Northwestern University Athletics
Pre-Seeds Announced for Big Ten Wrestling Championships
2/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 26, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's 15th-ranked wrestling team has six wrestlers pre-seeded for the 2007 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, the conference office announced Monday. Junior All-American Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) leads the way as the top pre-seed at 184 lbs. Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) and Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill/Fenwick) are No. 2 pre-seeds. The pre-seeds are determined by voting from the conference's head coaches.
Herbert, the nation's top-ranked 184-pounder, takes a 24-0 record into the weekend and looks to win his second Big Ten title. Herbert captured the 174-pound crown in 2006. Herbert has notched wins over the next three wrestlers this season. He scored decisions in duals against Mike Pucillo of Ohio State, the No. 3 pre-seed, and Michigan's Tyrel Todd, the No. 4. He registered a major decision over second-ranked Roger Kish of Minnesota at the NWCA All-Star Classic exhibition.
Lang, ranked No. 1 at 141 lbs., takes the No. 2 pre-seed into this weekend. He missed the first five Big Ten duals due to injury, but returned to post a 3-0 conference record. He is a perfect 21-0 and is looking to improve on his second-place finish in 2006.
Tamillow, ranked seventh at 197 lbs., is NU's other No. 2 pre-seed. He sits at 30-3 this season and has posted a 16-3 dual mark. One of Tamillow's three defeats came at the hands of Missouri's top-ranked Max Askren. The junior defeated two ranked opponents in the final two Big Ten duals. He finished sixth in last year's tournament.
Junior heavyweight Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) is the No. 3 pre-seed. Fox is 24-3 overall and has put up a 13-2 dual mark. He sits behind only Minnesota's top-ranked Cole Konrad and Penn State's Aaron Anspach, who topped Fox in a dual earlier this season. Fox placed third in 2006.
Junior Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) is the No. 6 pre-seed at 174 lbs. Hayes went 4-4 in the Big Ten and sits at 18-11 overall.
True freshman Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) rounds out the list for Northwestern has he garnered a No. 6 pre-seed at 125 lbs. in his first trip to the Big Ten Championships. Precin is 30-11 this season and went 5-3 in the Big Ten with wins in his last two Big Ten duals.
The Big Ten Wrestling Championships are taking place Saturday and Sunday, March 3-4 at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. The official Big Ten Championships bracket will be set on Friday, March 2.
