Northwestern University Athletics
Herbert Cruises into Semis in St. Louis
3/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 20, 2009
Official Website of the 2009 NCAA Championships
Complete Brackets Through Session 3
Team Standings Through Session 3
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Northwestern senior Jake Herbert continued to tear through the 184-pound bracket of the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis on Friday, downing Wyoming redshirt freshman Joe DeBlanco by an 18-5 major decision to advance to the semifinals. Junior Brandon Precin (125) suffered a setback Friday but is one of the favorites to continue through the wrestleback bracket.
True freshman Jason Welch opened Friday's competition with a victory but fell in his later consolation bout, finishing his first NCAA Championships with a 2-2 record. He was the last remaining freshman or redshirt freshman alive in his weight class. Keith Sulzer was also eliminated after a 1-2 showing as a redshirt sophomore.
Northwestern is in 19th place in the team standings with 21.5 points and two wrestlers remaining in competition. Big Ten foe Ohio State has a four-point cushion in first place with 61.5 points.
Competition is due to resume at 6 p.m. Friday at the Scottrade Center with ESPN2 and ESPNU carrying the live broadcast.
Herbert, now second all-time in career wins at Northwestern with 147, set the tone early against DeBlanco with a takedown and three back points in the first minute. Leading 5-1, DeBlanco forced a bit of a scramble but found himself once again on the bottom with Herbert ahead 7-1. Each time the action returned to neutral and DeBlanco attempted to go on offense, he invariably found himself on his stomach in the end.
Herbert ran the final score to 18-5 to move into Friday night's semifinals against Nebraska's 12th-seeded Vince Jones, who upset the No. 4 seed Kirk Smith of Boise State. On the other side of the bracket, Ohio State's 2008 national champion Mike Pucillo is set to meet Rider's seventh-seeded Doug Umbehauer, who ousted No. 3-seeded Phil Keddy of Iowa.
NU's first match of the morning was the 125-pound quarterfinal between Precin and Arizona State's Anthony Robles, who was born without his right leg and who came into the match with a 27-6 record. Precin began the second period on the bottom position and managed to stand all the way up before Robles pulled him back to the mat. From there, Robles had a relentless hold on Precin's left arm and leg, allowing him to roll the NU All-American for three consecutive near-falls, building a 9-0 advantage and two full minutes of riding time.
It was Precin's choice to start the third period and he opted for the top position in hopes of replicating Robles' strategy in the second. His efforts to tilt Robles were in vain, however, and Robles earned the bid to the semifinals. Precin must now face Oklahoma State senior Obenson Blanc in the wrestlebacks where he is the highest seed in his bracket.
Welch began Session III against one of the other top freshmen in his 157-pound weight class, 10th-seeded Scott Winston of Rutgers. The two had met once before, with Winston winning a 6-1 decision at the Midlands Championships in December. Friday's match was a different story, however, with Welch striking first late in the opening period. He gained control off a scramble and picked up a three-point near-fall (pictured, front page) before a Winston escape made the score 5-1.
Welch began the second period on top and, by the time the period expired, had amassed 2:29 of riding time. He escaped to start the third and finished things off with a single-leg takedown to win by major decision, 9-1.
He moved on to face Jonny Bonilla-Bowman of Hofstra, who picked up the first takedown against Welch in the first minute but remained in control for only five seconds before a Welch escape. Welch escaped again to start the second to even things at two.
But Bonilla-Bowman came out of a near stalemate in the second and tackled Welch for his second takedown, which proved to be all he needed for the win. After two more takedowns, the Hofstra junior cradled Welch to earn three back points as time ran out, winning by a 12-3 major decision. The 14th-ranked Welch finishes his first season at NU with a 26-10 mark.
Keith Sulzer wrestled possibly one of his best matches in recent memory against top-seeded Kellen Russell of Michigan, who was pinned out of the championship bracket on Thursday. After a scoreless first period, Russell escaped from the bottom position with 43 seconds gone in the second to take a 1-0 lead. Russell began the third on top and began chipping away at Sulzer's riding time.
Sulzer needed to escape with more than 10 seconds remaining in the match in order to prevent Russell from gaining the riding time point but was unable to do so—despite coming close on the edge of the mat several times—and was on the short end of a 2-0 decision. The redshirt sophomore ends his season with a 20-14 record and his second NCAA championship appearance under his belt.
Northwestern Session III Results
Championship Bracket
125: No. 12 Anthony Robles (ASU) MD No. 4 Brandon Precin (NU), 9-0
184: No. 1 Jake Herbert (NU) MD No. 9 Joe DeBlanco (WYO), 18-5
Consolation Bracket
141: No. 1 Kellen Russell (MICH) dec. Keith Sulzer (NU), 2-0 (Sulzer eliminated)
157: Jason Welch (NU) MD No. 10 Scott Winston (RUTG), 9-1
157: Johnny Bonilla-Bowman (HOF) MD Jason Welch (NU), 12-3 (Welch eliminated)
Northwestern Session IV Schedule
Championship Bracket
184: No. 1 Jake Herbert (NU) vs. No. 12 Vince Jones (NEB)
Consolation Bracket
125: No. 4 Brandon Precin (NU) vs. Obenson Blanc (OKLA. ST.)
