH
4. Micah Jordan, OSU
5. Tyler Berger, NEB
6. Andrew Crone, WIS
7. Jake Short, MINN
8. John VanBrill, RU
165 pounds
1. Isaiah Martinez, ILL
2. Alex Marinelli, IOWA
3. Vincenzo Joseph, PSU
4. Richie Lewis, RU
5. Evan Wick, WIS
6. Nick Wanzek, MINN
7. Logan Massa, MICH
8. Isaiah White, NEB
9. Te'Shan Campbell, OSU
10. Jacob Morrissey, PUR
11. Bryce Martin, IND
12. Austin Hiles, MSU
13. Brendan Burnham, MD
14. Mike Sepkle, NU
174 pounds
1. Mark Hall, PSU
2. Bo Jordan, OSU
3. Myles Amine, MICH
4. Dylan Lydy, PUR
5. Johnny Sebastian, NU
6. Devin Skatzka, IND
7. Joey Gunther, IOWA
8. Ryan Christensen, WIS
184 pounds
1. Bo Nickal, PSU
2. Myles Martin, OSU
3. Dom Abounader, MICH
4. Emery Parker, ILL
5. Nick Gravina, RU
6. Tyler Venz, NEB
7. Ricky Robertson, WIS
8. Mitch Bowman, IOWA
197 pounds
1. Kollin Moore, OSU
2. Shakur Rasheed, PSU
3. Cash Wilcke, IOWA
4. Kevin Beazley, MICH
5. Hunter Ritter, WIS
6. Christian Brunner, PUR
7. Zack Chakonis, NU
8. Eric Schultz, NEB
285 pounds
1. Adam Coon, MICH
2. Kyle Snyder, OSU
3. Nick Nevills, PSU
4. Sam Stoll, IOWA
5. Youssif Hemida, MD
6. Conan Jennings, NU
7. Shawn Streck, PUR
8. Rylee Streifel, MINN
2017 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
Team Standings
1. Ohio State 139.5
2. Penn State 130
3. Iowa 112.5
4. Nebraska 102.5
5. Minnesota 93
6. Illinois 88.5
7. Michigan 83
8. Rutgers 67.5
8. Wisconsin 67.5
10. Michigan State 38.5
11. Maryland 32
12. Purdue 26
13. Indiana 24.5
14. Northwestern 18
125 pounds
1st - No. 1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. No. 3 Tim Lambert (Nebraska), 4-0
3rd - No. 4 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) maj. dec. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 10-1
5th - No. 5 Conor Youtsey (Michigan) med. for. No. 7 Elijah Oliver (Indiana)
7th - No. 8 Jose Rodriguez (Ohio State) fall Ben Thornton (Purdue), 3:53
133 pounds
1st - No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. No. 3 Cory Clark (Iowa), 5-4
3rd - No. 5 Stevan Micic (Michigan) fall No. 4 Zane Richards (Illinois), 7:59
5th - No. 2 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) dec. No. 7 Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 5-3
7th - No. 9 Scott Delvecchio (Rutgers) inj. def. No. 12 Austin Eicher (Michigan State)
9th - No. 6 Bill Rappo (Maryland) dec. No. 10 Eli Stickley (Wisconsin), 7-5 SV1
141 pounds
1st - No. 1 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) maj. dec. No. 7 Javier Gasca III (Michigan State), 15-2
3rd - No. 4 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska) dec. No. 5 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), 6-2
5th - No. 13 Ryan Diehl (Maryland) maj. dec. No. 3 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), 12-2
7th - No. 8 Cole Martin (Wisconsin) fall No. 2 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), 1:11
9th - No. 6 Christopher Carton (Iowa) dec. No. 9 Sal Profaci (Michigan), 8-3
149 pounds
1st - No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) tech. fall No. 3 Micah Jordan (Ohio State), 16-1
3rd - No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) fall Zac Hall (Michigan), 2:53
5th - No. 5 Kenny Theobold (Rutgers) med. for. No. 4 Alfred Bannister (Maryland)
7th - Shayne Oster (Northwestern) dec. No. 7 Eric Barone (Illinois), 5-3
157 pounds
1st - No. 1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 8-2
3rd - No. 3 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. No. 6 Brian Murphy (Michigan), 5-2
5th - No. 4 Jake Short (Minnesota) dec. No. 10 Alex Griffin (Purdue), 8-3
7th - No. 7 John Van Brill (Rutgers) dec. No. 5 Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois), 7-0
9th - No. 8 Jake Danishek (Indiana) dec. No. 11 Jake Ryan (Ohio State), 3-1 SV1
165 pounds
1st - No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. No. 2 Logan Massa (Michigan), 10-4
3rd - No. 4 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), 5-2
5th - No. 8 Drew Hughes (Michigan State) dec. No. 6 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 3-2
7th - Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) dec. Cody Burcher (Ohio State), 2-1
174 pounds
1st - No. 1 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) dec. No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State), 6-4 SV1
3rd - No. 4 Myles Amine (Michigan) tech. fall No. 3 Zac Brunson (Illinois), 19-4
5th - No. 5 Alex Meyer (Iowa) dec. No. 11 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 4-2
7th - No. 8 Devi Skatzka (Indiana) dec. No. 7 Jacob Morrissey (Purdue), 7-4
9th - No. 10 Chris Pfarr (Minnesota) dec. No. 6 Jordan Pagano (Rutgers), 3-2 TB1
184 pounds
1st - No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 4 Myles Martin (Ohio State), 12-2
3rd - No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Tim Dudley (Nebraska), 14-9
5th - No. 6 Emery Parker (Illinois) med. for. No. 3 Nate Jackson (Indiana)
7th - No. 10 Bobby Steveson (Minnesota) dec. No. 8 Hunter Ritter (Wisconsin), 4-1
9th - No. 7 Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers) dec. No. 9 Mitch Sliga (Northwestern), 3-1 SV1
197 pounds
1st - No. 2 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) dec. No. 1 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), 15-11
3rd - No. 4 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 3-2 TB1
5th - No. 5 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin) maj. dec. Matt Correnti (Rutgers), 9-1
7th - No. 8 Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. No. 7 Cash Wilke (Iowa), 7-2
285 pounds
1st - No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) dec. No. 2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin), 8-5
3rd - No. 3 Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. No. 4 Michael Kroells (Minnesota), 2-0
5th - No. 5 Collin Jensen (Nebraska) fall Razohnn Gross (Rutgers), 3:47
7th - No. 7 Youssif Hemida (Maryland) dec. Conan Jennings (Northwestern), 4-1
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University is set to host the 2018 Big Ten Championships at Jack Breslin Student Events Center this weekend, and it is expected to go down as one of the best in conference history.
Of the 14 programs competing in East Lansing, 11 boast top-25 rankings in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll entering the postseason. This includes No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Ohio State, who are expected to duke it out for postseason supremacy once more.
In total, 25 wrestlers competing at the Big Ten Championships have previously earned NCAA All-America honors, with nine being past NCAA champions. Seven individuals return to defend Big Ten titles won last year. Additionally, 69 wrestlers expected to compete hold top-20 individual rankings on Flowrestling.com.
With 80 automatic qualifiers, the Big Ten will send more wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Championships than any other conference.
FOUR-TIME POTENTIAL
Two athletes competing in this year's tournament have the opportunity to become four-time Big Ten champions.
Ohio State's three-time NCAA All-American and 2015 NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello earned Big Ten titles in 2015 and 2016 at 125 before bumping up to take the 133 title last year. He is positioned as the No. 3 pre-seed at 125 following a 7-1 regular season.
Two-time NCAA champion and three-time NCAA finalist Isaiah Martinez of Illinois enters the competition as the No. 1 pre-seed at 165 after going 11-0 during the regular season. Martinez won his first two conference crowns at 157 prior to taking the 165 honor last season.
Only 14 individuals have accomplished the feat of becoming four-time Big Ten champions. Michigan's Kellen Russell, Penn State stars Ed Ruth and David Taylor, and Ohio State's Logan Stieber are the only wrestlers to do so in the past two decades.
BATTLE OF THE B1G'S
Following his third-straight Olympic/World gold medal, Ohio State heavyweight Kyle Snyder was expected to see little challenge from the NCAA ranks during his senior campaign. Enter Adam Coon, Michigan's towering two-time All-American, to shake things up.
Coon, a successful international competitor in his own right, stunned Snyder in early February to cap off a highly-entertaining Ohio State-Michigan dual meet. Coon snuffed out Snyder's potent offense, and scored a masterful toss of his own, on his way to the 3-1 win.
After snatching the No. 1 ranking away from Snyder, it remains to be seen if Coon can duplicate his performance.
THE BURNING QUESTION
Reigning 157-pound NCAA champion Jason Nolf of Penn State is expected to return this weekend after being sidelined for the past month due to injury. During Penn State's dual against Rutgers on January 28, Nolf visibly injured his knee in a scramble with John VanBrill and has not seen the mat since.
It is unclear which version of Nolf will take the mat on Saturday. Should the dynamic NCAA champion version fans have come to love arrives in East Lansing, Penn State will be in pole position for the title. However, given Penn State's recent track record, there is a chance Nolf injury defaults out of the tournament and saves his strength for the NCAA Championships.
CLASS OF THE CONFERENCE
From top to bottom, 125 and 165 are the most anticipated and intriguing brackets to follow this weekend. Both weight classes lead the Big Ten with 10 automatic qualifiers advancing to the NCAA Championships.
The triumvirate of Rutgers' Nick Suriano, Iowa's Spencer Lee and Tomasello are the power players at 125 pounds. Each man holds proven high-end potential, but there are certain question marks that must be addressed this weekend.
The currently undefeated Suriano has faced neither Lee nor Tomasello this year and has not wrestled a match since February 2 for undisclosed reasons. Lee holds a win over Tomasello but struggled in a loss at the Midlands Championships to Oregon State's Ronnie Bresser. Tomasello has only competed in eight matches this year and was ridden out for a full-period in the loss to Lee.
NCAA finalist Ethan Lizak of Minnesota and newcomer Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern are the likely spoilers at 125.
The rematch of NCAA champions Martinez and Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State is the desired final at 165, but several landmines stand in the way of the blood match. No landmine is more potent than undefeated freshman Alex Marinelli of Iowa.
Marinelli grabbed a 9-6 win over Joseph at the Bryce Jordan Center on February 10 to give the returning NCAA champion his only loss of the year. Marinelli and Joseph sit on the bottom side of the bracket as the Nos. 2 and 3 pre-seeds opposite No. 1 Martinez.
Be on the lookout for returning All-American Logan Massa of Michigan to reestablish himself as a contender at 165. Massa was a Big Ten finalist and third-place finisher at the NCAA's last season. He sits at No. 7 in the pre-seeds after taking some unexpected losses, setting up a potential quarterfinal against Marinelli.
FOLLOW B1G'S ON THE GO
The Big Ten Championships will be streamed online in its entirety on BTN Plus with the first-place matches being televised live on Big Ten Network at 3 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. Every round except the finals can also be viewed live on Flowrestling.com. Brackets and updated results will be posted on Trackwrestling.com.
EVENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 3
10 a.m. (ET) - Session I (Preliminaries, Quarterfinals)
6 p.m. (ET) - Session II (Semifinals, Consolations)
Sunday, March 4
12 p.m. (ET) - Session III (Consolations)
3 p.m. (ET) - Session IV (Finals)
ALLOCATED NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (80)
125 (10), 133 (7), 141 (8), 149 (9), 157 (8), 165 (10), 174 (7), 184 (8), 197 (6), 285 (7)
BIG TEN TEAM CAPSULES
No. 16 Illinois
Record: 7-4 Overall, 6-3 Big Ten
Head Coach: Jim Heffernan (Ninth Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (165), No. 7 Emery Parker (184), No. 11 Michael Carr (141), No. 19 Travis Piotrowski (125)
Key Wins: No. 13 Nebraska, No. 17 Northwestern, No. 19 Rutgers, No. 21 Purdue
Indiana
Record: 6-11 Overall, 0-9 Big Ten
Head Coach: Duane Goldman (26th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 13 Cole Weaver (141)
Key Wins: Bloomsburg, Eastern Michigan
No. 7 Iowa
Record: 12-3 Overall, 6-3 Big Ten
Head Coach: Tom Brands (12th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (149), No. 2 Michael Kemerer (157), No. 2 Alex Marinelli (165), No. 3 Spencer Lee (125), No. 5 Sam Stoll (285), No. 8 Cash Wilcke (197), No. 18 Vince Turk (141), No. 20 Mitch Bowman (184)
Key Wins: Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Illinois, No. 17 Northwestern, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 19 Rutgers
Maryland
Record: 5-12 Overall, 0-9 Big Ten
Head Coach: Kerry McCoy (10th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 9 Youssif Hemida (285)
Key Wins: Ohio, Campbell, George Mason, Stanford
No. 4 Michigan
Record: 11-3 Overall, 7-2 Big Ten
Head Coach: Joe McFarland (19th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 1 Adam Coon (285), No. 2 Stevan Micic (133), No. 4 Domenic Abounader (184), No. 5 Myles Amine (174), No. 6 Alec Pantaleo (157), No. 11 Drew Mattin (125), No. 11 Logan Massa (165), No. 14 Kevin Beazley (197), No. 18 Malik Amine (149)
Key Wins: No. 7 Iowa, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 13 Nebraska, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 20 Central Michigan, No. 21 Purdue, No. 22 Wisconsin
Michigan State
Record: 6-11 Overall, 1-8 Big Ten
Head Coach: Roger Chandler (Second Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 16 Rayvon Foley (125)
Key Wins: Indiana, Clarion, Buffalo
No. 18 Minnesota
Record: 8-6 Overall, 4-4 Big Ten
Head Coach: Brandon Eggum (Second Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 8 Ethan Lizak (125), No. 10 Nick Wanzek (165), No. 12 Mitch McKee (133), No. 15 Tommy Thorn (141), No. 19 Steve Bleise (149)
Key Wins: No. 12 South Dakota State, No. 16 Illinois, No. 19 Rutgers
No. 13 Nebraska
Record: 10-4 Overall, 7-2 Big Ten
Head Coach: Mark Manning (17th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 8 Taylor Venz (184), No. 10 Colton McCrystal (149), No. 10 Tyler Berger (157), No. 12 Isaiah White (165), No. 14 Chad Red (141), No. 17 Jason Renteria (Nebraska)
Key Wins: No. 14 Wyoming, No. 17 Northwestern, No. 19 Rutgers, No. 21 Purdue, No. 22 Wisconsin
No. 17 Northwestern
Record: 11-4 Overall, 5-4 Big Ten
Head Coach: Matt Storniolo (Second Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 7 Ryan Deakin (149), No. 10 Sebastian Rivera (125), No. 17 Conan Jennings (285)
Key Wins: No. 18 Minnesota, No. 21 Purdue, No. 22 Wisconsin
No. 2 Ohio State
Record: 14-1 Overall, 8-1 Big Ten
Head Coach: Tom Ryan (11th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 2 Myles Martin (184), No. 2 Kyle Snyder (285), No. 3 Luke Pletcher (133), No. 4 Nathan Tomasello (125), No. 4 Joey McKenna (141), No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes (149), No. 6 Bo Jordan (174), No. 6 Kollin Moore (197), No. 7 Micah Jordan (157), No. 14 Te'Shan Campbell (165)
Key Wins: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 North Carolina State, No. 7 Iowa, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 19 Rutgers, No. 21 Purdue
No. 1 Penn State
Record: 14-0 Overall, 9-0 Big Ten
Head Coach: Cael Sanderson (Ninth Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 1 Zain Retherford (149), No. 1 Jason Nolf (157), No. 1 Bo Nickal (184), No. 2 Mark Hall (174), No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (165), No. 3 Nick Nevills (285), No. 7 Shakur Rasheed (197), No. 8 Nick Lee (141)
Key Wins: Southern Scuffle, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan, No. 7 Iowa, No. 8 Lehigh, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 19 Rutgers, No. 21 Purdue
No. 21 Purdue
Record: 9-7 Overall, 3-6 Big Ten
Head Coach: Tony Ersland (Fourth Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 11 Dylan Lydy (174), No. 12 Nate Limmex (141), No. 18 Luke Welch (125), No. 18 Jacob Morrissey (165), No. 18 Shawn Streck (285)
Key Wins: No. 22 Wisconsin, No. 24 North Carolina
No. 19 Rutgers
Record: 8-7 Overall, 3-6 Big Ten
Head Coach: Scott Goodale (11th Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 1 Nick Suriano (125), No. 5 Richie Lewis (165), No. 9 Nick Gravina (184), No. 11 Eleazar DeLuca (149), No. 18 Scott DelVecchio (133), No. 19 John Van Brill (157)
Key Wins: No. 17 Northwestern, No. 22 Wisconsin, No. 24 North Carolina
No. 22 Wisconsin
Record: 7-5 Overall, 4-5 Big Ten
Head Coach: Barry Davis (23nd Season)
Ranked Individuals: No. 7 Evan Wick (165), No. 10 Ricky Robertson (184), No. 16 Andrew Crone (157)
Key Wins: No. 16 Illinois, Pittsburgh
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-SEEDS
125 pounds
1. Nick Suriano, RU
2. Spencer Lee, IOWA
3. Nathan Tomasello, OSU
4. Sebastian Rivera, NU
5. Ethan Lizak, MINN
6. Luke Welch, PUR
7. RayVon Foley, MSU
8. Drew Mattin, MICH
9. Travis Piotrowski, ILL
10. Elijah Oliver, IND
11. Mitch Maginnis, NEB
12. Johnny Jimenez, WIS
13. Brandon Cray, MD
14. Carson Kuhn, PSU
133 pounds
1. Stevan Micic, MICH
2. Luke Pletcher, OSU
3. Mitch McKee, MINN
4. Jason Renteria, NEB
5. Scott Delvecchio, RU
6. Corey Keener, PSU
7. Dylan Duncan, ILL
8. Ben Thornton, PUR
141 pounds
1. Joey McKenna, OSU
2. Nick Lee, PSU
3. Michael Carr, ILL
4. Chad Red, NEB
5. Nate Limmex, PUR
6. Tommy Thorn, MINN
7. Cole Weaver, IND
8. Eli Stickley, WIS
149 pounds
1. Zain Retherford, PSU
2. Brandon Sorensen, IOWA
3. Ryan Deakin, NU
4. Colton McCrystal, NEB
5. Ke-Shawn Hayes, OSU
6. Eleazar Deluca, RU
7. Alfred Bannister, MD
8. Malik Amine, MICH
9. Steve Bleise, MINN
10. Cole Martin, WIS
11. Austin Nash, PUR
12. Eric Barone, ILL
13. Jwan Britton, MSU
14. AJ Raya, IND
157 pounds
T1. Michael Kemerer, IOWA
T1. Jason Nolf, PSU
3. Alec Pantaleo, MICH
4. Micah Jordan, OSU
5. Tyler Berger, NEB
6. Andrew Crone, WIS
7. Jake Short, MINN
8. John VanBrill, RU
165 pounds
1. Isaiah Martinez, ILL
2. Alex Marinelli, IOWA
3. Vincenzo Joseph, PSU
4. Richie Lewis, RU
5. Evan Wick, WIS
6. Nick Wanzek, MINN
7. Logan Massa, MICH
8. Isaiah White, NEB
9. Te'Shan Campbell, OSU
10. Jacob Morrissey, PUR
11. Bryce Martin, IND
12. Austin Hiles, MSU
13. Brendan Burnham, MD
14. Mike Sepkle, NU
174 pounds
1. Mark Hall, PSU
2. Bo Jordan, OSU
3. Myles Amine, MICH
4. Dylan Lydy, PUR
5. Johnny Sebastian, NU
6. Devin Skatzka, IND
7. Joey Gunther, IOWA
8. Ryan Christensen, WIS
184 pounds
1. Bo Nickal, PSU
2. Myles Martin, OSU
3. Dom Abounader, MICH
4. Emery Parker, ILL
5. Nick Gravina, RU
6. Tyler Venz, NEB
7. Ricky Robertson, WIS
8. Mitch Bowman, IOWA
197 pounds
1. Kollin Moore, OSU
2. Shakur Rasheed, PSU
3. Cash Wilcke, IOWA
4. Kevin Beazley, MICH
5. Hunter Ritter, WIS
6. Christian Brunner, PUR
7. Zack Chakonis, NU
8. Eric Schultz, NEB
285 pounds
1. Adam Coon, MICH
2. Kyle Snyder, OSU
3. Nick Nevills, PSU
4. Sam Stoll, IOWA
5. Youssif Hemida, MD
6. Conan Jennings, NU
7. Shawn Streck, PUR
8. Rylee Streifel, MINN
2017 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
Team Standings
1. Ohio State 139.5
2. Penn State 130
3. Iowa 112.5
4. Nebraska 102.5
5. Minnesota 93
6. Illinois 88.5
7. Michigan 83
8. Rutgers 67.5
8. Wisconsin 67.5
10. Michigan State 38.5
11. Maryland 32
12. Purdue 26
13. Indiana 24.5
14. Northwestern 18
125 pounds
1st - No. 1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. No. 3 Tim Lambert (Nebraska), 4-0
3rd - No. 4 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) maj. dec. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 10-1
5th - No. 5 Conor Youtsey (Michigan) med. for. No. 7 Elijah Oliver (Indiana)
7th - No. 8 Jose Rodriguez (Ohio State) fall Ben Thornton (Purdue), 3:53
133 pounds
1st - No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. No. 3 Cory Clark (Iowa), 5-4
3rd - No. 5 Stevan Micic (Michigan) fall No. 4 Zane Richards (Illinois), 7:59
5th - No. 2 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) dec. No. 7 Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 5-3
7th - No. 9 Scott Delvecchio (Rutgers) inj. def. No. 12 Austin Eicher (Michigan State)
9th - No. 6 Bill Rappo (Maryland) dec. No. 10 Eli Stickley (Wisconsin), 7-5 SV1
141 pounds
1st - No. 1 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) maj. dec. No. 7 Javier Gasca III (Michigan State), 15-2
3rd - No. 4 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska) dec. No. 5 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), 6-2
5th - No. 13 Ryan Diehl (Maryland) maj. dec. No. 3 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), 12-2
7th - No. 8 Cole Martin (Wisconsin) fall No. 2 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), 1:11
9th - No. 6 Christopher Carton (Iowa) dec. No. 9 Sal Profaci (Michigan), 8-3
149 pounds
1st - No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) tech. fall No. 3 Micah Jordan (Ohio State), 16-1
3rd - No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) fall Zac Hall (Michigan), 2:53
5th - No. 5 Kenny Theobold (Rutgers) med. for. No. 4 Alfred Bannister (Maryland)
7th - Shayne Oster (Northwestern) dec. No. 7 Eric Barone (Illinois), 5-3
157 pounds
1st - No. 1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 8-2
3rd - No. 3 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. No. 6 Brian Murphy (Michigan), 5-2
5th - No. 4 Jake Short (Minnesota) dec. No. 10 Alex Griffin (Purdue), 8-3
7th - No. 7 John Van Brill (Rutgers) dec. No. 5 Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois), 7-0
9th - No. 8 Jake Danishek (Indiana) dec. No. 11 Jake Ryan (Ohio State), 3-1 SV1
165 pounds
1st - No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. No. 2 Logan Massa (Michigan), 10-4
3rd - No. 4 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), 5-2
5th - No. 8 Drew Hughes (Michigan State) dec. No. 6 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 3-2
7th - Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) dec. Cody Burcher (Ohio State), 2-1
174 pounds
1st - No. 1 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) dec. No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State), 6-4 SV1
3rd - No. 4 Myles Amine (Michigan) tech. fall No. 3 Zac Brunson (Illinois), 19-4
5th - No. 5 Alex Meyer (Iowa) dec. No. 11 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 4-2
7th - No. 8 Devi Skatzka (Indiana) dec. No. 7 Jacob Morrissey (Purdue), 7-4
9th - No. 10 Chris Pfarr (Minnesota) dec. No. 6 Jordan Pagano (Rutgers), 3-2 TB1
184 pounds
1st - No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 4 Myles Martin (Ohio State), 12-2
3rd - No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Tim Dudley (Nebraska), 14-9
5th - No. 6 Emery Parker (Illinois) med. for. No. 3 Nate Jackson (Indiana)
7th - No. 10 Bobby Steveson (Minnesota) dec. No. 8 Hunter Ritter (Wisconsin), 4-1
9th - No. 7 Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers) dec. No. 9 Mitch Sliga (Northwestern), 3-1 SV1
197 pounds
1st - No. 2 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) dec. No. 1 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), 15-11
3rd - No. 4 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 3-2 TB1
5th - No. 5 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin) maj. dec. Matt Correnti (Rutgers), 9-1
7th - No. 8 Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. No. 7 Cash Wilke (Iowa), 7-2
285 pounds
1st - No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) dec. No. 2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin), 8-5
3rd - No. 3 Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. No. 4 Michael Kroells (Minnesota), 2-0
5th - No. 5 Collin Jensen (Nebraska) fall Razohnn Gross (Rutgers), 3:47
7th - No. 7 Youssif Hemida (Maryland) dec. Conan Jennings (Northwestern), 4-1
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