Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Big Ten Championships
Wrestling Places 11th at Big Ten Championships
3/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 10, 2002
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Northwestern wrestling collected 13 points en route to an 11th-place finish at the Big Ten Championships this weekend. Minnesota took home the title for the secod straight year with 174 points. As a testament to the strength of Big Ten wrestling, the last-place Wildcats will still send two men to the NCAA Championships in Albany, N.Y., March 21-23.
John Giacche (Flemington, N.J./Blair Academy), who was seeded seventh in the 141-pound weight class, won two matches to place sixth. Giacche opened the championships with a bye but fell in his first match to Ohio State's Robert Sessley. He then battled back with victories over Mark Jayne of Illinois and Grant Hoerr of Wisconsin. The fifth-place match gave Giacche a second crack at Sessley, but he again fell.
Ryan Kane (Temecula, Calif./Temecula) will join Giacche in Albany with a seventh-place finish at 165 pounds. Kane, seeded fourth in his weight class, won his first-round match against Ryan Lewis of Wisconsin. Purdue's Oscar Santiago sent Kane to the consolation bracket in the second round. Kane then lost his first consolation match, but came back strong against Anton Hall of Michigan State to secure seventh place and the last berth to the NCAAs at 165 pounds.
Full brackets and results are available at www.fightingillini.com.
