Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Michigan State Open
Herbert Goes Unblemished In Season Opener at Michigan State Open
11/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 9, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern made its presence known in its opening event of the season, the Michigan State Open in East Lansing, Mich., reaching three open division finals. Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) went 4-0 in his first time competing for Northwestern since the 2007 NCAA finals to win the 184-pound weight class Sunday.
Herbert tore through his opening round matches, posting pins in each of his first three battles on the way to the finals. In the finals, Herbert came up against Pittsburgh freshman Zac Thomusseit and scored a 14-1 major decision to bring the MSU Open title back to Evanston.
Returning All-American Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) won two matches on his way to the finals of the 125-pound weight class, including a 12-4 major decision against Big Ten foe Brad Pataky of Penn State. Precin came up just short in the finals, losing a 4-1 double-overtime decision to Paul Donahoe of Edinboro, who was a national champion at 125 in 2007 and two-time All-American while wrestling for Nebraska. Precin nearly took Donahoe to his back in the second period but the action finished out of bounds.
Herbert and Precin's fellow NCAA qualifier from a year ago, Keith Sulzer (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Edward) placed sixth at 141 pounds.
Wrestling in his first collegiate tournament, freshman Jason Welch (Walnut Creek, Calif./Las Lomas) became the third Wildcat to reach a final, posting three decisions and a major decision on his way to the 157-pound finals. His opponent, Kurt Kinser of Indiana, managed to pin Welch in 56 seconds to win the open division.
Aaron Jones (Macomb, Ill./Macomb), a sophomore in his first year with the 'Cats after a year at Rend Lake Junior College, also performed for Northwestern. After losing his opening round match to Jay Hahn of Bucknell, Jones won three straight matches before falling to Hahn in freshman-sophomore consolation round five, 8-6.
Rookie Eric Galka (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) wrestled his way to a third-place finish in the freshman-sophomore bracket at 133 pounds. After losing to eventual bracket champion Matt Bonson of Virginia, Galka responded with an 11-6 win against Steven Light of Central Michigan in the third-place match.
Back in the Open division, Dominic Marella (Roselle, Ill./Conant) reached the semifinals of 165 with a 5-2 decision against fellow Wildcat Kyle Bertin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Edward). Marella finished sixth overall in his bracket.
Despite losing his opening-round match, freshman Brian Roddy, Jr. (Highland Heights, Ohio/St. Edward) went on a tear in the wrestle-back at 174 pounds, winning five straight matches to earn a sixth-place finish in his debut with the Wildcats.
Andrew Nadhir (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Detroit Central Catholic) won two matches in the Open 149 bracket, including a 3-2 decision against teammate Marty Gould (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West).
Complete results are available at msuwrestling.com. Next week, Northwestern heads to West Lafayette, Ind., for the Purdue Duals.
